Travel Store and Gift Shop by Small World Travel & Tours

Name: Travel Store and Gift Shop by Small World Travel & Tours
Address: 201a E Main Street, Benson, NC, 27504, US
Telephone: +19197011330

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Travel Store and Gift Shop by Small World Travel & Tours

Your place with everything you need to make that next beach trip, vacation, or pool day easier...

09/17/2026

🐴 Made in North Carolina. Made RIGHT HERE in Benson. ❤️

Just in time for Mule Days, we have something pretty special in the Gift Shop!

Our Limited Edition Mule Days Soy Candles are hand-poured right here in Downtown Benson, NC by a local candle artisan whose work has even been featured in Our State Magazine. And if that connection wasn’t local enough, he’s now also one of the co-owners of The Letterman, right across the street from us in Downtown Benson!

Each candle features a special Benson Mule Days label that shares a little of the history behind the festival and the mule’s important place in our community’s agricultural heritage.

These were created as a limited edition, so when they’re gone, they’re gone!

🐴 Limited Edition Mule Days Candle — $15
🕯️ Hand-poured in Benson
🏠 Made in North Carolina
❤️ Celebrating a Benson tradition

Come by the Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours and grab yours while we still have them — then walk across the street to The Letterman NC, have a drink, relax for a while, and enjoy a little more of what makes Downtown Benson worth experiencing.

Shop Downtown. Dine Downtown. Experience Benson.

09/16/2026

Part 2 Burn Bags USA ❤️ — “THE SECOND CHANCE”

There are actually TWO second chances sewn into every one of these bags. We’ve already told you about the first.

Retired fire hose that once protected homes, businesses and lives is rescued from being discarded and transformed into something useful again. But the second chance is human.

Part of what makes the story behind the BURN Bags we carry so meaningful to us is the women involved in creating them—including women rebuilding their lives after addiction or abusive situations.Think about the symbolism in that.

Something that has been through the fire…

Something that shows the marks of where it’s been…Something others might believe has reached the end of its usefulness…isn’t thrown away. It’s given another purpose. And hands belonging to women who know something about starting again help turn it into something beautiful.

Maybe that’s why we think the imperfections in these bags matter.The markings matter. The wear matters. They are evidence of a life already lived—not a reason to discard something.

There may not be a better metaphor for a second chance.❤️ Old hose. New purpose.Hard pasts. New beginnings.

One remarkable North Carolina story. Available at the Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours in Downtown Benson.

09/15/2026

What does economic development look like?

Sometimes it looks like a major announcement, a new facility, and new jobs—and sometimes it looks like a room full of brown paper welcome bags! 😊

We recently had the opportunity to help prepare these bags for the first group of employees coming to Vulcan Elements. While we are certainly thankful they purchased their T-shirts through our local business, the story behind these bags goes much further than that one purchase.

The shirts were printed right here in our area by a local apparel production company—allowing that single order to support more than one hometown business. The brochures, coupons, event schedules, and visitor information inside involved three different local printers. The bags also introduce these new employees to local restaurants, shops, attractions, festivals, and community events throughout Downtown Benson, NC and the surrounding area.

That means one order has already touched several local businesses—and hopefully, that is only the beginning!

Someone may discover a favorite local restaurant because of a coupon inside. A family may attend Benson Mule Days or another community event because they saw it in their bag. Someone may visit a downtown shop, explore a local attraction, or learn something new about the community they are joining.

That is the part of economic development we sometimes overlook.

When a company like Vulcan Elements comes into our area, its impact reaches far beyond the walls of its own facility. It creates jobs, of course—but it can also create new customers, new partnerships, and new opportunities for small businesses throughout the community.

We are grateful to have played one small part in welcoming these employees, and we truly appreciate Vulcan Elements choosing to include and support local businesses from the very beginning.

Welcome to the community! We hope these bags help you discover just how much our area has to offer—and we hope to see you around town soon! Benson Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc. , Town of Benson, NC and Visit JoCo, NC

09/14/2026

1st POST of our series on Burn Bags — “BEFORE IT WAS A BAG…”

Before it was a bag, it may have helped save someone’s home.

Think about that for a moment.

The fire hose you see stitched into these bags wasn’t manufactured to be fashionable.

