Labor Day Fun

Someone needs to tell them how to spell "Antique"!

Labor Day Weekend has become a last blast of summer…a three day weekend to experience the last fun of the Season.  I don’t remember much about Labor Day as a kid.  I know we sometimes made a trip to visit relatives but mostly just hung out, played cards and enjoyed the freedomof three days off of work or school!  When my kids were younger, Labor Day Weekend meant a couple of things…Football and Flea Markets!  In the IA Great Lakes, every holiday weekend in the summer includes getting out on the Lake, hitting the Amusement Park or the Barefoot Bar for the last time of the season.  My favorite is heading out to the Flea Markets…there are usually 3 of them but my favorite is at Vick’s Corner.

My kids never really wanted to go the Flea Markets…although once they got there they could usually find something to look for.  My son would look for football cards and anything sports-related.  My daughter would look for cool (cheap) jewelry.  They would grudgingly follow me around while I looked  at the antiques, glassware and anything else you can think of.  I rarely bought anything…unless I found a cool cup & saucer that I just couldn’t live without!  Sometimes my Mom would come up to visit and go with us.  She couldn’t walk around much, so she would sit on one of the benches and let us roam around and tell her about what we had seen!  She enjoyed people-watching and always seemed to bump into someone she knew!

This year, I headed out to Vick’s with a friend on the last day.  The weather was awesome and although some of the vendors were already packing up, there was a plethora of exciting things to see.  I love it when you see something that your Mom or Aunt used to use in their kitchen…it brings you right back to that time and place.  I miss not being able to go with my Mom now that she has passed but I feel like she is near when I see some of the things she used to use!  My favorite items are always the glassware and china but I also like seeing old things being repurposed and wish I had the talent to do that.  There is always something new and different to see…even if you went on Memorial Day or July 4th.

 

There is always one thing that is a must on my way out of the Flea Market.  When the kids were little, the only way I could get them to go with me was to promise them each a bag of mini donuts.  They had to go thru the whole Flea Market with no complaints and we then we would hit the Mini Donut cart and eat them on the way home.  So, of course, I still have to grab a bag of donuts on the way out…for old times sake!  Ummm….just as nummy as I remember!

 

Up next…the Clay County Fair…The World’s Largest County Fair!  Always, a winner!