Road Trip Pit Stops

I never take the highway when I travel. I'm a back roads kind of girl and I'm always up for a good pit stop. When the kids were young, used bookstores were always sought out. Endless adventure lurked on every shelf.

(Copyright: Angela Waye: Shutterstock)

Our girl just texted me about one that she stumbled upon the other day and she urged me to drive down to see her and spend the day perusing the shelves together. That's an offer I can't refuse. Spending time with our adult children is always at the top of our list.

 Antique and/or junk shops also enticed us:

I found this photo on google images, but this is one of the shops I pop into when I find myself in Mason, Texas. And surprisingly enough, I was the one that always had to pull the kids out to get back on the road. They could get lost in the untold stories collected here. Stories of a simpler time. Stories steeped in history. I love that they have an appreciation for that.

I still find myself drawn to used bookstores and antique shops, but now that the kids are grown, I've added quilt shops to my pit stop list. I wasn't a quilter until they left home. I can't resist the temptation of a small town quilt shop. Last time I drove down to visit my mom, I stopped in Lamesa, a small town along the way, and discovered a little quilt shop on the square, called Sew Jo's. Looked like a good place to stop and stretch my legs. This sign greeted me:

How fun is that? I can see how it would be frustrating for people traveling from out of town and finding the shop closed, but I like the small town mindset. The owner gave me her card and said all I ever needed to do was call and she'd pop over to open the shop if she wasn't there.

It's a small shop, but I liked her selection. There were no books or notions, just fabric and I didn't walk away empty handed:

$3.00/yd? Yes please! I thought this would be a really cute backing for a little boy quilt as well as a pillowcase. They had 5 yards and I took it all.

When we were at the quilt shop last week, almost everything was $12.00 a yard. I try to support the little brick and mortar quilt shops, but at $12.00, I'm not able to buy much. I was going to get a yard of this, but at $2.00/yd, I had to get the whole bolt.

14 yards will be enough for more than 1 quilt backing. There was a quilt/yarn/wool shop in another little town, but it has closed. For years I would stop in there and come out with armloads of yardage that was priced between $3-6. I think those little shops are becoming a thing of the past and that saddens me. I love a good bargain, but I also understand that a business needs to be able to operate above the profit line.

And my mom is always stumped as to why it takes me so long to get there. It's a 9-hour trip without the detours, but for this self-proclaimed hermit, I enjoy the little pit stops along my road trip routes that interject a few surprises along the way.