All Around the Towns

All of this gross weather and tons of homework from my classes have made me stir-crazy.  After spending the morning studying, my brain need something easier to process.  What's easier than antiques!  So, I headed off to find some treasure.

Sentimental Journey Antiques was one of the places I visited.  It is close to the Harry S Truman library.  The place has a ton of clocks (a room full of them).  I talked to the old man who was in the room about the lighters that were displayed in the center.  There is also a center room which has a lot of glass display cases.  It seemed that most of it was jewelry but some glassware in there as well.  It wasn't anything I was in the mood to look through, but I made a quick pass.  The back room is an old garage-looking room.  That's fitting since the very back shelves were full of old car parts (tail lights, chrome panels, and such).  I did not find anything I needed, but I will definitely bring the wife along the next time since I think she would find some stuff she liked there.

Independence, Missouri, has an old square, and I thought I would find several antique stores on it, similar to Clinton, Missouri's square.  I was wrong.  I did find The Keeping Room and Serendipity Antique Shop right next to each other.  The Keeping Room is in a neat old building.  It has a TON of glassware.  It is an antique store my mother would enjoy (and probably the wife), but I did not find too much.  The only thing that really caught my eye was the set of The Hardy Boys books on one of the shelves.  Serendipity has the same feel to it.  Both places had some interesting antiques, but nothing my style.  The square did have a store dedicated to man caves called Wild About Harry, but I will not go into that since it was not truly antiques (still a neat store).

Just off of the square (a block to the south), I found Uztabz Antiques & Collectibles.  This place is small but full of stuff to dig through.  There are two small rooms in the back of the store, and they are crammed full of things.  There is also a basement that has random stuff in it.  The owner is super nice and willing to talk.

I knew Grain Valley used to have several antique shops on Main St, and I figured I would check it out since I have not been there for four years.  There are two shops there now (used to be four).  The first shop is Primitives Plus.  It is a small shop but it has quite a few antiques.  Once again, it isn't my style, but I know my wife and mother like to wander through it.  The other shop is Main Street Mall Antiques.  Looks are deceiving on this place because it is bigger than it looks from the outside.  It is a little mall-style antique store, and there is a lot  to look at.  One booth has hundreds of Golden Books.  There is another booth with a wooden ice box.  It is a place where it is hard to determine what you might find while walking through it.

Oak Grove has one antique store on the main drag through town, and it is called The Scavenger Hunt.  There is not much information about the shop online, so I was lucky to find it when it was open!  The shop is owned and operated by a guy and his mother, and it is mostly their stuff.  The guy seems to have a nerdy side to him, which I love to see.  There are toys, comic books, lighters, glassware, records, and much more.  The owner is very friendly, and that is always nice to find.  I found an Aquaman glass from the Pepsi Moon Series, which I had to have.

 

The wife and I went to Odessa.  There is a new spot downtown called Silver Fox.  It was new when we went there, and so it had some growing to do.  The items seemed a little too fancy for our taste, but we still looked around at everything.  

We then hopped across the street to go to P. Pickers since she was not able to join me when I went last time.  She found a glass bottle which said "Urine Specimen Bottle."  Yes, we bought that because she thought it was cute.  She also found a very nice crate for cheap, so we could not pass on that since the wife LOVES crates.  We have an entire shelf built out of crates, so it is a nice addition to the home.

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Spring Break Final Day: One Last Stop...

So, we were finally set to leave to head back home, and it decided to snow in the Kansas City area.  What kind of spring break gets snow???  We were holding out to figure out how much snow was coming down in the area and getting road conditions/weather reports from friends and family.  When it was finally determined to be clear enough to head home, we got a late start.

Our original goal was hit places we missed (or places were closed) when we passed the first time, but the late start put a damper on the plan.  The weather reports were continuing to call for snow, so we determined to press forward to get home.  However, after three hours of driving, we had to stop.

We stopped at Wildwood Antique Mall in Rogersville, MO.  This was a nice break from the drive, and we were relieved that the one we chose was a really fun place to shop.  There was a cat sleeping in a chair at the front door.  The booths were very organized and put together cute.  The wife is a sucker for anything that is pleasing to the eye.

