Mecca

When we set out for home yesterday morning the first thing we did was backtrack about thirty miles or so and head south for a visit to an antiques market recommended to us by Tracy, the co-owner of the fabulous Housewerks in Baltimore. We arrived before the shop was open which gave us a chance to have breakfast at a diner located inside Hinckle's Pharmacy.Hinckle's has been around since 1893 and it's still owned and run by the Hinckle family. By the look of the mosaic on the exterior I think it was last renovated in the 1950's.

Burning Bridge is in little old, out of the way, middle of no where Columbia, PA. It's situated in the downtown area (which is all of about three blocks) in a beautiful old brick building that once housed the neighborhood hardware store. The building is loaded with old time charm - enormous display windows, original pressed tin ceilings and hardwood floors - but that's only where the amazingness begins.

A Greenman greets you in the entryway.
He's fashioned from various architectural items.

The space has abundant natural light and a terrific flow with large aisles and beautifully staged booths and showcases.

Gotta love those old tin ceilings,

Lou Girolami is the manager of the market and his background is in retail (I'm guessing either marketing or window dressing). He's a straight forward friendly guy who seems to love his job and is having obvious success (the phone was ringing non-stop the whole time we were there). Burning Bridge has been open for only five years but it is already full to capacity with a waiting list of folks hoping to rent a space there.

Beside the vast array of items for sale Burning Bridge also has copious amounts of architectural salvage pieces which Lou has used creatively throughout the store to enhance the common area spaces. His handiwork gives the market a whimsical and artistic feeling and offers a sense of cohesiveness too.

On an early Monday morning there were lots of customers browsing the aisles. We were ohhhing and ahhhing from the moment we walked in the door and fortunately Lou let me photograph to my heart's content.

Stairs down into the lower level.The walls of the basement are limestone.

Too bad we didn't have room in the car!The second floor offers a huge variety of vintage itemsand boy did they have Fiesta!

Yes, I know the price tag says $550 but a girl can dream can't she?

We managed to pry ourselves away after two hours and since we avoided the major interstates our journey home was particularly scenicexcept when we drove right by the Three Mile Island Nuclear Facility.
That place just gives me the willies.We had lunch at an old fashioned diner in Halifax, PA where the waitresses called every one "sweetie",and made it home by early evening.Now, back to work!!

A sight for sore eyes

We are home.

I snapped some 320 photos today (a record) and you'll be glad to know that only a few of them will appear in tonight's entry. We shun-piked our way north and west, avoiding the big interstate highways and ambling through some sweet little towns. In doing so we happened on sights perhaps only seen in the more rural parts of the state. We made one detour south at the start of our day to visit the Burning Bridge Antique Market in Columbia, PA. I'll post photos from that part of the trip tomorrow.

We're well rested from our time away and were so happy to return home to a garden full of blooms and a house with two very cuddly kitties. Yeah, I know it's not Peter or Lillie, but even the cows seemed glad to see us when we pulled into the driveway. They came right up to the fence to get a proper look.

Time to watch the fireflies come out and enjoy a gin and tonic on the porch. It is good to be home again.

Walk-about in Lancaster County

We visited two great outdoor antique markets in Lancaster County, PA today - Renninger's and Shupp's Grove. Both were participating in the Antiques Extravaganza Weekend and there were bargains galore!
We arrived at Renninger's at the civilized hour of 10 am and found that we were actually considerably late by their standards. Turns out most dealers had been set up since around 4:30 am with the customers arriving soon after. Now that's devotion. Next time we'll plan ahead. The temperature was in the mid to upper nineties and I really felt for the dealers who were set up out in the hot, hot sun without shade from a tent or a tree. By the time we left (around 1:30 or so) most dealers were packing it in for the day. I didn't blame them.

Some were a little crankybut most were willing to make some sweet deals.

Shupp's Grove, as the name suggests, is in a beautiful wooded area with a rambling stream running through it. We found it far more pleasant than Renninger's on this hazy, hot, humid day.Ken scoped out the best bargains of the day and came away with a nice haul of antique photos. I added a few new Bakelite pieces to my collection. There were so many things I wanted but some how I held back. Maybe it was the heat...I must say, my heart skipped a few beats though when I rounded the corner and came across this dealer's booth.

I wanted these too, but managed a show of modest restraint.

There was a lot of quirky kitchen stuff from the 40'sand all the corn pottery you could ever want
(if you're into that sort of thing...). There were "needful" things

and not so needful things. But hey come on, who doesn't
need a life sized chain saw statue of John Lennon?

Suh-weet.

Scary life-sized plaster dogs kept this booth safe from roaming riff-raff,and an array of trophy mounts kept me away from this dealer's table
all together (thank goodness for a good zoom lens).

We met a dog almost too big to be believed,who was a real head turner. I think he
needed a saddle instead of a leash though.

We even saw three baby sparrows nestled in a bookshelfanxiously awaiting their next meal.

There were some rather odd decorating ideas

and some odd but ugly accessories for the home.The dealer proudly offered "It works!".

We saw an item we'd never seen beforeand a few things we wished we hadn't seen at all

Yep, you guessed it, they're forceps.

There were dream kitchens

a fancy set of wheels,

and a dealer with an interesting political perspective.

Tomorrow we'll hit a few more antique shops as we head in the general direction of home. It's been a great vacation but I miss my friends, the kitties, my garden and our front porch. Being away has been good for the two of us, but as always home is best.