It was made to fight fires.

It was pulled from fire trucks, stretched across streets, dragged through yards and carried by firefighters into some of the worst moments of people’s lives.

Some of the hose in the BURN Bags we carry right here in Downtown Benson served fire departments in Johnston County and communities close to home.

Eventually, that hose reached the end of its service life.

For most things, that’s where the story would end.

But not this story.

Instead of becoming waste, that retired fire hose is given another purpose. It’s cleaned, repurposed and incorporated into a beautiful bag that can be carried for years to come. Burn Bags USA says the hose retains its individual wear from its previous service—meaning no two pieces have exactly the same history.

And there’s something else we want you to notice when you visit our store.

Look at the tag.

Every BURN Bag is individually numbered, and its authenticity card tells you which fire department the hose came from.

So when you choose one, you’re not simply choosing a color or style.

You may be choosing a piece of the history of a fire department you know.

A department that protected someone’s house.

Someone’s business.

Someone’s family.

Maybe even your community.

🔥 Once it carried water to protect a community.
Today, it carries a story worth remembering.

We’re incredibly proud to carry these Made-in-North-Carolina BURN Bags at the Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours in Downtown Benson.

Come in and don’t just look at the bags.

Read where they’ve been.

09/12/2026

Old Homes of North Carolina shared some photos of our new (old ❤️) office and store! So cool, check them out!

09/11/2026

Before we begin sharing a special series of stories over the next few days, we can’t think of a more meaningful day to start than September 11.

Today is not about selling anything. It’s about remembering, honoring and appreciating the men and women of the fire service—and all first responders—who answer the call when others need them most.

Over the next several days, we’re going to share the remarkable story behind something in our store that has a very special connection to the fire service. We hope you’ll follow along, because these aren’t simply stories about bags. They’re stories about service, sacrifice, second chances and giving something that has already served a community a new purpose.

Today, we remember. Always.

09/05/2026

💚💛 PROUD OF OUR SOUTH JOHNSTON TROJANS! 💛💚

We’re especially proud to share this great news from South Johnston High School. Here at The Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours, we have six South Johnston students who are part of our work family.

We get to see firsthand how these young people balance school, activities, family responsibilities, and a job — and still show up ready to work hard and contribute. Seeing the continued academic growth at South Johnston makes us even prouder of them and their classmates.

Strong schools help build strong communities, and hardworking young people give us plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Benson, Four Oaks, and the communities we all call home.

Congratulations to the students, teachers, staff, administration, and families who helped make this progress possible. Keep it going, Trojans! 💚💛

09/04/2026

🐴 MULE DAYS IS COMING… ARE YOU DRESSED FOR IT? 🐴

Open Labor Day Friday till 5 PM, and tomorrow Saturday from 10 to 4 PM, also take a look at the final clearance T-shirts outside for less than $10

We’ve been busy restocking at The Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours, and some of your favorite Benson shirts are BACK — along with a few new ones!

Our Mules, Magnets & Moonshine shirts have been restocked, and we now have even more ways to show off your Benson sense of humor:

🇺🇸 BNN – Broad Slab News Network
🐴 The Donkey Roundabout
🚗 “I Survived North Carolina’s Most Dangerous Roundabout”
🥃 Mules, Magnets & Moonshine
🚒 Benson Fire Dept shirts (All money go to BFD)

And now the kids can get in on it too! We have some designs in youth sizes, so the whole family can be completely decked out for Mule Days.

Whether you’re headed to the parade, spending the day downtown, meeting up with old friends, or just want a shirt that makes people ask, “Where in the world did you get that?” — come see us before Mule Days gets here.

These are fun, local, unmistakably BENSON, and several are made right here in Benson, North Carolina. ❤️

📍 The Gift Shop & Travel Store by Small World Travel & Tours
Historic Downtown Benson

Come pick your Mule Days shirt before your favorite design, color or size disappears!

08/15/2026

Old Homes of North Carolina shared photos of our 1912 Elevator today ❤️❤️❤️ Stop in and check it out in person!!!

Address

201a E Main Street
Benson, NC
27504

Telephone

+19197011330

Website

https://smallworldtravelandtours.com/store/, https://smallworldtravelandtours.com/

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