The prices were actually very reasonable.  As we wandered through the store, we kept finding things that peaked our interest.  The wife found a jug with a chalkboard strip painted on it.  She sent a photo to her sister, whom approved.  So, we did wind up buying that.

Then I found a display case which was full of the promotional glasses.  I found Star Wars: Return of the Jedi glasses, and the whole set was at a great price.  Of course, I could not pass up that deal.

 Then my wife found an old step-ladder.  This is something that she is constantly looking at while we are shopping.  Usually, they are painted and very unstable.  This one was not painted and stable as a rock.  When we found it, I did not even ask if she wanted it.  I just picked it up and assumed it was going home with us.

We finished looking at the stuff (the shop was a great trip back in time) and left.  We were both glad we decided to stop.  However, once we hit the road, we were tired and determined to get home before it got too late into the evening.

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Spring Break Day 3: Mammoth Springs & Hardy

Snow was put into the forecast, and snow never goes over well in Arkansas.  Being a true northerner, I was not worried about a little snow, so I convinced the wife to go back up our route to Mammoth Springs and Hardy.  She is good to me, so she came along.

 We started off stopping in Cave City.  There is a cave under the town, but I hear it isn't as exciting as it sounds.  The town has two little shops, owned by the same people.  The first one is JB's Flea Market.  The second one is Melon Town Mall.  JB's is two-story building with several booths, and Melon Town Mall is a single-story building.  Both of them have a lot of stuff in there at reasonable prices.  The wife found a really nice tray and a little metal canister.

Then it was off to Mammoth Springs.  If you ever find yourself in this area, this is a neat town.  The main street isn't much, but they have a really neat park right off US 63.  In the spring and summer, it is a perfect spot for a picnic.  When the wife and I were dating, we had a picnic there with my family.  This is first-hand experience, so it has to be true.  I'm sure every resident around that area will agree.  Anyway... There are a few shops in Mammoth.  Two are on Main Street, and the other is south on US 63.  There is a third on Main Street but I was told that it hasn't been open for three years although all of the merchandise is still in it.  Oh, how I would love to get to look inside...

Ozark Heritage Mall was the first stop for us in Mammoth.  The wife went in before I did because I saw the closed shop and had to peek in through the window.  When I got to Ozark Heritage Mall, I started to look.  I noticed everything had auction tags on it.  The wife found me and told me that the man tending shop said that the items were going to auction but could be sold today if we found something we liked.  However, it was not easy to look at the items since some of them were boxed for the auction.  I looked through some of the boxes, but I felt like I was doing something wrong (like going through someone's house or something).  So, the wife and I looked at the stuff that was not boxed yet.  There is a back room to the store, and it was full of furniture when we were there.  The man at the shop told us that everything was to be auctioned in April in order to bring new items into the store.  So, the inventory should change constantly in theory.  We did not find anything we had to have.  I found something I wanted but walked away.

Down the road was The Dusty Cupboard.  It is a small shop with an odd second story.  The lower level was full of glassware and the usual items you find at most antique stores.  The second level was a hallway that led to a large room.  The upstairs was more kid themed.  I found a glass from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back that I wanted.

Log Cabin Antiques is the shop on US 63.  We have been in there before and have purchased items there before as well.  One year, I bought my nephew a throwing star for Christmas from this shop.  It is two levels, but the second level is not a full level (covers the perimeter of the building).  This store has more of a flea market feel to it.  There are some older items in it, but I'm not sure if I have ever noticed anything to be truly antique.  There used to be a vendor there who was selling old military items, which I always found interesting.  However, that vendor was no longer there.

