Even though we really don’t need or want anything, we occasionally enjoy wandering through a flea market, just to see what’s being offered.
We spent some time yesterday afternoon wandering around the Mesa Market Place indoor swap meet, looking at all of the stuff offered for sale. I’m sure glad we live in an RV, because we don’t have room for all of the ceramic trinkets, cookware, cactus shaped water fountains, and other junk you can find in places like that.
Mesa Market Place is not your typical old style flea market, in that about 90% of the vendors are selling new items. You can find cheap tools made in China, foot massagers, incense, T-shirts with funny sayings (my favorite this trip said “Go Ahead And Whine If It Will Make You Feel Any Better), sunglasses, kitchenware, and all kinds of other merchandise. In my opinion, most of it isn’t worth hauling home, no matter how cheap they sell it for.
I did find a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off my face and ears, and hopefully it will reduce the number of skin cancers I have to have burned off on my next trip to the V.A. hospital. Terry also got a good deal on some ribbon to use in a couple of crochet projects she’s working on.
More and more of the swap meets and flea markets we’ve seen around the country have moved away from the used merchandise and collectibles we enjoy looking at, and to the same cheap imported stuff we saw yesterday.
We were really disappointed on our first trip to the big Shipshewana Flea Market in Indiana several years ago. Since it’s located in the heart of Amish country, we expected handcrafted goodies, but most of what we found was bamboo back scratchers and such.
Back at the bus, I took a short nap, and then we visited with Terry’s parents for a while. Her mom is dealing with a nasty cold, so we didn’t stay long so she didn’t have to feel like she should entertain us.
Today we’re leaving Apache Junction, headed for Kingman, Arizona, where we’ll spend a few days visiting with my old buddy Mike Howard. Mike is a confirmed bachelor, and we try to stop in every year so Miss Terry can spoil him with home cooking and bake him a couple of batches of her delicious chocolate chip/pecan cookies. Of course, I’d hate to see Mike overindulge in sweets, so I’ll be sure to help him work his way through all of those cookies! What are friends for?
From Apache Junction to Kingman is about 225 miles, which makes for a good driving day, and about half of it will be on two lane roads, which are our favorite routes.
Between our time in Casa Grande, then Tucson, and most recently Apache Junction, we’ve been sitting still too long. We’re eager to do some traveling!
Thought For The Day – Being kind is more important than being right.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
We love the Mesa Marketplace! The first time we were there we spent over 4 hours browsing the entire place. We went back at least once a month and just took in part of it at a time. There are all kinds of bargains out there (as well as a lot of junk). You just have to shop around. I bought a package of short socks to wear with my sandals – 5 pair for $5. They have held up much better than I expected for the price. I will be buying more when needed. I got a leather belt and buckle for $4 and it is doing great too. We have bought some cheap t-shirts and they are not great but are at least as good as the ones you get in the tourist shops and the printing is holding up just fine. This is the largest market of this kind that we have ever been to and would recommend that everyone who is in the Mesa area stop and check it out. No, it is not a swap meet but they don’t call themselves a swap meet. There are some people who do make their own items there. We talked to and bought jewelry from a man who makes it himself and we had a sign made for the campsite that was made by the vendor himself.