Dean and I hit the road on Friday morning and drove to Warrenton, Texas. We enjoyed the two-hour road trip and made a couple of quick stops on the way. We arrived in the Round Top and Warrenton area at 11:00 am.
Antique Weekend is a huge antique, craft, art and collectibles event that attracts thousands of dealers from across the country. There are shows, shops and events in more than a half dozen communities that participate in this huge flea market. This year the events take place between September 22 and October 7.
We parked the car at Cole's Antique Shop on the outskirts of Warrenton. This is a 63,000 square foot building with over 200 vendors. The building is air-conditioned and has indoor restrooms. There are also vendors in the parking lot and they offer FREE parking for customers. We spent about half an hour in the cool Cole's building and then started our walk toward downtown Warrenton. Many vendors were housed under tents and temporary shelters. It was a hot day and Dean decided to buy a straw hat to keep the sun off his head.
I put some serious mileage on my shoes as I walked from shop to shop looking at all the unique, unusual and sometimes outlandish treasures that were for sale. I didn't buy much....several pieces of sheet music and some thread on wooden spools. I really didn't see very many big "bargains" but I am not very good at negotiating with the dealers so I don't bicker over the prices. If the price is too high for my taste, I just keep looking.
The reality TV shows Market Warriors and American Pickers have made flea markets like this more popular than ever. I made the following video that shows the highlights of our day.
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Bluebonnets are now in full bloom in Texas. Yesterday Dean and I went on a road trip to Round Top and Warrenton. We saw some beautiful displays of bluebonnets along the highways.
It is really hard to imagine the beauty of the Bluebonnets and the orange Indian Paintbrushes until you really see them with your own eyes. A picture does not do them justice. We found this field on the outskirts of Round Top.
Bluebonnets have been loved since man first trod the vast prairies of Texas. Indians wove fascinating folk tales around them. The early-day Spanish priests gathered the seeds and grew them around their missions. This practice gave rise to the myth that the padres had brought the plant from Spain, but this cannot be true since the two predominant species of bluebonnets are found growing naturally only in Texas and at no other location in the world.
As historian Jack Maguire so aptly wrote, "It's not only the state flower but also a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat." He goes on to affirm that "The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland."
The ballad of our singing governor, the late W. Lee O'Daniel, tells us you may be on the plains or the mountains or down where the sea breezes blow, but bluebonnets are one of the prime factors that make the state the most beautiful land that we know.
You've all read the beautiful stories Of the countries far over the sea, From whence came our ancestors To establish this land of the free. There are some folks who still like to travel, To see what they have over there, But when they go look, It's not like the book, And they find there is none to compare— CHORUS: To beautiful, beautiful Texas, Where the beautiful bluebonnets grow. We're proud of our forefathers Who fought at the Alamo. You can live on the plains or the mountains, Or down where the sea breezes blow, And you're still in beautiful Texas, The most beautiful place that I know.
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We parked the car at Cole's Antique Shop on the outskirts of Warrenton. This is a 63,000 square foot building with over 200 vendors. The building is air-conditioned and has indoor restrooms. There are also vendors in the parking lot and they offer FREE parking for customers. We spent about half an hour in the cool Cole's building and then started our walk toward downtown Warrenton. Many vendors were housed under tents and temporary shelters. It was a hot day and Dean decided to buy a straw hat to keep the sun off his head.
I put some serious mileage on my shoes as I walked from shop to shop looking at all the unique, unusual and sometimes outlandish treasures that were for sale. I didn't buy much....several pieces of sheet music and some thread on wooden spools. I really didn't see very many big "bargains" but I am not very good at negotiating with the dealers so I don't bicker over the prices. If the price is too high for my taste, I just keep looking.
