Wow, what a fun day of pickin' with my mom. We had one destination in mind, but, since we were heading "in that direction", I made a few more contacts and we made several shop stops. Luckily, each owner was willing to open up special for us.
We plotted and planned the roads we'd take, doing a round robin. Heading up the diagonal to Marshalltown, first stop, Kathy's Barn. A large barn filled to overflowing. We picked up, turned over, sorted through and added to an ever burgeoning pile. It was not looking too good. The first stop and we were already "full". But, one has not seen this gal pack and prod and push around...
On the road again, we headed north on Hwy. 14...destination, Antiques by Mona. One of the nicest shops I've ever been to. Nice and clean, bright and wonderfully laid out. Super, 'true' antiques, it was a delight from start to finish. A bit more pushing and proding, we got 'er packed in and away we went.
I "met" the gal from Little Prairie Girl on Facebook. I just had to get there. This was the one stop we were headed to, when we added the other locals to our list. A huge barn, filled with antiques, prims and new, two floors of fun. The Little Prairie Girl had just had their big sale over the weekend, so it had been pretty well picked over, but there were a few things for this gal, and just enough room to fit in "just a few more things". A real swell gal, a quaint setting and made just for us hot coffee. Happy!
Getting a bit hungry, we stopped at one of the BEST little spots ever. We found out it had only been open a week. Very gracious owners, we were treated to scrumptious food. I chose a french dip made with homemade Italian bread and my mom had a reuben. On the side we had the best broccoli salad we've ever tasted...we even brought some home with us. The Mr. of the team kept coming out with samples of some of their other menu items. Delicious one and all. May I suggest, The Whispering Moose if you're anywhere near Grundy Center, Iowa.
As we made our way back to Des Moines, we headed towards I-35 via the county highways and byways. Such beautiful scenery Iowa has. Farmers were in the field...and oddity for March 26th, but, so happy with the winter weather we've had. Our final destination was Antiques Iowa at Story City. A haven with everything under the sun offered.
A great road trip with my mom. A day of pickin', packed in goods, laughter and fun.
3 comments:
Sounds like a perfect day to me! I will have to retrace your steps and hit these spots the next time I can get out of Des Moines. I love Grundy Center and that area, that's where my grandparents lived and farmed for many years.
Daphne...it was a perfect day. I hope you can explore these little shops soon.
Thanks for posting your comment. It's fun when people share their thoughts back with me.
Been to some of the places you mention and need to get to others! We love shopping in Iowa, always find great stuff. Sometimes we plan 2 road trips and try to include new roads to travel on to new shops. First time visitor. Followed a trail using shops posting on my business page. Thanks for an Iowa refresher!
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