We then headed south on US 63 towards Hardy.  On the way, there is a place that you absolutely cannot miss called Dear Crossing.  The building and property is covered in old road signs and random stuff.  The location even has two pieces of movie props from "Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas."  The place is full of stuff.  The wife and I went in expecting chaos, but the place is organized super well.  I was completely shocked.  Want toy cars?  They've got it.  Old advertising signs?  Check!  Glasses, oil cans, Barbies...?  Yep, There, and Oh yeah!  This place has a little bit of everything.  It was a lot of fun to walk through, and I am not sure why we had not been before this.  I did find three of the King Kong glasses that I had to buy (this is the set that was completed from the previous post at a shop that wasn't visited until a later date... time warp...).

Down US 63, you reach Hardy.  Hardy is right on the river, and it is a very cute town.  There used to be antique stores that lined Main Street, but some of them have disappeared over the time.  There are still plenty of shops to stop at and look through.

Memory Lane Mall is the biggest shop in Hardy.  There are two levels to shop.  Both levels were full of merchandise when we were there.  Their inventory usually has several unique pieces in it.  The wife always like looking at the cabinets.  It is a fun shop to visit because you are never sure what you are going to find.  We did not find anything this time around, but my wife did find some items she liked.  Gift ideas for down the road occasions.

Another shop on Main Street is Cluttered Cupboard.  This shop is ran by an elderly couple, and it is true to the name.  It is definitely full of items. There is a small room in the back that also has stuff, but the best stuff is in the main section of the building.  I found some stuff I liked, but we did not wind up buying anything.

The snow started, and we felt we should head back.  This cut our trip a little short, and there were a few more shops that we were not able to get to that day.  We planned to swing by on the way back to Missouri.  But, we headed back to where we were staying and called it a day.

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Spring Break Day 2: Batesville, AR

We made it to our destination and got settled.  The next day, we were ready for some more junk hunting.  We were joined by the wife's sister and mother.  We went to a small town in Arkansas called Batesville.

Batesville is kind of like an oasis in Arkansas (and there are several of them like this).  It is the largest town within a 45 minute drive, if not more.  Most of the towns in Arkansas are tiny and have one main street.  Batesville has Lyon College, the hospital, Con-Agra, and the home of Mark Martin (the NASCAR driver).  It is a booming place. Batesville also has a cute Main Street.  This is where you will find almost all of your antique shops.

The first stop was Olde Towne Mall.  We will ignore the extra Es used to make everything sound old because this is the biggest antique store in Batesville, and it seems like it is always expanding.  It has a huge first floor and a basement.  The basement was not very full when we were there, but I am sure they will draw more of a crowd.  It is your booth set up, and it seemed like there were several old Interior Decorator reps who decided to get booths.  I breeze past those because they are misplaced.  The shop is nice, but it doesn't hold anything unique.  The best stuff is at the front of the store.  The wife did wind up finding some bobby pins that had plastic flowers on them, but they were not antique.

While we walked through the shop, I talked to my mom.  She had mentioned that they were going to River Market Antiques.  I had mentioned that I saw some glasses that I walked away from the last time we were there, and I wanted her to check to see if they were still on the shelf.  Being the great parents they are, my parents did find the glasses.  My dad picked them up for me at a super price, and I am excited to add them to my collection.  They are from Gay Fad Studios, and this is the complete set!

Down the street a little ways is a place called Konsigner's Konnection.  The window on the front says antiques, so I thought I would give it a shot.  I found a card for them, and it says it has home decor, furniture, clothing consignments and antique booths.  When we walked in, we were greeted by the clothing.  It felt like walking into a thrift store, which is a bad feeling when looking for antiques.  The antique stuff is in a room off to the left.  I think the place is new because I have never seen it down there before.  Also, that might explain the lack of antiques.  Don't get me wrong, there were some antiques, but nothing really interesting (or even the type of antiques there) are popping into my head.  Be adventurous, and check it out for yourself.  You might be looking for something they have, your holy grail of finds.  You never know.

Etta's Attic was the next shop we found, which is further down Main Street.  This shop had that antique shop feeling to it.  It was kind of dark and dusty, but everything was clean.  It made you feel that everything was old.  I love that feeling!  The place has three levels (the second and third are half levels, so don't get too excited).  The shop had a lot of neat stuff to look at, including some old advertising signs from 7-Up and an old pinball machine.  Someone tried to force the cord for the pinball machine and broke it, but it could be easily fixed.  The little lady working the shop was very talkative, and the wife enjoyed talking with her.  We did not buy anything, but we definitely will go back to look the next time we are there.

