Tag Archives: antiques

Firehouse BBQ and Blues

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I’ve mentioned before that I’m always grateful to find good vegetarian food when I travel.

There’s a place in the Historic Depot District of Richmond, Indiana called Firehouse BBQ and Blues. It has great character, good food and a couple of vegetarian options that aren’t boring old salads.

Plus, this place is a lot of fun to visit.

First of all, the building is a fantastic old stone firehouse with a mural on the side that depicts firefighters trying to catch a cat that was dropped from a second floor window. It was the city’s first firehouse, predating automobiles so the building once stabled horses that were used to pull the “fire trucks.”

Inside, you’ll find gorgeous wood floors and fun memorabilia from the city’s musical past. Another fun detailed is these great old pinball machines turned dining tables.

So back to the food. It is a bbq place so I had no choice. I had to order the bbq veggie wrap. It’s packed full of fresh veggies and black beans with a little cheddar cheese and bbq sauce. It’s absolutely delicious and filling. In my mind, bbq is meant to be eaten with mac and cheese. Theirs was just a tiny smidge dry but I forgave that flaw because it arrived in a small mason jar. I mean, really friends, how cute is that?

If you go, Firehouse BBQ and Blues welcomes kids until about 7 pm on the weekends. As the name suggests, they do have live blues music and a nice bar.

They’re located next door to a fantastic record store and across the street from the Model T Museum which I wrote about last month. Read about it here. This part of Indiana is also part of a couple of antique trails known as Antique Alley. I also wrote a little about my antiquing experiences from this trip.

Spinning Out Of Control

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My record buying has officially spun out of control.

I’ve collected off and on over the years, buying and listening to them in spurts. I might go a year without buying a single record. Right now, I can’t seem to make it a week without dragging home at least one or two. Ok. That’s a lie. More like a dozen a week. Sigh.

There’s a great little record store called Apollo over in Chillicothe and a host of nice antique malls in the area that have records. My hope to buckle down on spending this month failed miserably, mainly because of records.

My music tastes are all over the place so that hasn’t really helped to keep a handle on things either. This week’s haul included everything from classic Conway Twitty to the Flying Burrito Brothers to Paul Revere and the Raiders to eighties Ronnie Milsap.

The best part of collecting records is that you can find them in some of the oddest places for a dollar and up. The bad news is that it’s easy for them to pile up really quickly.

My goal this week is to not spend any money on records. Think I can do it?

Yeah…. I don’t either.

 

Indiana’s Antique Alley

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If you enjoy treasure hunting, the National Road in Indiana is rich with antique malls and nice local shops. In fact, there are two antique trails that start in Richmond – one that is largely in western Ohio and another that follows the National Road west to Plainfield. This is the route I followed, picking up a few other stores on the Ohio side as well.

The National Road is four lane through most of Indiana, meandering through small towns and burgs with quaint architecture, fun local diners and cute stores.

My favorite treasure hunting spot along the way was probably Cambridge City which is home to more than a dozen antique stores and malls. This is a friendly, tidy little town where you could easily spend a day or more depending on how serious you are and how quickly you shop. Nearby Centerville has a number of stores including a large mall where I found a great train case and a few other unique bargains.

If you’re venturing further west, Gilley’s Antique Mall in Plainfield is worth the drive. It’s a large antique and craft mall that’s packed with stuff.

Even further west, Shady Lane Antique Mall was perhaps my favorite store this trip. It’s in an old motel and filled to the brim with good quality vintage and antique items. The owners and the people working there were so friendly and helpful that I truly felt wanted and welcome in their store. More than that, I found bargains! Records, vintage jewelry, story books, small advertising pieces, linens – I honestly don’t even remember what all I bought here. They said the vendors are all good to rotate stock and make an effort to keep things fresh about every week, something you simply don’t see in a lot of these places. It was well worth the drive and I’m already plotting to go back this year.

If you’re thinking about doing these trails, my advice is to check out the Richmond/Wayne County Visitors Center and be sure to request the Antique Alley brochures. They were a huge help, easy to follow and mark up as you go.

Where’s your favorite antique store? Tell me in the comments – I’m always looking for ideas!

Signs Signs, Everywhere A Sign

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I’m incapable of walking past a great sign without whipping out my phone to take a picture. Hope you enjoy these signs from my recent National Road adventure!

I Ran Away From Home

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blog IMG_6123_edited.jpgI ran away from home last Wednesday. With a week of vacation and no desire to be home but no place in particular to be, I did something that this overplanner wouldn’t normally do. I drove away without a real plan.

I had some maps, my phone, some supplies ( in case I couldn’t find a hotel) and my passport in case I went rogue and headed for the border. The plan was to pick up the National Road in Ohio and drive as far west as I wanted. The journey was the destination. That meant no hotel reservations, no goals and no stress.

It was amazing. 

I followed the National Road to Terra Haute, antiquing along the way, eating mostly in mom and pop restaurants, and stopping to rest wherever I got tired. The weather was beautiful the first day, horrible on day two and mediocre the rest so this wasn’t a great picture trip. But I did get a few photos I’ll eventually share here with some thoughts on special places along the way.

I’ve never done a vacation like this where I had nowhere to be and all week to get there but would absolutely do it again. In fact, it seems like something everyone should try at least once.

There are so many things that make me want to go back. Main Street America, with all its idiosyncrasies, is fascinating and I have several small research projects to answer questions from the road.  Also, I was driving the modern National Road and would love to go hunting for some of the old alignments just to see what’s what. In Indiana, the road has been expanded to four lanes most of the way and I suspect there’s a lot of interesting stuff to see off the beaten path.

Stay tuned. I want to tell you about a cool old diner, a Model T Museum, my favorite antique stores (guys, there are more antique stores than you can count out there) and several other nifty sights from along the way. Look for more soon!

Masks

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This picture makes me think of the movie “Breakfast At Tiffanys.”

masks

You know the scene I’m talking about? The one where Holly and Paul shoplift the masks from the five and dime store?

breakfast at tiffanys 2

And if you don’t know, please stop reading and immediately go watch the film. It’s a classic and you will love it.  If you’re in the market for these or other cute kiddie masks, Sy’s Place Antiques had a great selection a few weeks ago.