My body doesn’t take well to chemicals. If you take 1 pill, I take 1/4th. If you drink “leaded” coffee, I drink un-leaded and get cracked out for the whole day. A motion sickness pill that won’t have any drowsy effect on my 40 pound dog puts my fanny in the bed for 4 days! No kidding! I think it’s from being raised on a farm with well water and natural foods.
So, I’m not kidding when I say I had to get cracked out on caffeine (TWO 15 oz. cups of Diet Coke) to counter the drugged feeling I had this morning from the “less drowsy” version of motion sickness meds for vertigo before I even felt like venturing out of the house. I haven’t felt safe to drive knowing how dizzy I get just turning my head to look over my shoulder. It was a desperate need to see people, maybe even converse with people, that pushed me to take such drastic measures.
I’d recently heard of a local outdoor flea market called Broadacres, in North Las Vegas. It’s one of my favorite things to do on Saturdays. While my daughter slept, I planned my mini-adventure. I successfully found it on the internet and took off. It was easy to find. I found it without using my crutch (TomTom), got a parking spot in the shade (something a southerner learns early) and only had to pay $1.00 to enter. Great start, wouldn’t you say? And, to top it all off, the place was appropriately named… broad acres. This was going to be yummy except for the fact that it took me two hours to wake up enough to even drive which meant the heat was going to beat me down if I didn’t drink lots of water and walk in the shade.
As I arrived, I thought of my theory about east coast flea markets: the really good, inexpensive treasures are on the periphery. So, it was with great enthusiasm to prove it a national theory as well that I proceeded. And, I kinda’ did and kinda’ didn’t. This was an adventure all of its own.
First impression was that I’d been transported to a 21st century Mexican marketplace. There was a lot of Spanish foods, music, customers, products and atmosphere. I was sure I’d find some kind of cool Frida Kahlo treasure to buy; even a book of photos or earrings. By the way, Frida Kahlo was an amazing Mexican artist in the early 1900’s who was wonderfully portrayed by Selma Hyak in the movie, “Frida”. It’s a must see.
I briskly walked toward the back portion of this huge asphalt paved, fenced arena of tent canopies abutting each other as far as you could see. There were the occasional permanent buildings remnant of a past life but not many.
The place was packed but not as bad as an amusement park on a hot day, thank goodness. You could still walk around without getting run over by strollers or people. But, after the first hour, it was lookin’ pretty bleak. I’d only purchased some Lucky Bamboo and a bottle of water and the heat was starting to get to me. My next purchase had to be some kind of hat.
I kept my eye out for something with holes in the top with a wide brim. I had several of these at home I’d failed to pack so I didn’t want to spend much and there were plenty to choose from of all varieties. I needed an extra small one and I knew that would be a trick. Got it and for $5.00. Now I had to secure it to my head because the wind gusts were in the 40-50 MPH range (no kidding) and get back to my Frida quest.
The second hour only served up large portions of penny arcade-type purchases, brightly colored stilettos and stuff I wasn’t even slightly interested in purchasing. There were jeans to be purchased for $5.00 and other items I’m sure worthy of their price tag as well, just not what I wanted. I wanted a treasure… a Frida treasure.
By the end of that second hour, I was burned up and out. I headed straight for Silver and we drove back home with an adventure and a deeper tan.
Check it out the next time you’re out this way. Who knows. You might just find your own Frida treasure there.
from a Friend 