Happy Birthday to Me: Road Trip to Elephant Rocks and Incidental Thrift

At a certain point, I received all the tangible, physical birthday presents I can conjure up wanting. So when presented with the question, "What do you want for your birthday?" from the Boy, I really couldn't come up with anything. (I'm not addressing the issue of the problem I always have when faced with that question, which is an inability to decide on The One Perfect Thing That Will Make My Life Perfect Gift. *sigh*). I already knew he was taking the day off from work, as was I, so the idea of a day of adventure was really appealing. I flip flopped on what I wanted to do with the day, really not deciding on anything until Tuesday morning. The weather was predicted to be unseasonably warm and sunny so that screamed "road trip" to me. To where? Elephant Rocks!

It's an easy drive, particularly on a beautiful day, and we spotted an antique mall and flea market we would visit on our way back. I hadn't been to Elephant Rocks since I was a very small child and I remembered nothing of it. I'm sorry that I let so many years pass because it's a lovely place and those rocks are incredible.

The views were amazing on such a clear, crisp day. Yeah, I tilt-shifted some of them.

 Tilt-shifted:

 Not tilt-shifted:

 The horribly hot and dry summer has put most of the moss in these parts into a sort of dormant stage. Still, I found a nice shaggy patch. It looks like a Muppet taking a nap.

Some more moss.

Here we are looking out the window of the ruins of the old train building where they would service the train cars.

It was super windy that day, tempering the nearly 80F temperature, but wreaking havoc on our hair.

We stopped at a flea market on the way back toward Farmington and it was essentially people selling out of their storage units. I didn't have a lot of hope, but I got a few really good things. One was this planter. I don't think it's very old, but I do really love it.

A wooden hamburger press, painted with birds.

And these gardening magazines from the mid-50s. The whopping total for all this stuff? Three measly dollars. 

After lunch of pizza and salad at a funny little place across from the town hall, we hit the road again. We couldn't figure out how to get to the antique mall we saw on our way south, but happened upon a bigger (and most likely better) place during out search. It was huge, sprawling and packed with stuff.

First, the things I actually bought. I have no idea how those sorts of illustrations came to be placed on beer stein salt and pepper shakers.

Next I found these kitten shakers. The kittens' faces were so full of ennui and despair, I knew I had to have them.

Then there were things I didn't want (in almost all of the cases), but found amusing/horrifying/interesting. Like a giant-headed naked chalk baby.

Or this little shelf of horrors.

Or this frightening chalk dog.

This snazzy stereo.

An adorable chick pitcher and a really sweet bird one.

 

Is it true?

  This dizzy little wall-eyed cat.

 These furred dogs so evil they wouldn't even photograph properly.

A cute little deer shaker, glued to a piece of wood. Don't ask me!

And the one thing I really wanted but resisted buying because I just don't have the room for it. You don't see a lot of Frankoma pottery here in town; I love this set. If I go back and it's still there, it's mine.

On our way home, we stopped for dinner-making supplies and cake because I often like to cook my own birthday dinner. Really, it was a perfect day.