Best Toy Store
Thinker Toys
697 San Carlos St., Carmel
(831) 624-0441, thinkertoys.com
All of those clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists and fire eaters had to get their start somewhere. For many of them, it may well have begun in childhood, when they had the freedom to play – and think – creatively. Store staff pride themselves on old-fashioned toys, meaning tactile wins over screens. The name tells you most of what you need to know about that cerebral dimension of fun, but the emphasis remains on fun. That’s how this shop, which opened in Carmel in 1969, has served three generations of toy connoisseurs. And anyone of any age is invited to discover their inner lion tamer at Thinker Toys.