Vacation – This time we left the state

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We finally kept enough money in savings (that pesky well pump stayed alive and no appliances broke) to leave town on vacation. We planned on going to Pennsylvania two years ago. Those plans fell through. Then last June we were supposed to go. Money fell through. We somehow managed to save money so we could go see some relatives and leaves in the northeast.

We both worked ourselves ragged at work the week before. The husband ended up staying awake most of the day to get the tires balanced before the trip. Yes, we should have already done that. Procrastination. Plus the husband had to plug a tire the store wouldn’t. We ended up leaving on Friday night.

We drove a ways and left for a few hours before continuing on. It is a long drive. We managed to get there Saturday evening. The weather was cool and we were loving it.

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Sunday we had already planned to go with the family to the Collingwood Flea Market. It is touted as New Jersey’s largest flea market. I have been to larger flea markets in Florida. It was a cute place. The outside stands were better than the inside ones (which were more like regular stores). The husband bought the oldest niece a buffer since she wanted to fix the scratches on her car. I only got a $1 green plastic planter. My sister and her kids got a few things.

After walking the flea market for a few hours we went to the Stewart’s restaurant down the road. It was overpriced and the food wasn’t all that great. You know it’s bad when the husband doesn’t eat all his food. Then we went back to PA. My sister suggested that we check out Linvilla Orchards.

Linvilla was packed. It was yuppies and their families. We checked out the “petting zoo”, walked through the food section and wandered through the pumpkin patch. We took some pictures. The nieces were a bit reluctant to go along with our photo requests. A lot of people were getting pictures of their kids among the pumpkins. There were all sorts of pumpkins and squash. They also had hay rides, train ride, a corn maze, apple picking and somewhere was trout fishing. The husband wished he could have done that.

Monday the family all had work or school so the husband and I wandered the countryside. We ate breakfast at a diner, Andy’s diner. We were the younger ones in there. We went to a bunch of thrifts. I scored mainly games. I don’t know how that happens. We ended up having lunch in West Chester at Brother’s Pizza. We had a good white pizza. We thought it odd they offered tomatoes on it. Yum!

We had dinner with the family and visited the oldest niece at her job. My sister had me watching an old family video at night. It was 1989 and I don’t remember it. My sister had big hair and I had huge glasses.

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Tuesday we wandered into Philadelphia. I was trying not to spend much money so we just drove. Then we went to the Reading market at lunch time. I had never been there before. We wandered the aisles trying to decide what to eat for lunch. We saw Bassett’s ice cream and Dinic’s which we have seen on TV multiple times.  We decided on Molly Malloy’s. It is a bar/restaurant that takes a lot of space in the back of the market. I saw the Irish Stew made with Guinness with bread and knew what I had to get. The husband had an apple braised pork sandwich that he raved about. They had a good deal with the parking garage across the street. If you spent $10 at the market and they validated your parking ticket the cost of parking was only $4 for 2 hours. That was a deal since the original price was $6 for a ½ hour.

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When we got back to the parking garage there were people arguing so loud and cops came. Then we went to the roof to take pictures of the buildings. We went to the Philly AIDS Thrift and got another deal on $1 parking. I don’t trust the parking meters as much since 1) I have gotten parking tickets years ago and 2) the TV show Parking Wars is a scared straight program for Philly parking.

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The Philly AIDS Thrift is one of the coolest thrifts I have ever been to. It has two floors and tons of neat stuff. I only managed to get a cheap paperback and one of their pins. They had a ton of art but it was out of my budget. But the store was well organized and set up to get your attention. Plus a good organization.

We wandered to a few more thrifts on Philly that weren’t too impressive. We had a donut at Dunkin Donuts since it seemed they had one on every block in southeast PA. We figured we might not make it out of the state if we didn’t feed the Dunkin monster.

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We went back to my sister’s and found her electricity had been turned off. Well that made it more like our original plan to go camping. We already planned on using the Friendly’s Groupon so dinner was covered. We went with the whole family.

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Wednesday the husband and I did some more wandering of the countryside. We went thrifting some more in between wandering winding country roads and checking out leaves that actually change color. We were disappointed at some of the yuppie areas that we ended up in and their sad overpriced thrifts. While trying to take pictures of leaves my phone decided to go into a continual loop. It kept trying to turn on and just cycled back into the start screen. After calling the cell company’s customer service we found out it need a hard reset. There were no stores around that could do it. I started snagging the husband’s phone for navigating.

We also picked my sister up some ice to keep her fridge cold and lighter fluid for grilling. Ended up my sister did not have the right type of bricketts and had a late appointment so the husband and I had a cheesesteak at the niece’s work. It was okay. The husband says he can make Steak-ums at home that taste the same.

Thursday we drove to Virginia to visit an old friend of the husband’s.  We avoided 95 so it took half the day to get there. We visited a while. Then we went to a restaurant around the corner which was yet another yuppie disappointment. Oh well, you try and see what you get. We went on the road until we were too tired and stopped to rest. We went down 17 for most of the eastern coast. We stopped at a few places. We were tired of the slow traffic in Myrtle Beach and went back to I-95.