The ladies ran across the street to a children's store, and I went to the "fancy" antique shop up the street.  It is called Back in Time, and it sells the "true" antiques.  This is a really neat shop to visit.  You walk into the door, and the first thing you see is a grand piano.  That's also an indicator on what to expect.  I haven't been to this shop for three years now, and I can't say I noticed anything different.  If I could afford it, I would love to be able to buy the old sea chest that is on wheels.  There are also some original movie posters but they are way too pricey for this guy.

Now this is kind of cheating but I am going to do it anyway.  We went to place called Arkansas Antiques by the airport.  We actually went on a different day (but we tried to go on this day to find it closed).  The shop is only open on the weekend, so plan accordingly.  I was not sure what to expect out of this shop, and the wife apologized before we went in that she did not think it would be anything that would interest me.  However, the place has great variety, and it is much larger than it looks from the outside.  I found a book called Batman and Me written by Bob Kane, the creator of Batman.  I also found a set of six King Kong glasses that were put out by Coca Cola in the '70s.  It wasn't a full set, but it had two of the one I needed to complete my set.  The wife found a tin with a floral design on it.  She also found a tin canister set which had Farmer's Almanac information on them.  It was three of the four canisters, so we will now be on the hunt for the fourth to complete the set.  There were other glasses that I was interested in but the price and minor flaws in the paint kept me from pulling the trigger.

So, Batesville was a blast with several great stores.  If you get down that way, it is a nice break from the drive.

Until next time... happy hunting!

Spring Break Day 1: MO 13

As mentioned previously, we had a week off from life to make a trip.  I planned on making several stops, but hours of operations for the locations always greatly vary.  If you find a good shop, you can spend hours in it.  If you find a poor shop, you can be done in minutes.  So, planning is extremely difficult if you are going to stick to a time schedule.  Our goal was to hit what we could... and pick up the rest later.

Our first stop was Osceola, MO.  This is a small town off of MO 13 with some history behind it.  There are three antique shops (a fourth one has recently popped up, but we did not have a chance to check in on it) which are right off the highway.  

Our first stop, since it opened earliest, was Moccasin Trails Antiques.  The shop was a little dark and dusty, which suited the primitives.  There were shelves of old toy cars but they were signed as not for sale.  It was still fun to look.  The shop was made up of booths, and, as always, the different vendors brought variety.  We did not find anything we had to have, and we didn't want to spend too much money on the first stop.   

So, we left and went to Trade Fair Mall.  It should be mentioned that there is a shop between Moccasin Trails and Trade Fair called Wisner's Flea Market and Antiques, but we have never seen it open.  My parents say that the owner is very old and starting to stay closed more often, so feel free to try your luck if you are down that way.  Anyway... back to Trade Fair.  The shop isn't the nicest shop, but it is another example of "don't judge the book by the cover" that your mom preached to you as a kid.  Yes, the appearance is rough, but there is a lot of neat stuff in this antique mall.  The variety is greater than Moccasin Trails' selection, but Trade Fair does not have the primitive items.  So, both stores have their niche for Osceola.  We did wind up buying a half pint Mason jar (two of them actually since the wife knew her sister would want one as well).  We bought it because we had never seen a half pint jar before, and the wife thought it was cute and had several future ideas in store for it at home.

Further down MO 13, we arrived at Bolivar, MO.  Bolivar is a good size town because it has Southwest Baptist University within its city limits.  Bolivar used to have quite a few antique shops, but several of them have closed.  

