LOL!!! Well, heh- yeah, um, I guess I have a different take on "close" -- Both of the "nearby" LHBS's are a bit OVER 30 minutes away! oh well. I just thought of them as close, partly because I enjoy the beautiful drive(s), partly because I'm like a little kid going to the toy store, maybe a lot of other stuff in there for good measure as well. Who can say.
Also, one of the shops is owned by the guy who helped pioneer the reintroduction of hops to our area; we were formerly one of the best and largest hop-producing regions in the world from the early 1800's up until about 50 years ago. My father's father (my dad is turning 94 this year) owned a few hops farms to the south and also the east of where I live now. So, the LHBS guy's hops are really quite good and you can buy them whole or pelletized (he makes his own pellets) at very reasonable prices in any quantities you want. I like that, as well. His grains, extracts and even kits (and yeast!) are fresh. I support him and the others because we (I) need them to stay in business.