We were just glad to be home, in our own bed, with the dogs. The husband says he doesn’t want to go back to Pennsylvania unless a relative is getting married or something big like that. I always get sad at some point when I visit. I have lived away from my family for so long that I don’t feel a part of any of it.

We managed to not fill up the car completely. I came back with a pile of games, two still sealed. I found a place with the deal of $5 for a bag of books, so I couldn’t resist. I already posted some for sale. I found a couple more needlepoint to go on the wall. The husband found his deal of the trip – truck rotors that were half the price as in the store.

I was glad to have actual fall weather. I got to wear my cardigan sweater. I saw leaves that had changed color and fallen to the ground. I ate good food. We got away from home and work and now appreciate everything a bit more. Although my original intention of rescuing my mother’s cremains was foiled by the aunt I still had a good vacation.

Yesterday we went to a phone store and they tried the rest on my phone. It went from being in a coma to pronounced dead. It was a sad day for me as it was my first smart phone. When the company showed us how much a new or even pre-owned phone would cost we realized we had to buy one online. I spent half the evening bidding on the same model phone. I got one but won’t get it for days. Plus it cost more than I would have likes, but still less than a new fancier phone. The husband is always picking on me about my phone. I keep explaining that I can live without it, it just makes life easier. I have apps and grocery lists and I navigate with the GPS. Plus I can check email when I am away from the computer. It just is so handy. I don’t get phone calls, but I text people some. Well, I will just back up everything on the next phone and not get so mad when the phone gets slow. 

We Are Nuts

Another weekend, another big adventure.

I heard that there was a Peanut Festival in Williston, FL. I figured A) we like peanuts and B) I come from peanut people, so C) we ought to check it out since we’ve never been. We started out by getting up early. But then wandered the house packing up sales to mail and getting dressed. We went to breakfast (it tastes better when the husband pays). We dropped off the truck at the in-laws’. We went by the post office. Yes, we were taking our sweet time.

The husband went the long way around Gainesville since there was a Gator home game and the traffic is bad normally in that town. We stopped at one of those touristy gas stations along I-75. The people asked where we were going. When I said Williston they left us alone. We looked at the stuffed 13 foot alligator. We bought some chocolate and caramel covered popcorn.

The handsome Grand Marshall

I am still on the look out for this large ice cream cone. 

We got to Williston and checked out the Peanut Festival. There were a couple big stands where they sold peanuts and peanut products but we felt the peanut was underutilized. We took some pictures. We watched the kids in the walking on water type thing (see below).

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We bought some peanut butter. We saw a lot of dogs. Then we checked out the antique store I saw on the Levy county website, Dixie’s Antiques. It was okay. We thought there wasn’t enough old stuff. Too much was newer or not super old. I bought some twig crayons. I already had one but I found 6 at 50% off. I had to get them. The older folks at the register were adorable. The lady wrapped up my crayons.

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We went in search of roads the husband has not driven and something to eat. We ended up passing Smiley’s Antiques and had to check them out. They were much bigger than Dixie’s. Plus it had a ton of old stuff. Your usual antique mall. We didn’t buy a thing since most prices were super high. They had the lamb planter I found for a couple bucks at a thrift store for $30. Oh my. I have seen that same planter online for a lot less.

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We wandered down the road and we were starving. We finally just pulled into a dive. Georgie’s Lakeside sits by Orange Lake. The problem is, Orange Lake isn’t quite where it used to be. You have to take an air boat from the boat ramp and go out further than I could see to get to the actual lake. Orange Lake is the lake Marjorie Keenan Rawlings lived on at Cross Creek.

Georgie’s was no Yearling restaurant. It was a true dive. It was a bar with a few tables. It reeked of cigarettes. The table was dirty.  The waitress was nice. She tried her best. We got a couple burgers. They weren’t anything special, but we were starved.

We went back home before heading out to the Florida Twin Theater in Starke. I love small town 

theaters. This one is art deco on the exterior and basic on the inside. The best part is that it is cheap, $6 for adults. They only take cash. The concession stand is awesome because for popcorn, 2 sodas and a candy it is $7. So for less than $20 we can go to the movies and have snacks. I think that is awesome when  big theaters are that much just to get on.

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Plus this theater plays new movies. We saw Taken 2. The theater mostly plays kid/family movies (the other screen was Frankenweenie). It isn’t too often they play something I really want to see.  The bad thing is they only have two screens (one upstairs and one downstairs) so the movies only stay a week. I also think that down town Starke is totally cute. I am a sucker for old buildings and old fashioned store fronts. I would love to have one of my own. I just can’t seem to find a store downtown or a restaurant that I love. I try them out but they aren’t all that. I guess I will stick with the movie theater. 

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Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

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I bought a Groupon this week that was 50% off the Jacksonville Zoo but it had to be used by 10/7/12. We figured we would go this weekend to avoid having to go at the last minute next weekend. The husband had never been to that zoo which is why I got it. I have been multiple times, but it has been years since my last visit.

