Chasing Ants : Playing Catch Up

So here's a quick run down on the latest "adventure"

Since Chase was at drill, I went to the Renninger's Antiques and Collector's Extravaganza this past Saturday with my parents. This is a gigantic (over 1400 dealers) event in Mount Dora that they do 3 times a year (November, January and February) Put on your walking shoes if you plan on attending, not only are there miles and miles of different tables, none of this is on flat ground. Let's just say the next day my calves felt like I had climbed quite a few flights of stairs. There is really no way to describe what you can find there other than to say if you think of it, its there. Lot's of really cool metal signage (like the funny one I posted) and vintage cook/bake ware. Overall it is fun to just wander from table to table just checking out all the weird, interesting things people have for sale. I ended up buying a metal box (circa 1901) that was found in a burnt down old barn, and two old cast iron public building signs (which I'll post pics of later).

After spending most of the day checking out all the goods, we decided to drive to downtown Mount Dora, which is absolutely adorable. There are so many cozy little restaurants and shops to browse it could easily be a day trip. We walked into a few of the shops, one of which I thought was particularly neat. It was called "Under the Cherry Blossoms," and it offered tons of items made by over 20 local artists. I loved that the ceiling in this shop was completely covered in paper Cherry Blossoms, which added to it's already abundant charm. I scored some "beer" and "coffee" soap from here ;)

From here, we went to the Village Coffee Pot to re-charge the batteries, because at this point every ones dog's were barking, mine were actually howling :)

After getting our java on, we drove around the town a bit and then found a spot on the lake that looked inviting and enjoyed our coffee and unfortunately pretty soon, the plaque of mosquitoes that showed up as the sun retired. Still, it was scenic and honestly it was just so nice to spend some one on one time with my parents. I can honestly say I have a blast with them anytime we do these odd little outings. On the way home we all cracked up because I swear the route my phone's navigation gave us had us doing left hand turns all the way home. Our trip must have looked something like this...