A Weekend Get-Away...

Quote for the Day:

If in the last few years you haven't discarded a major opinion

or acquired a new one, check your pulse.  You may be dead.  

~Gelett Burgess

This past weekend Andy & I took a "mini" vacation and went away for a few days to the historic area of Shephardstown, WV.  This is a historical area associated with the Civil War and close to Antietam National Battlefield. 

Though we are not necessarily civil war "buffs", we are interested in history, and I think that's why we are so into antiques, vintage items, and old architecture. 

On Saturday we decided to take a day trip to Hagerstown, MD, about 20 miles away, to go "thrifting" so we hit the road bright and early!  On the way, we decided to take a side road to see where it led and ended up driving past Antietam.  We were going to stop on our way back by it after we turned around so that we could read the memorial plaques and look at the cannons on display, but ended up getting "lost" and never found our way back to Antietam.  

However, during our "lost" phase, we did drive past this and we just had to stop to get a closer look.  It is an old iron works that was built into the side of a hill.

Each of those archways is an "oven" where the fire was made that heated the metal so the smith could work it into whatever it was he was making.  Here is a close-up picture of one of the ovens...

This thing is HUGE!   The archway is easily 10-12 feet high!  And the "oven" area itself, there in the back, is probably 5 feet high.

There was no sign telling us the age of this structure, but it was near a railroad track that still runs through the area.  All I can say is that this was an amazing and impressive sight!

After getting "lost" on the back roads for a while, we finally made our way to Hagerstown with the help of "Jill", our GPS, and found some antique and thrift stores to visit.  After thrifting, we ate an early supper at Cafe del Sol in Hagerstown (excellent food, btw!!) before heading back to the motel in Shephardstown, WV, where we FORCED ourselves to stay awake till a normal bedtime!  LOL  We were EXHAUSTED...but in a good way...we had been out all day just enjoying the good weather, siteseeing, thrifting (our favorite sport), and even some good deals!

These are some the quilts that I found in the antique store that DIDN'T come home with me... 

 A BEAUTIFUL appliqued quilt...asking price...$1295.00!

A stunning quilt from the Civil War era...asking price...$895.00.

Green and red "Hens & Chicks" quilt...probably 1890-1910's...don't remember the asking price, but nice craftsmanship.

 

On Sunday, we decided to visit a local auction house in Martinsburg, WV, that was having an auction that day.

I love funny auctioneers...they keep the auctions from getting boring...and these guys were funny...cracking jokes and making quick remarks about the items and the bidders!

The attendance was only moderate, so Andy was able to get some good deals on some crocks to add to his inventory.  His hobby is "wheeling and dealing" in antique stoneware crocks and vintage glassware, especially "Fire-King".  He "collects" these, but not to keep...to resell.  He loves the thrill of the hunt!  :)

We had a great time and got to visit an area of West Virginia that we had never investigated before.  We definitely need to do this kind of thing more often!  :)

Loretta