Super Market

I would categorize myself as a yard sale connoisseur. I thought that I was pretty experienced in this regard and had had my share of great sales. But I was humbled as I approached the Rose Bowl Flea Market this past Sunday…yes Sunday. I will pass by yard sales on Sunday with a longing eye and a reduced speed, but I will drive by and not stop with no problems. My friend, Royd told me about this sale the other day and once I read and saw the vastness of it online there would be nothing to stop me from going…not even Sunday.
I approached the sale as soon as it was opened at 9:00. What is funny is you can pay extra to go early…awesome! Since I had not gone before I was only willing to pay the $8.00 regular admission. It was already packed with cars and I parked a quarter of a mile away as it was. There was the fresh smell of all the wonderful carnival treats, complete with a dude dressed in a red/white/blue tux on a bike (the one with the big wheel on front and a little one in the back). I approached the sale with hesitancy as the booths had new merchandise, like sunglasses and tank tops. I was getting nervous that it was a glorified swap meet, but there was more to see so I pressed on. I entered a different section and it was obvious that I had "arrived". I was on the lookout for a watering can, something to plant in, and some artwork for the walls. I only brought $60.00.
I found this fabulous pirate painting that was $25.00. It was early on so I took a photo, sent it to Jim for his approval and made a mental note of where it was in the sale.


There was a great booth of knobs and door plates. they were very expensive, some were $50.00 just for one plate. this table had to be worth at least $10,000.00.




Then there was a super great booth with all different colored pyrex. I thought of Kirst and Tim, you would’ve loved it. I want to collect them too, but just one color and I can’t decide on a color. I’m torn between the turquoise and the pink...oh and yellow.




There were tons of watering cans, but outrageously overpriced. Anywhere from $20.00-$50.00. Are they taking crazy pills? So I quickly got hung up on the quantity of it all and realized that my $60.00 was going to be gone and I wouldn't have what I really wanted. So I quickly focused and had laser intensity toward my can and pots. It was so easy to get side tracked by the shiny jewelry over there and the neat lamp on the floor and holy cow there goes Clair from Lost. I also realized that I was under prepared when I didn't come with my shopping cart. Everyone had those rolling old bag lady carts. Then, every other booth was selling them. I didn't want to waste my limited cash on a cart, so I was going to just truck along. Once I was focused I found a watering can for $10.00. When I was in Tucson, there were these copper planters that I wanted bad. They were perfect for my limited space. So I had a visual of what I wanted. The only problem was the lady wanted $200.00 for them. No thanks. But they were copper she said. I didn't care they were just the perfect size. So I pass a corner and there is one of them. It was all beat to hell, but perfect. The problem with this sale is most of the people were antique dealers so what might be worth $1.00 to me they were charging $40.00. Case in point this cat cigarette sign. I thought it was funny…but not $40.00 funny.

So anyhoo, I see my pot. It is fabulous! $35.00, she says. Sweet, will you take $30.00. She said yes, and I was thrilled. So I put my watering can in my pot and I'm off. I've only got $18.00 left thanks to a few bucks in my purse. Not enough for the painting, but I'm on my way back to see if I can get a deal. They say yes to $15.00, but on further inspection the painting is not as cool as I thought. The back has nasty cardboard on it and the frame isn't made out of wood. The picture has holes in it so you can put a light bulb so it will light up. Anyway, it just isn't in the best of condition. So I apologize get my money back and leave. I had spent a total of 3 hours sprint walking through this place and maybe…maybe got through 1/4 of it. When I am placed in a situation that has lots of choices I usually get overwhelmed and get nothing. It's lame and I'm trying to get over it, but this is what happened when I passed on the painting. I now had $18.00 burning a hole in my purse and had to leave. There were way too many choices with limited time to decide what to get. So I left, my biceps burning carrying my loot…no extra hand to hold a lemonade.
It was the most happy day and I loved every second of it. I would love to have someone go with me next time. I need a hand to hold my beverage and pretzel. Where this is not a place I will visit every month, I will definitely go a few times a year. And I can't wait to have a bigger place, I could spend thousands here and not even blink an eye. It was awesome!