Just To Say We Did

On our last day in the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois (Davenport & Bettendorf Iowa, Rock Island & Moline IL) our friends Kenny and Lisa were busy with chores in the morning.  We used the time to play tourist by visiting Antique Archeology, a small business located in Le Claire, just north of Bettendorf, but made famous by the History Channel show American Pickers.  As fans of the show, we just had to go.

We'd heard from a few people who were disappointed in their visit to the store, saying that it sold mostly souvenirs.  We found a central display of t-shirts and other items,

 but most of the store was full of what the Pickers call "smalls", or small antique items for sale, such as these vintage pictures,

and all of these items on display.

There were a few big items, too,

and quite a few items not for sale but on display because they told a story.  We remembered the show where these items were bought.  The woman who sold them is the little girl in the photo, riding her little motorcycle and wearing the clothes on display.

This is part of a racing bike in the photo, 

and we watched the Pickers dig this Indian motorbike from out of the ground in Springfield, MA, the birthplace of Indian Motorcycles.

With the popularity of the tv show, the business grew to include another building on the property.

This building featured mostly larger items, some just for display,

but most of them for sale, including popular collectibles such as signs,

vintage bikes, and gas pumps,

and one of a kind items.

After our tour we joined Kenny and Lisa for an afternoon of fun:  a chat through passing rain showers, an hour or two of pickleball, and one last meal together.  

Hey, they look just like Stan and Ollie!

Moving day tomorrow.

Louise and Duane