Double Duty Road Trip

Rooster crowing at 5am? This was not how I planned to start the day.  On the up side, we were sleeping in the loft of an old log cabin that still smelled like our roaring fire from the night before.

I had managed to combine our 29th anniversary with a much needed shopping trip for the store.  Smart, right?  Take what could have been a long rough day of junk shopping through the countryside and add in one wedding anniversary....  you've got the makings of a "getaway" to a B & B for the night!  After a super dreary, foggy and rainy drive to Pittsburgh we had found only a few places to shop and had purchased nothing more than a globe and a pair of ice skates.  I have to admit this was putting me in a grumpy mood. Add that to the stress Chris was feeling from hauling a 12ft trailer up and down the narrow roads of Pittsburgh in rush hour traffic... on a Friday evening.... when the city is having their downtown Christmas light festival.  Oops!  Lets just say we cut our shopping short to make it to the B&B in time with the bumper to bumper traffic. 

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Once we arrived at the inn the mood was so much better!  The place was so cozy and adorable.    Within minutes we had a roaring fire and forgot about the disappointment of the day. 

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Top: Cozy living room
Bottom: The view from the loft bedroom.

The lovely Inn Keeper even let us take a morning stroll through their barn, where Chris got a thrill checking out their restored 1955 T-bird. Ya just never know what is in those barns!

I have to tell you, this bathroom was COLD!! All stone and no heater.  Brrrrr

Lots of antiques, not enough "vintage" junk for me.  PA was a bust.  Day two looked like it was also a waste of time (and gas!!) and the great morning mood was falling fast.  We decided to change our route and head west into West Virginia and I was googling for antiques on my phone as we passed through each small town. Hitting Wheeling turned the day around!   Finally, in Wheeling WV we hit this great little part of town called Centre Market.  Lots of cute little shops with everything from wine to vintage goodies, and the best burgers in town! I finally found some things I felt would look great in the shop and that would be loved by customers.   After a bit of hauling to the trailer we were feeling good.... full bellies and some wonderful picking!  Our luck had turned, and we headed north into Ohio and to East Liverpool where we found another great 4 story creaky old building with some things here and there I had to have.  Everything from deer antlers to a mantle. 

It was time to head home from here and I was feeling so much more satisfied with what the shop will have to fill it in December.  Just as we were leaving town it started snowing hard and the first Christmas song we have heard played this season came on the radio.  It was a perfect ending!! 
Oh wait.... not really the ending.... but after a few more hours of driving we made it home.  Oh wait.... then we have to unload the trailer, sort what goes where, which needs painted or fixed..... THEN we are done!  And totaly worth it!

And Happy Anniversary to my husband Chris, who has learned to love junkin with me. Thank goodness!

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You see all sorts of fun things in these shops, but this one was a first for me.
I don't know who this guy is but he was ready to ride!