Our first attempt for a stop, Hale's Mercantile, was a shop that used to be on the city square but closed not too long ago.  However, we did find a shop we did not know existed while driving to the square called A.T.C. Downtown Flea Market.   The shop didn't look like much when we walked in, and the wife is always leery of places which take the name flea market over antique.  However, this place was a great find for us.  We walked out of there with several items and managed to snag them at a bargain price.  We found two canisters for the wife's sister which were half off and perfect for the decorating plans of the new house.  I found a frosted glass from Kansas that I plan on trying to find the entire set.  Every time we are out, we see little lemonade carafes with lemons on them and a yellow lid.  We always look at them but never buy.  At A.T.C., we found one that was in near-mint condition, and I was not going to pass up the opportunity to buy it.  Now we will have something to serve lemonade out of when summer finally gets here and we need a refreshment after working hard in our garden.  The wife is constantly looking for stuff for her sister, and the Heinz pan caught her eye for that reason but quickly caught her heart.  So, she is holding onto the it in hopes of working it into our decor somehow, which I am sure she will manage.

The next stop in Bolivar was Country Classic Antiques.  This is a must-stop when going through Bolivar because it is huge.  The selection is varied because of the amount of vendors, but it seriously has a little bit of everything in it.  There is a large room which houses three classic cars.  How many antique shops can say they have a fully restored GTO in their inventory?  Then there is a back room which is full of furniture.  We had a lot of fun exploring, and the wife left with a little tray with a rose print on it.  A place as large as Country Classic Antiques will definitely have the traffic to keep the inventory fresh, so it should be worth the stop every time you pass it.

Back Road Relics Flea Market was the final stop in Bolivar, and we saw it on the outer road while going to Country Classic Antiques.  We decided we should give it a shot.  The store seems fairly new, but it is organized well.  It is a true flea market, so the quality of items is hit and miss.  That's okay because you never know what you mind find.  Case-in-point, my wife bought two small photo frames there for a bargain price.  (Do note that the girl who does not like flea markets much is always the one finding the steals at them.)

Down the road we went towards Springfield, MO.  When you enter Springfield from the north on MO 13, you are greeted with a large billboard for Relics Antique Mall, which claims to be the largest antique mall in Missouri.  I am never sure how places can make claims like that, but we decided to give it a shot.  I feel that it is important to state that Springfield is full of antique shops.  In fact, our initial plan was to skip Springfield all together and make a weekend trip out of it alone.  However, our tummies were growling, so we had to go into Springfield to find something to eat.  The search for food brought us to Relics, so we will claim we were meant to go there on this trip.

Relics is a large store, and I think it is the largest based on size.  With that being said, I feel there is a pitfall for people in claims of largest locations in states.  "Size doesn't matter," "quality over quantity", and phrases similar to that come to mind.  Relics is a nice place to shop, but it is not full of amazing antiques.  It is full of space, and that space was filled with some amazing antiques and the rest with "stuff."  If you plan on going, make sure you plan enough time to make it through the entire building.  We started off slow but ended up rushing to make our schedule.  However, I don't feel that we missed much in the rush.  We did find some stuff to buy at great prices, so that always makes a shop well worth the stop.  The wife found a small fan which she attempted to talk herself out of several times.  We did buy it, and she was glad she did.  I found a booth which was full of promotional glasses.  The ones I was interested in were priced just right, so I picked up two from the 1978 "Happy Birthday, Mickey" set.  

 And with that, we ran out of time.  We pushed forward on our trip and noted the shops we saw along the way to try to stop at on the way home.  We found a lot of great shops, some fun people, and a lot of great stuff in our day of shopping down MO 13.  

Until next time... Happy Hunting. 

Spring Break Preview

Spring Break!!!  So, we are young kids but not your average ones.  We are planning to spend our time shopping for antiques.  We will be going out of town and seeing different stores.  Yes, our mission is looking for the great places around Kansas City, but there is a weekend warrior in all of us.  It is fun to get out and see the places we don't normally get to see.  The more you get out, the more you will find.  If you get out of the city, you will start finding the same things but for a better price (usually... not always).  The country shops usually have the same things that the city shops have, but the farmers see things differently than the city folk. 

We have planned out a trip but will not be able to hit every store listed.  I am a nut, and I have found close to 108 shops that go on our path.  That's not impossible, but we have other things we are planning to do as well.  We will track through what we can and share the loot and locations with you all.

Until next time, happy hunting...

