Normally, back when we used to go to Wolff’s flea with some regularity… we always tried to wake up super early, and to get there right when the gates opened. Today though, we took our time and didn’t meet up until around 10AM (though to be fair, it did involve about an hour of driving for us to get there).
Paris, Day 5
I had forgotten how friendly and nice most vendors are – if you express an interest in an item, they’re usually more than enthusiastic about telling you its history, how they acquired it, what they know about it. While some vendors are simply selling off old junk to get rid of it, many of them are collectors – passionate about a particular type of item, and very into the things they place on their tabletops.
Unfortunately, given a combination of both the weather and the holidays… there seemed to be fewer vendors around. We parked close to the entrance, and started making our way from booth to booth. Liz was doing her usual searching, and I was a little hesitant to break out the camera. Consider it me being out of practice somewhat.
Eventually, I found one interesting thing… and then another… and ended up taking photos. Like I always do.
For Mother’s Day, Liz and I woke up early and made our way to the I-80 Flea Market in Tinley Park. This is the flea that Liz’s mom goes to, but it’s a bit of a hike for us (as we typically go to Wolff’s Flea Market, up in Rosemont).
And here! Here is my favorite find of the day – an old toy called a “Kookie Kombo,” which allows you to have your own dance Party!
I LOVE the image on this box, and it’s just all sorts of awesome. The main message seems to be that you hoist this crazy contraption onto your person, and with the music you’ll make… your friends will be compelled to dance.
I decided to change things up a bit, this visit. Normally, I stay near the vendors on the NW side (near the highway exit ramp). Instead, I made my way clear over to the other side of the parking lot, near the SE side, and started from there.
Most visits, I barely get beyond a small number of rows. Liz is an efficient buyer at these things, quickly moving to each both and determining if she wants anything or not: she moves, she appraises, she moves on.
Today was the very last day for Wolff’s Flea Market at the Allstate arena. Chris mentioned having an interest in going, and convinced Leslie to tag along. The night before, I got a call from Ben, also asking to tag along.
There’s something oddly fun and adventurous, waking up crazy early on a weekend. Amazingly, I was able to get up when my alarm went off (around 5AM) and roused Liz from her sleep. In hindsight, I think it would have been better for both of us to have slept in and gotten some rest… but for some odd reason, I felt like we should go.
Liz and I decided to do another early morning trek out to Allstate Arena, to catch one of the few remaining openings of Wolff’s Flea Market. There’s only a few more weeks left (they go until October), and with the weather being as amazing as it’s been this past week… we figured it would be a good day to go.