Buster and I and the little blue convertible are on the road again. The weather has warmed to a balmy 75° in the middle of the day and it is quite pleasant to be roaming the backroads. We headed north.
Our first stop was in Bay Minette. We grabbed a quick hamburger and ran in the thrift store across the street. They had a Golden Meadow plate that I liked but I didn’t want to pay $1.50 for it and decided to pass it by. We jumped back in the convertible and headed toward Atmore. Buster spotted a road-side yard sale and we pulled over. Buster didn’t see a thing that suited his fancy but I spotted a clear glass flower frog for fifty cents. The frog was extra thick, and I snatched it up thinking that it will be the perfect stand for my technical pens. We hit the road once again.
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| Glass Flower Frog |
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| I love for things to be repurposed! |
As we headed to Atmore, we took a slight detour across the state line. We picked up a couple of lottery tickets. Hopefully, I will be rich tomorrow and I can open the little junk store that I have always wanted to open. Cross your fingers for me.
I made a wrong turn in Atmore and had to go around the block. On the back street I found a delightful little shop. Buster and I stepped inside and prowled around for thirty minutes or so. My little find was two more pieces of Ballerina Ware, a creamer and a sugar in dark green. The sugar had a top that didn’t match but the bottom was perfect and will look fine without it. Don’t hesitate to go into the off-the-beaten-path shops; they always have the best prices and the most surprising finds.
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| Ballerina Ware |
Monroeville was our next destination. Right off the square was a thrift store. Buster immediately spotted a small bowl in my Autumn Harvest wheat pattern. At thirty-two cents it was a bargain that I couldn’t pass up. As we checked out we asked the check out girl about other thrift stores in the area. She suggested another place a short distance away. The Maywood Mall was your typical antique mall with little vendor’s booths. Their prices were very reasonable so we decided to look around even though we usually avoid any store that says antique.
Maywood left me drooling for more! Glassware and vintage dinnerware were plentiful. I could have spent much more time browsing but I discovered one of my favorite patterns right away – Bob White. I love the little birds in blue and brown - ten pieces for $35. I couldn’t really decide if I wanted to spend the money because I have found it in thrift stores on occasion. As I continued to browse, Buster made my mind up for me. He took it up to the counter, paid for it, and had it wrapped and in the car before I finished looking around. My husband knows me well. He knew I would regret it if I didn’t get it and he didn’t want to hear about it for days.
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| Bob White |
Back on the road again and it was getting late. The stores were closing and we were hungry. We decided we wanted “real” food. We stopped at an ATM in Linden. After retrieving our money from the machine, we noticed that there was a local restaurant next door. The place, Screamers Ice Cream and Cafe, had lots of customers and we took that as a good sign. One side of the café was ice cream and takeout food. The other side was a sit down restaurant. We began with fried mushrooms which arrived crispy and piping hot. Then, Buster ordered the Shrimp Alfredo and I decided on the pork loin with mushroom and apple gravy. The portions were very generous. Buster’s shrimp was good and came with a side salad. I couldn’t find any apples in my gravy and the mushrooms were oddly shriveled but the gravy and pork both tasted delicious. I chose green beans and a baked sweet potato for my sides. The green beans were tasty and the sweet potato tasted as if it had actually been baked and not nuked in a microwave. Wonderful!
Time to find a motel! We wanted to go to Eutaw the next day but Eutaw is very small. We decided to stay in Demopolis for the night. Another motel guest had a dog. The dog started barking the next morning at 5:45. I don’t know what was worse, the dog barking or the owner yelling “quiet”! Anyway, it made for an early start.
The early start made for a problem with Eutaw. We got there long before any stores were open. We decided not to wait and headed on down the road. We went south through Demopolis and Faunsdale. We found one little yard sale with nothing of interest. We continued south.
Thomaston had two fun little shops. The first that we stopped at was Colleen’s Antiques. Most of the items in the store were small tables or pottery and china. Colleen was quite friendly and was very willing to bargain. I picked up a Russel Wright Iroquois vegetable bowl for $3, marked down from $4. Then I found three more pieces of Ballerina Ware, $1.50 each marked down from $2.
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| Russel Wright vegetable bowl |
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| Ballerina Ware bowl - Any ideas on what this size bowl is called? |
A couple of doors down were This and That Collectibles. This little shop had lots of pottery and but also had a good bit of furniture. This shop was one that I could return to over and over. It was like eye candy to me! I immediately spotted a dogwood platter for $3 and a small creamer for $1. Then my eyes landed on a whole set of Ben Seibel dinnerware – gray with wavy horizontal lines. Forty dollars for the set! Buster offered the proprietor $30 and he jumped at it. He really wanted to move some merchandise. We didn’t realize until we took it down off the shelf that the set had been originally priced at $75! The guy said, “My wife is going to kill me…” but he stuck with his $30 deal.
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| Ben Seibel casserole |
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| Ben Seibel plate |
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| Cup, saucer, bread plate, dinner plate |
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| Wavy line pattern |
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| Franciscan creamer in Parchment Brown |
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| Dogwood platter |
We made one last stop in Axis. The owner of B.J.'s Cherishables was the former postmistress of the Axis Post Office. She filled us in on some interesting bits of trivia about the original post office. She still had bits and pieces of post office memorabilia. After our little history lesson, my eye caught on some pieces of Autumn Harvest wheat pattern. I didn't need the cups and saucers but I did need the bread plates. They are a little harder to find. On a low shelf, I also found a Blue Heaven creamer. I probably didn't need it but I have a hard time passing up Blue Heaven.
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| TS&T Autumn Harvest bread plate |
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| Blue Heaven creamer |
As soon as the postmistress wrapped our pottery, Buster and I jumped back in the BMW and headed south again. He was itchy to get home. We passed several interesting shops but those will have to wait for another day of backroad adventures. Beautiful weather, wonderful bargains, enjoyable scenery – what a pleasant way to spend a couple of days on the Backroads With Buster.