Columbia, MO

Last weekend, we made a trip to Columbia, Missouri (and surrounding area) to go to some of their antique stores and flea markets.  This, by no means, was uncharted territory for us, but it is a location we don't frequent since it is a quite a drive from our home.

Our first stop was Artichoke Annie's, a favorite spot for the wives of the trip.  It is a clean location which opens at 8am, which gets the morning to a early start.  It should also be noted that it stays open until 8pm, so it actually makes a better ending to a trip since most shops only stay open as late as 7pm.  My dad always claims that Artichoke Annie's is set up for the women shoppers, which is probably fairly accurate.  It is a fun shop to look through, but I have never found anything to purchase on the trips there.  My wife and mother have purchased things from there on several occasions (this occasion was no different).  The shop is a great place to find quilts, glassware, kitchen oddities, and doilies/handkerchiefs.  Guys, you will find something to look at, so don't avoid this place.  They have comic books, vinyl albums, and odd gadgets scattered throughout the shop.

Next, we traveled down I-70 to a shop called Apple Wagon.  I will admit that this is not my favorite place at all, but we still always go since we are in the neighborhood.  The part that puts me off about this place is that half of the location is Fiesta factory seconds and "home decor".  We ignore this section of the store and walk through the other side.  This place is a little more disorganized than the other shops, but they still have some interesting vendors.  The vendor that sticks out to me is the antique fishing vendor.  The shop has depression glass, antique toys, and odds 'n' ends.  The wife and I have never purchased anything, but we have seen some things to keep in mind for when we move out to the "farm".


 Veranda Antique Mall was the next stop.  I'm not sure why, but I love this antique store.  It isn't packed to the brim with stuff, but it does have some interesting items.  One thing I always love to see is the antique pinball machines (added bonus: There were five or six on display which included a button on each to have a free play).  This store has quite a bit of furniture, which is becoming rarer to find in the antique stores.  There is a vendor who is selling vinyl albums.  Most of them looked to be in decent condition, which is a plus when looking for vinyl.  I did wind up making a purchase at this store.  I purchased a Riddler glass and a Penguin glass from the 1970s' Pepsi promotion.  I also snagged a box of 42 vinyl albums for $2.  They are not in the greatest condition, but $2 is not a huge risk when the box contains albums from Marty Robbins, Lawrence Welk, George Carlin, Eddy Arnold, Al Hirt, and several compilations.

It was then lunch time, and a wrong turn led us to Itchy's Flea Market.  This is a shop to make a quick run through to see what kind of buried treasures can be found at bargain prices.  This is a shop where you never know what you will find, and it is surprisingly large.  It is not as antique-filled as the other shops, but it takes on the feeling of a large garage sale.  However, that is a chance to find some amazing deals, which I did.  I picked up a Robin glass and Aquaman glass at a fraction of the cost found in other shops.

The next shop we went to was Market Place, and I like this shop even though they do have the "home decor" corner at the front of the store and the random pool/hot tub corner at the back of the store.  There is no real flow path either.  See, so logically, I should dislike it.... but I still enjoy it.  They have stuff for the ladies and stuff for the gents.  It is a good mixture, and the prices seem to be very reasonable.  The only purchases made from there this trip was a Dukes of Dixieland album and a Reader's Digest compilation album.  My dad purchased a Polka Party album.  All three albums were $1 each.

The final stop was Midway Antique Mall, which is part of the travel center that was featured on Truck Stop Missouri on the Travel Channel.  The antique mall has been expanded and has two sections.  The second section does not have air conditioning (not that it was needed this trip but much needed when my wife and I went last June).  The goal was to find more of my superhero glasses since I saw them in June, before I was actually buying the glasses.  The vendor I was hoping to be my honey hole was actually rather disappointing.  However, I was able to find a Superman glass and a Flash glass from another vendor.  My wife also found some blue Ball jars complete with the lids at a great price, which will be used in her brother's wedding.  I also bought a Jim Reeves double album for $1.

It made for a long day, but a fun day.  Until next time... Happy Hunting!