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Since the husband had worked overnights Thursday night and crashed out by Friday afternoon I missed day one of the Penny Farms Estate sale. I really wanted to go since I have missed the last few. So on our way to Jacksonville we took a slight detour. This estate sale was the most stuff and most interesting stuff I have seen there yet. The lady had to have been a teacher, who decorated for holidays, traveled and had a son or grandson named Charlie from what I saw. I probably would have liked her. The husband found a super 8 mm camera with some film and snatched that right up. I only found two Sesame Street 8 tracks. I know, I have many, but I don’t have Sesame Street.

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The husband tried some batteries in the camera to see if it works. The connection for the batteries is broken. He will figure out how to fix that, he always does. Plus he keeps lucking out with old electronics that end up working. We looked up this model and it is in several places on the internet for sale with a variety of prices. We will see if we get it to work on not. We will continue to search for an 8 mm camera to go with the projectors.

After the estate sale where I passed up on a trivet and old postcards (I keep seeing them on other blogs for sale, probably should have taken a chance on them), we swung by the Habijax Restore. I read they were having a rummage sale in the parking lot. Not much there. Nothing was found inside (for once). Mainly in the store I told the husband about the first half of the book I was reading last night, Lolita (or what it should be subtitled: How to be a Pedophile). I know, I know, I talk to sex offenders and pedophiles every week and I knew the basic story of the book. I hear their stories about how the children seduced them, much like the book. I am a bit more liberal about the topic since I have to deal with the people at work. Rather than ban the book and censor it they should have warned people that it was what to look out for in predators.

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Anyway, we finally made it to the zoo. After getting flustered with my phone when it wouldn’t load the Groupon due to also having a stomach ache, we finally got in. We wandered all the loops and walkways checking out the animals, watching the funny children and trying to stay cool. The husband cracked me up when he said, “We don’t have to ride the train, do we?” We skipped the butterfly exhibit since it is $2 a person. We saw monarch butterflies for the ticket price all around the zoo.

My pictures:

This is my husband, or is it the gorilla?

We kept running into the same families throughout the zoo. My favorite was the about 2 ½ year old who kept getting underfoot in front of the husband and was the cutest kid there. I like to also play, Let’s Find the Animal – where you look for whatever is supposed to be in the exhibit. I feel like I’m playing a word search or Where’s Waldo when I can locate the animal.

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By the time we walked the whole park we were tired and overheated hours later. The husband headed to his favorite pizza place – Renna’s in Orange Park. The regular people were not there. His white pizza was not quite up to par. I tried to behave and opted for an antipasto salad since I have not been eating enough veggies and I think the stomach problem is due to it. The husband argued that it was not really antipasto. I explained it was their version on top of a salad. He cracks me up when he gets all northern Italian guy on me.

After pizza we headed to a few of our usual Orange Park thrifts. I passed on a cute and cheap side/end table at the Hospice Thrift store. I am trying not to spend while saving for vacation and I really don’t have room in our little house for it. I bought a 48 cent pot for one of the poor plants in the kitchen. They need to get in a proper pot.

Nothing at the Quigley House Thrift store. We were disappointed in the changed there. They opened a side of the building into a Boutique. I ignore anything called Boutique since it is usually nothing I have interest in and is usually overpriced. This thrift is for another good cause – the county’s domestic violence shelter. I tend to go to and like thrifts that are for good causes. I like to know where my money is going. So I tend towards DV and hospice thrifts. Don’t get me wrong, I like some Salvation Armies and Goodwills, but they tend toward clothing and I have little interest in that.

We also checked out the other hospice thrift on Blanding Blvd. The husband found some lighted bats to add to the two bats he has from last year’s yard sale. The porch will look like a colony of bats live there this year. I bought a bad of Christmas ornaments because they were 50% off and looked old. We will see if I keep them or try to resell.

What I left behind. It intrigued me.

We pulled into a place we have never been to only to find out they went out of business. The lady did tell us where she would be holding yard sales with her remaining merchandise for the next few weeks. We may check it out. She did say she made a good living from the store until she left her husband and had more bills to cover. I am quite curious about what kind of money a small thrift can bring in. There are a ton of thrift stores around here, so I wonder how they make money with all the competition. I keep thinking about what if we got more serious about selling. I am not sure if a storefront would be an option. I have kidded for a few years about having a Habitat Restore in town since there is none, I even picked a location. I am not sure how one would get the Habitat people to let you open one or if they have to open it. I need to check that out. Or else open a store that sells most everything but clothing, especially home improvement and decorating items. 

Sunday we cleaned up the front porch. It had 2 inches of sawdust from all the house projects. It was nice to see the floor and have room to move. Next to set up the outside Halloween decorations. Yeah!

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We also finally went to the Waldo Flea market. The husband even let two of the dogs go. They don't get out much. There is always people with dogs there. This trip we saw someone walking a goat. I have friends that bought a goat there. I finally peeked into the antique store there while the husband waited outside with the dogs. It has been years since I've been there. We have to go back to check it out more since the husband is now over his prejudice against antique stores. They have everything there. We did score some faucets at a great price.