Tour de Thrift: A Trip Below the Mason-Dixon Line
One good idea for planning a thrift shopping adventure is to combine it with another planned trip. For our trip below the Mason-Dixon line we did just that. We had planned a trip to the Ikea store near Baltimore, MD and decided to use this as an excuse to explore some of the thrift stores located along the way. I did a little research and listed 5 shops that we could visit. We planned an early start to beat the traffic and lines at Ikea which would also give us all day to meander our way back up north. The first store on the list, Goodwill, 8818 Belair Road, Nottingham, MD,was no longer at the address listed so we moved onto the next one.
Stop #1
Savers Thrift Store
1925 East Joppa Road
Parkville, MD 21234
410-663-7481
Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:00am – 9:00pm
Sunday 10:00am – 6:00pm
Map
*Restrooms available
This was our first visit to a Savers Thrift Store and we were glad we stopped in. The store was large (39,000 sq. ft.) clean and well organized. The clothing was easy to shop as it was arranged by size NOT color. The books and housewares were also really well organized. I was so excited to find a piece of Emalox (Danish anodized aluminum designed by Bjorn Engo 1967-68), which is getting very hard to find, that I almost body checked two other ladies to get to it! I hugged it the rest of the time I was in the store shopping…I know weird huh? But, I have never seen a two-tier dish from this company so this was a BIG score! We also found a fun newspaper rack from the Baltimore Sun for $4.00. We have a soft spot for Baltimore since that’s where my husband and I met, way back when.
My husband found a set of speakers and we both agreed that we would be on the look out for more Savers Thrift Stores to visit next time we visit Maryland.
Stop #2
Goodwill
1753 East Joppa Road
Baltimore, MD 21234
410-663-2192
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9:00am – 9:00pm
Sunday 11:00am – 6:00pm
Map
*Restrooms available
Goodwill on East Joppa Road took a little bit of searching to find. It has a narrow driveway and the parking lot in the back is a little bit tight. The store is a smaller one, at least compared to the stores we used to shop in Maine, but they had some higher end clothing (Talbots, Banana Republic, etc.) and was nicely organized. The folks working there were friendly and had fun joking with the regulars. I found a nice Eileen Fisher top that is perfect for work. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of this store.
Stop #3
Thrifty Penny Shoppe
600 Warren Road
Cockeysville, MD
Hours: Wednesday 9:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday 9:00am – 3:00pm
Map
As we headed back up north we took a little side trip off of route 83 at exit 18 onto Warren Road. We headed east for a few miles and visited a sweet little thrift shop located next to Epworth United Methodist Church. The store is part of the church mission to help the community. The ladies working there were busy arranging and organizing and were fun to chat with. I think they were surprised to learn that we found their store listed online and had traveled from central Pennsylvania to visit.
My husband found a very cool vintage Kodak movie projector to add to his collection. If you’re in the area stop by and check out this little store, visit their Facebook page to find out when they are having a bag sale.
The nice ladies in the store also gave us directions to find a lunch spot nearby. We ended up at a little Indian Restaurant, Cafe Spice 10540 York Road, Cockeysville, MD, next to Starbucks.
The lunch buffet was a little more ($13.00) than we’ planned for lunch but once we had a whiff and took a look we were sold! It was really delicious! The interior of Cafe Spice is fun, with ceilings covered in vibrantly colored indian umbrellas, sparkling with tiny inlaid mirrors, very pretty.
Stop #4
Goodwill
3433 Sweet Air Road
The Manor Shopping Center
Phoenix, MD 21131
410-628-1562
Hours: Monday -Saturday 9:00am – 9:00pm
Sunday 11:00am – 6:00pm
Map
*Restrooms available
After lunch we decided to squeeze one more thrift store in before heading home. We took a pretty drive across some back roads and wound our way to Phoenix, MD to visit the Goodwill store located in the Manor Shopping center. This Goodwill was a little larger than the last one. They had a beautiful little SX-70 Polaroid camera that we debated long and hard over but it was over our budget so we had to leave it behind. This shop was busy with shoppers and had a good selection of clothing as well as household goods. We came away with a few albums that were a very good price.
We had a great time exploring a little bit of Maryland and the thrift stores along the way. We’re looking forward to visiting again soon. Leave us a comment if you have any suggestions for places we should visit?
