A Road Trip and Finds of the Week #24
Happy Wednesday friends!
John and I were away last week on a fabulous unplugged road trip to Cooperstown, New York and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
We were so unplugged we didn’t even have a cell phone with us, and I have to say it was quite wonderful. Technology is an amazing thing, but I feel the need to escape it sometimes… probably more than sometimes actually.
We love road trips and this one was to celebrate John’s 60th birthday.
Here we are in Cooperstown, New York, the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. We’re both big baseball fans and have been here a few times.
It’s such a lovely town, especially off season. This is the first time we’ve been there in the fall and we loved it.
We stayed at the Tunnicliff Inn this time, which has been run as an Inn since 1802. It was very charming, and a lovely buffet breakfast was included. We’ll definitely be staying here again.
A must go to in Cooperstown is one of our favourite book stores, Willis Monie, right on the main street.
There are aisles and aisles just like this one, and every subject you can imagine.
Love! We could spend hours and hours here quite happily.
I found five books of poetry for my collection, the oldest on the right going back to 1929,
I love discovering poets I’ve never heard of, like a couple of the books above, and I’m attracted to interesting book names… like In the Glass of Winter, and The Tree That Walked. Love those! Then I open up the book to a random page, read a couple of lines, and if I like what I read it’s a keeper.
If we ever decided to move to Cooperstown this is the house I would want to live in. That lovely green with the raspberry and pale pink. Yum!!!
It’s hard to tell in the picture but the window frames are pale pink, and all the corbels around the eaves of the house echo the pinks of the front porch. Love!!
There are many fancier houses in Cooperstown but I’m a simple girl, and this house totally does it for me.
I’d love to redo the outside of our house to look just like this. Maybe some day. Oh a girl can dream can’t she?
And I had to take a picture of this amazing pink tree in Cooperstown. What a beauty!
Does anyone know what this is? I’d love to plant one for myself. If it can survive in New York it should do OK here in midwestern Ontario.
One of John’s long time interests is the American Civil War so from Cooperstown we made our way to Gettysburg PA where we stayed at the Gettysburg Hotel right in the heart of downtown on Lincoln Square.
Can you believe that both of us forgot to take a picture of the hotel this year? lol. The above picture is from our trip in 1997.
We took a day trip to visit Harpers Ferry in West Virginia, and Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland.
I do love history, but not in the same way as John… so while he took pictures of important monuments and such I amused myself with my own subjects.
Like this sweetheart who welcomed us at the beginning of the climb up to to Jefferson’s Rock in Harpers Ferry (named for Thomas Jefferson). How pretty with that heart dangle, and very friendly too.
I swear I must have been a cat in another life. lol. I feel like every one of them is a personal friend of mine. No matter where I meet them.
And these still vibrant colours in Antietam National Battlefield.
And this gorgeous huge birch tree near Burnside Bridge, also at Antietam. There were many large and gnarly birches in the forest, but this one was so beautiful it almost looked unreal.
This is the barn of my dreams.
And I could quite happily live in this amazing original log home in downtown Gettysburg. If all the yellow was pink it would be absolutely perfect. lol.
I did take a few pics inside Gettysburg National Battlefield, like this view from Little Round Top.
And this one of the birthday boy.
We had dinner on his birthday night at the Dobbin House, built in 1776 and the oldest building in Gettysburg, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s now a museum, restaurant, tavern, and B&B with an authentic colonial atmosphere.
Even though this was really John’s trip, I did do a little thrifting along the way. We took the pickup so I wasn’t tempted to bring home anything big, but I did find a few small things.
Like this rectangular silver chafing dish complete with lid, some aluminum molds, and a single aluminum salt shaker.
I’ve been looking for a rectangular chafing dish for a project for a long time, and I found it in a little thrift store in Fairfield PA just a few miles outside of Gettysburg.
I’ve never seen aluminum pot lids like this before. They really have a handmade look, and I love that.
I love this vintage metal card holder. The old baking pan is missing its insert, but I’ll find a way to use it.
