For years, I have traveled from Ohio to North Carolina. Our family would visit extended family in North Carolina and vacation along the coast. There are so many antiquing opportunities when driving this route, however, our focus was always on arriving at our destination with as few interruptions as possible. Traveling via driving long distance with a group of people, including children, always includes many stops. I’m fairly sure if I had requested to stop for “just a minute” to antique, my request would have been met with a lot of sighs and eye rolling. When I found myself traveling alone this past August from North Carolina back up to Ohio, I FINALLY had an opportunity to stop into three antique shops right along I-77 in Wytheville, Virginia. After years of passing these stores by, I was so happy to be able to take a peek inside. I was not disappointed!

The three stores I visited are:
Snoopers Antique Mall – 2114 E Lee Hwy, Fort Chiswell, VA 24382
Old Fort Antique Mall – 2028 E Lee Hwy # A, Wytheville, VA 24382
Antique Station – 1998 E Lee Hwy, Wytheville, VA 24382
Strolling through Antique Station was fun because the store setup included “rooms” throughout which were staged and full of treasures. Additionally, Antique Station had an enormous amount of glass for very reasonable prices. One of my favorite salt cellars is made by Fostoria. I have used my stash sparingly over the years so I was happy to find seven Fostoria salt cellars!

At Snoopers Antique Mall I found a green compote dish that was dusty and dirty but knew it could easily be cleaned and be a beautiful pincushion base. I’m a huge fan of Anna Maria Horner prints. After creating many pincushions over the years with her fabrics, I feel confident that I will find a striking print of Anna’s to use with this dish.

At Old Fort Antique Mall I found a wooden stool with woven top. A stool like this useful, versatile, and fits the vibe of our living space. This stool is study enough to sit on or can be used as a short “table” of sorts. I paid $39 for the stool. The price tag had “firm” on it, so no negotiating. The price seemed very reasonable to me for a quality handmade item.

When I stopped at these three stores, I still had many hours left to drive. I have a practice I use when I’m visiting an antique store, especially if the store is large and has many booths. I plan how much time I want to spend and then break that amount of time into segments. For this stop, I did not want to spend more than 1½ hours shopping. I set my watch for 30 minutes and hit start. This practice eliminates constant checking of the time and creates a more relaxing experience for me. Once the timer goes off, I can evaluate if I want to spend more time and if so, I hit start again. For this trip I limited my shopping to 3/30 minute segments. Does anyone else do this or something similar? After years of antiquing, I have learned that I can easily lose track of time and feel frustrated once I realize how much time has passed. Setting a limit can be helpful.

These three stores were worth the time and energy I spent there. I would stop again! My kids are older and enjoy antiquing in small doses. Also, my husband has a great eye for finding interesting pieces of glass so these shops could be a scheduled stop to stretch our legs and look for treasures!
Happy quilting and crafting! ▶︎ ▶︎ ▶︎