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Not much feels better than finding a great bargain on a gotta-have item.
But toss that bargain hunting in with a road trip, and many people would be in heaven.
A new book, written by Chriss Slevin and Leah Smith, two 29-year-old women, has done all the research for you.
"Dirt Cheap, Real Good: A Highway Guide to Thrift Stores in the Washington, D.C. Area" lists hundreds of thrift stores on six different driving routes, all using Washington as the starting point.
"This is something we talked about doing for a long time," Slevin said. "We'd do road trips and stop at all these local stores, and we cooked up the idea that some day we would do this book."
Though Slevin lives in New York, and Smith in Boston, they picked Washington as the starting point for their treasure hunting.
"We thought it would be fun to start in the nation's capital," Smith said. "It's a big tourist spot, and really central, so we figured, why not?"
The book features more than 300 thrift stores in Washington, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina.
But the pair visited at least 100 more during their travels doing research last summer.
"Some places we just didn't like enough to include," Smith said.
Both liked several places in and around Fredericksburg.
Smith was fond of the Corner Thrift Shop on Princess Anne Street.
"It's a great place for someone who really likes thrift," she said. "The first floor was kind of junky, with odds and ends. They had some really cool photo equipment that was hardly used. Upstairs is just fun, with stacks of records."
Slevin said her favorite was Pa Tootie's, on U.S. 17 in Stafford County.
"They have a lot of old kitchenware there, and that's really one of my things," she said.
A favorite restaurant was also nearby: Homemades by Suzanne in Ashland.
"They had this peas-and-cheese dish we were really fond of," Smith said.
"It was fun to go to the counter, order a meal, and go down the row with your tray," Slevin added.
The pair spent a few weeks traveling over about five months last year, but they spent a couple of months before that researching routes and finding out what shops were in which localities.
"We picked towns we knew had something, but also ended up finding things we didn't know were there," Smith said.
But the pair didn't only visit the thrift shops and pit stops they mention in the book. They also bought stuff.
"We were limited a little because we were driving a four-door sedan," Slevin said. "We couldn't pick up a lot of furniture or anything, but we did get some clothes, bags--smaller things."
"It's safe to say we picked up a lot of trash and treasure along the way," Smith added.
Slevin, who works for the New York Foundation for the Arts, and Smith, who pursues her artistic interests, plan more thrifting books--probably closer to home next time.
"We're very excited to do the New York area, possibly Boston," Slevin said. "We have dreams of doing a world thrift-store book."
"People recommend a lot of places in France," Smith said.
But for now, they're satisfied with their first publishing effort--and the bargain hunting it took to produce the book.
"Every time we open the book and look back over our entries, there are so many places we fondly remember," Slevin said.
"Dirt Cheap, Real Good" is available in some bookstores in the mid-Atlantic region; or online at Amazon.com and capital-books.com.
Slevin and Smith's Web site is dirtcheaprealgood.com.
To reach LAURA L. HUTCHISON: 540/374-5485 lhutchison@freelancestar.com