Day 5 of Vacation

Sunday we woke up and decided to head to the GIGANTIC indoor flea market that was just a few exits up. I had no idea what to expect…I’ve been to very trashy sales and I’ve been to really nice ones…this turned out to be a mixture of both :)

First of all, it was huge! We had a map showing us where things were. Even though I like to go to flea markets and garage sales, I’m not one to usually buy other people’s used stuff (although sometimes I will…it just depends on the item and the condition). But then we started getting to the booths of food, and I was in heaven! First there was the spice booth – tons of interesting spice combinations and fun things, so I got a few. Then there was the salsa booth – this couple makes all kinds of homemade salsas (we ended up getting a peach-chipotle one that is awesome!).

We walked around and got tons of samples of wonderful fruit – oranges, strawberries, etc. We also got samples of and bought kettle corn and sweet and spicy nuts. We had a great lunch there (tons of little “restaurants” within the place) of corndogs, fries and funnel cake. We spent a good ½ day there!

When we left it was raining. The flea market was by the speedway, so we went over there to see if there was anything we could do there. Turns out a good part of it was outside, so we decided to come back another day and do the whole “Daytona Experience.”

When we got back to the condo we just hung out. John went out and made friends with a guy that actually lives here in Columbus and owns a local chain of dry-cleaners! The kids were running around and playing, and after the “note” we received, I was trying my best to keep them quiet. There was this couple sitting outside on their patio that looked to be about my parents’ age (so much younger than the average age of the rest of the people there :) ). I was nervous because of the kids...

But then the lady asked me how old the baby was, and then she made the most amazing comment to me…“we love hearing the children run around and play…you keep letting them play out here.” I was kind of taken aback because it was so opposite the “note” and I honestly wasn’t sure if she was serious or being sarcastic. But then she, and her husband, told me that they love to hear the kids playing…it reminds them of their grandchildren (3 of which are Ryan’s age). So I pulled up a chair and made myself comfortable! These two people, one a retired doctor and one a retired professor, were the nicest people! They talked and played with the kids, offered me drinks, and brought us out cookies. I told them about the “note” and they told me to ignore it! They confirmed what I thought in that whoever wrote that must have never had kids!

After a while we decided to head to dinner. The lady was so nice and gave the kids a huge basket of toys to play with for the rest of our trip. It was so nice to experience this kindness after worrying about that stupid note!

We went to this awesome seafood restaurant right on the inlet for dinner. Our table was right by the window, and even though it was dark, we could see the water below us and had a pelican friend to watch. I got the most amazing dinner…crabmeat already taken out of the shells and soaking in butter! And even though Ryan was a pistol (tired but wouldn’t go to sleep), we still had a good dinner. John took the kids out to the car when we were done while I waited for the check, and the 2 couples at the table behind us started talking to me. They told me I had a beautiful family and that the kids were so good (and mind you, it’s 10:00 at this point!). They told me they had teenagers at home that they were worried were throwing parties and getting into trouble and wished they could go back to this “easy” time. I was wearing an “OU” shirt, and the one guy asked me if I went there. I told him both John and I did, and it turns out he not only went there too, but he also graduated from Athens High School! They live in Cincinnati now (2 hours from where we live). Talk about a small world!

It was a long and eventful day!