More vintage finds… two porcelain china brooches, three pairs of earrings for my project stash (two clip-ons and one screw back), a plastic flower brooch, some wooden clothes pegs, and a tea strainer.
Some vintage metal embroidery hoops.
And two vintage lucite bead necklaces with matching clip-on earrings. These are probably from the 50s, and will be going into my etsy shop.
Most of the other things I found will be used in projects eventually. I say eventually because I have so many ideas for projects that they might be far down the list, but who knows. I tend to go with what inspires me at any given time.
There were still a few fall colours on our drive home through the mountains of Pennsylvania and New York, but I find mountains inspiring whether they have any colour or not.
This vacation has rekindled our love of road trips, which we used to do quite often, but our last one was way back in 2000 when we went through Eastern Canada and the U.S. on our way to Newfoundland. There’s just something about being on the road.
Have you been on any road trips lately?
We’re already thinking about going on the road again next summer…. maybe back to the Virginias… which we’ve been through before, years ago, like way back in the 90s , and we loved it so much.
But now I have to get back to work on finishing my hallway floor. It seems like ages since I started, and it’s time to get a move on.
Thanks so much for reading, and until next time… keep on keepin’ on!
XOX
What a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing your travels and your thrift finds. I’m anxious to see what you do with the chafing dish 🙂
Thanks so much! Hopefully I can get the chafing dish project done in between other projects that I need to get done. I can only hope. lol.
Absolutely gorgeous pictures!! Those fall trees! The flowers! You know, you don’t even live in the US and you’ve been more places than I have!! Well, back east, anyway! As for my road trip? My daughter and I are leaving for Bisbee, AZ tomorrow. I’ve never been, but she says it’s a very picturesque town, in the mountains. Lots of shops, dining, and live entertainment on weekends! We have friends who have bought a “get-away” home there and we can use it whenever they aren’t. Lucky, aren’t we? Maybe I’ll find some fall color here. Dona
You are so lucky Dona! That sounds so wonderful! There’s so much beautiful country in the U.S. that’s for sure. John and I have driven through many states over the years. One of these days we might be out your way again.
I love the drive through and around Gettysburg…my mother-in-law isn’t far from there. There’s nothing like a Pennsylvania autumn!!
Absolutely Kirby! It was so beautiful.
Wow what a beautiful place. I love the house with the pink and all the old buildings in town. Looks like you two had a great time!
We certainly did Tania! I look for pink houses wherever I go. There aren’t too many out there, but this green one with the pink accents was really pretty. My kind of house.
What a lovely trip, Tuula 🙂 You probably didn’t know this, but I live about 45 minutes away from Cooperstown–next time you’re in the area I’d love to meet up for coffee or lunch. My husband and I love road trips, but ours tend to be day trips since we still have kids at home. In fact, we love Cooperstown and the surrounding area (the Beekman Boys aren’t too far from there, in Sharon Springs), and drive out that way frequently. Day trips are our thing on Fridays or Saturdays when our calendar permits it.
Wow Diana, I didn’t know that. I would have loved to get together for a lunch or even a quick thrifting trip. Next time for sure. That would be so great! We do enjoy the Cooperstown area so much, and will most definitely be back. John goes for the Hall of Fame, and I go for the book store. Day trips are a lot of fun too, and we enjoy them on the weekends here at home.
Hi Tuula,
This looks like such a fun trip. All the history! I want to spend time exploring that part of the country. Of course, you found a magical house made just for you! I love all your finds. Happy birthday to John!
I’ve only been to Virginia once, but I loved it. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Xo, T.
I know! Can you believe I found a pink and green house. lol. It was quite difficult for me to restrain myself from knocking on that front door. Now I need to win the lottery so I can totally makeover the outside of my house. lol.
Hi Tuula,
The pictures of your trip are gorgeous. Glad you had such a wonderful time. Great treasures found too.
Happy Birthday to John.
