Back In The Saddle

3womenwhowander
Jun 29
7 min read

Women Who Wander NB

2025 Adventure One

Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments

Rose Kennedy

You may have noticed that the Women Who Wander NB have been missing in action (or lack thereof) for a while. Truth is, life has been busy throwing curve balls at us and we are just now finding the energy and enthusiasm to get back out on the road and start throwing those curve balls right back! Look out life we are back in the saddle - a little bruised and battered - but even better than before!

Our first adventure for 2025, like most of our adventures, was somewhat unscripted. We knew we would head in the direction of St. Stephen as one of us had a hankering for a new pair of blingy Sherman earrings. More on that later, but we had no plan in place for anything beyond the earlobe beautification project! Just as well we didn’t, because we might have missed out on some hidden treasures!

Screech.........! That’s the sound the Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) made when we realized we had passed an “OPEN” sign on a building that has intrigued us for years and, as it turned out, was the first of the day’s Hidden Gems.

For those of you who are familiar with the underpass in Lawrence Station, we strongly recommend that you slow down before coming to that underpass and take a right to turn into the yard of Theoldman Antiques and Collectibles (Note: “Theoldman” has no spaces in the name).

We parked the Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) for a much needed rest after the abrupt braking, and in we went. Being of a certain vintage ourselves, we aren’t sure that antiques get nearly the attention they deserve!

Shopkeepers and owners, Ian and Danielle, hail from Ontario. Feeling the strain of lockdown and Covid, they decided to get out of Dodge and vacation in the East as soon as they could get on the road. They visited Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia but it was New Brunswick that captured their hearts! They purchased a house in Lawrence Station that just happened to come with an old store. That was six years ago and they have now finished bringing that old store back to life as Theoldman Antiques and Collectibles.

The store is filled with unique finds.

They even have an exquisitely maintained wicker baby carriage complete with a secret hiding compartment - ask Danielle to show it to you!

Two gorgeous armchairs are on the floor just waiting for a new home.

They're sporting what we thought might be an old William Morris fabric.

If you hurry they might still have an awesome barber’s chair, a doll’s carriage probably dating from the 50’s (an era dear to our hearts) also in immaculate condition, a vintage Pepsi cooler and so much more.

If you are thirsty or peckish (as we three often are), cold drinks and snacks are also available for sale. We highly recommend that you visit Danielle and Ian and please say “Hi” to them from the Women Who Wander NB. After you visit, let us know if you can figure out what went in that hidden baby carriage compartment and if it really is a vintage William Morris fabric on those glorious chairs.

Read more about Theoldman Antiques and Collectibles by going to the “Hidden Gems” tab on our Website at https://3womenwhowander.wixsite.com/mysite-1

It's best to find Theoldman Antiques and Collectibles in person at 6268 Hwy 3, Lawrence Station, NB, E3A 3C5 but you can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576060359677.. Contact them by E-mail at rahrabbinga@yahoo.ca or by telephone at 506-289-442-2187.

Back into the Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) and we were off again in pursuit of earrings. Well, truth be known, we only got two minutes down the road and realized we had forgotten a thing or two and spun the car right around and headed back. Ian and Danielle were very surprised but seemed happy to see us again so soon and we were happy to be there. We got what we needed (again) and headed back to the Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) for a second time.

If you are an aficionado of bling, you absolutely must visit Old Ridge Antiques located on the road just as you come into St. Stephen at 9296 Highway 2, Old Ridge, New Brunswick.

We love shiny things and while our ears may not always hear as well as they should, they are exceptionally well adorned when we don our Sherman earrings (that, incidentally, complement hearing aids beautifully)! Old Ridge Antiques and Collectibles and their lovely collection of Sherman jewelry is well worth checking out. We left with earrings and perhaps one or two additional items that we just couldn’t live without!

You can well imagine that after all that bling shopping, we were getting into and beyond peckishness. Fortunately, Carman’s Diner in St. Stephen was nearby.

