BARGAIN TREASURES

I guess you could say I got my treasure hunting bug from my parents. 

It started when I was little when we would go exploring in Big Red, our Volkswagon van.  Exploring is sort of like treasure hunting, in that you don't know what you're going to find around the next bend in the road.  Usually we would wind up on a dirt road.  Sometimes that road would end and there would be no way to turn around and we would have to back up for quite a ways.  Quite often there would be an old abandoned house for us to explore.  That was a lot of fun, probably more for Mom and Dad than us kids.  I remember them finding old books and things. 

When I was 10, we moved to an old farm on the Back Ridge Road in Penobscot, Maine.  That was a treasure trove!  It had cubby holes and secret passages and a big old barn and 2 more out-buildings to explore.  And the old lady left the house furnished....oh my!!  I think that's when my parents got digging around and found old bottles.  And that is where I got my passion for finding things in the dirt....hence, metal detecting.  

We also loved to go to the Treasures and Trash Barn in Searsport, Maine.  I learned that that was a great place to find books for only a quarter.  We found other junk places to explore and I guess that's where I got my love for antique/junk shops.  

When I grew up and met Mike, we found out that we both had a passion for antique/junk shops and old bookstores.  We have had a lot of fun finding new places to explore.  When I started having children, I found that yard sales and thrift shops had treasures of children's clothes and toys.  Now when I go to thrift stores I pretty much skip the clothes and go to the junk.  There are lots of thrift stores here in Winchester, VA.  It is so much fun when you find a special treasure at bargain prices.