Kris
Thanks Kris! We did have a wonderful time, but no matter how long a road trip is it always seems too short. lol. Now we’re filled with wanderlust again.
I love all the pictures of the places you visited in Cooperstown. We were there last summer and although it was a very quaint town, all I saw were baseball shops! While my husband and son went to the Hall of Fame I went off thrifting and did find some nice things. The countryside around the town is gorgeous too. I have never been to Gettysburg. We are looking for somewhere to go next summer.
Cooperstown is one of our favourite places. It’s so charming will all the beautiful houses, and I look forward to spending time in that book store. There are a lot of baseball souvenir shops that’s for sure, but we did find one thrift store on the outskirts of town. That’s where I found the pot lids. This was our first fall driving trip and even though the colours were no longer at their peak it was still so beautiful.
This post sure made me miss all the road trips we used to take. I need to go again!! No trip is complete without a little junkin’ adventure on the side. Looks like you both had a wonderful time celebrating your husband’s 60th! Thanks for sharing your adventure at Vintage Inspiration Party.
Thanks Betsy! We are feeling the need to get on the road more now. It’s so fun to just go where the wind takes you, and a little junkin along the way doesn’t hurt. lol.
What a lovely way to celebrate s birthday. I could live in the bookstore.
Me too Donna! I could spend every birthday in that book store. lol.
What a wonderful trip you had! I love all your pictures. Did you see any civil war ghosts at the battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam?
You found some great finds, too.
I’m wondering how far you are from me. You mentioned you live in western Ontario. I live in the thumb of Michigan. Hello neighbor!
Our last road trip was to Texas. We have kids in San Antonio. We also spent a couple days in the southern most tip of Texas with family and a couple days in San Angelo with our daughter in law’s family.
Thanks Sheila! We didn’t see any ghosts, but we almost went on a ghost walk. They have ghost tours all over the place in Gettysburg. We drove through Texas on our way to Las Vegas eons ago, but didn’t really see much as we were just passing through. We’d love to spend some time there. We’re about 2 1/2 hours from the border when going through Sarnia, Ontario, and we’ve been to Frankenmuth, Michigan a few times. Love the Christmas store there.
If I had a “bucket list”, visiting the Civil War area would be at the top! That area is amazing and I love your pictures.. I’d like to have the house too!!!
Thanks Cheri! Hubby has always been interested in the Civil War and we have visited quite a historic sites and national parks. I couldn’t believe I found a pink and green house. The problem is now I want to renovate . lol.
Tuula! What a fun trip. We always pass Cooperstown on the way to the lake… I keep telling the hubby I want to stop there and see the museum! And Gettysburg is almost in my back yard! Glad you had a wonderful time. Thanks for joining in with “Let’s Talk Vintage!”
Wow Jill, I didn’t realize you were from that area. Next time we’re passing through I’d love to meet up. You live in such a beautiful part of the country.
Happy Birthday to John! Looks like you two had a beautiful trip Tuula. The pictures are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Karen! We lucked out and had beautiful weather for the most part. Can’t wait to take another road trip.
I know I already left a note, but just wanted to say thanks for linking up at Vintage Charm 🙂
It’s such a pleasure to join the party Diana. 🙂
WE JUST GOT HOME (10/29) FROM A 4500 MILE ROAD TRIP…….PANAMA CITY, FL….DECATUR, AL….CLINTON, IA….WADSWORTH, OH….ELMIRA, NY…WESTFIELD, PA…CHESAPEAKE, VA…NC AND SC. A WONDERFUL TIME VISITING FAMILY AND FRIENDS. SHOWING MY HUBBS ALL THE PLACES FROM MY CHILDHOOD. NOW, WE ARE TRYING TO GET BACK TO NORMAL. I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE.
Wow Cinny! That sounds like an amazing trip. How wonderful to share that with your hubby. I know what you mean about trying to get back to normal. We were only gone for 6 days, but we loved our road trip so much. It sounds like you did too. How could you not? That so much for stopping in and sharing.