Carman’s is just what it claims to be. It’s a good old fashioned diner, with good old fashioned food! We’d show you what the food looked like, but, as usual, it was gone before we thought to take a picture.

However, if you recall the days of milkshakes coming to your table with a soda glass full of creamy goodness PLUS a condensation covered metal milkshake container with more, believe it or not, you can still have that experience and enjoy it in your 50’s style booth at Carman’s. The scallop roll, the BLT, the hamburger, and the shared fries (sigh) nothin’ better!

Take yourself to Carman’s Diner soon! You can check out their menu on Facebook at www.facebook.com/search/top?q=carmen%27s%20diner then find them in person at 164 King Street, St. Stephen, New Brunswick or call to order ahead at 506-466-3528!

Next up was a very brief visit to St. Andrews, New Brunswick. We will be going back again soon so stay tuned but we did want to mention that we found a few shops there that were new to us and, of course, helped us add a few items to our gift giving inventories. We particularly liked Marmalade Home & Gift Boutique, The Nautical Shop and My Space Gift Shop.

Moving along, we found, what turned out to be, our second “Hidden Gem” Dominion Hill Country Inn. It was indeed a plum discovery for us, as we only found it because (as usual) we got a bit lost. Coming out of St. Andrews on the old road heading toward a dinner reservation outside of St. George, we somehow wound up on the Reardon Road instead of on the highway.

Suffice to say, the GPS lady was of no use whatsoever in getting us out of that conundrum! However, the errors of her ways led us down the Reardon Road to the Stillwater Road and landed us on the doorstep of Dominion Hill Country Inn.

With our dinner reservation drawing ever nearer, we had little time to explore.

We did meet the proprietor Michael

Campbell though!

Michael opened the Inn seven years ago. They are open year round and feature rooms and suites within the Inn as well as cottages and hillside glamping tents on the property.

The Inn’s history is amazing. It was built by the Holt family who farmed the property for many years. It was later owned by Mary Louise Curtis-Bok, heiress to the publisher of The Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post magazines.

Also among it’s residents were Sir William Van Horne, an American businessman, industrialist and railroad magnate and General James VanFleet, a decorated American four-star General who vacationed here every year until he was 99 years old.

Mary Louise Curtis-Bok Sir William Van Horne General James VanFleet

Today the property hosts weddings and events in the renovated barn building. We encourage you to check out their website at https://www.dominionhill.com/. We are already making plans to go back so you will be hearing more from us about this amazing showpiece! It is located at 990 Reardon Road, Digdeguash, New Brunswick, E5C 0H1. Contact them by E-mail at Michael.campbell@dominionhill.com or by telephone at 506-469-4661.

Our final stop for the day, after calling Ms. GPS many, many unprintable names, was at The Rouxbarb, a restaurant not far from St. George. Being that we were very lost most of the way there, we are probably not your best source for directions to this establishment but we remain convinced that our directional issues were totally the fault of the lady in the Maps app.

The Rouxbarb is a relatively new restaurant and is located above the pro shop of the Hollows Golf Club located in Utopia, New Brunswick.

We read many excellent reviews about The Rouxbarb and decided we needed to check it out for ourselves! The restaurant décor is reminiscent of an upscale bar/bistro. It’s quite lovely and looks out on the golf course.

Our Lobster Linguine (we all ordered it) was quite delicious. Served in a garlic butter sauce, there was ample lobster and our waitress very kindly supplied us with some grilled bread to go with it.

The only reservation available to us was at 5pm as they were booked solidly that evening leading us to believe that business is as good as the food. We suggest reservations be made if you too decide to check out this spot.

True to it’s name, rhubarb does appear on the menu! Our only complaint is that the volume of the music detracted a bit from the otherwise rather lovely upscale environment. Find The Rouxbarb at 184 Highway 780, Utopia, NB, E5C 2E7, on-line at www.therouxbarb.ca or make an e-reservation at reservations@rouxbarb.ca

Until next time…..

Just adventure!

Women Who Wander NB

Lynne, Barb & Gail