Flea markets are sometimes totally worth it...

One of my best friends from high school, Sara, and I spent last weekend in Harpers Ferry, WV to go white water rafting and horseback riding. There's really not a lot else to do in Harpers Ferry (except go to Charles Town Races and Slots... and YES I had that stupid song stuck in my head all weekend) so finding things to do got a bit tricky. Friday night at dinner Sara asked the waitress what the nightlife was like and she literally laughed before telling us nothing (well, there was a bar up the road called "the pub" but she "strongly recommended" that we didn't go there. We drove by the next day and it sure enough looked like a really shady place. You have to ring a bell to get into it.... wth?). Our rafting excursion wasn't until two pm Saturday and neither of us slept well Friday night, so we were up early Saturday morning with nothing to do. Looking through a binder of "local attractions" in the hotel room, Sara found a flier for a local flea market. I've always thought flea markets are nothing more than giant yard sells... and Saturday's experience did nothing to discourage that thought process, but I will never discredit them any longer. If you look hard enough, you can find some really awesome stuff.

For instance... I've been searching for Clueless (yes, the movie with Alicia Silverstone) and surprisingly no one in the area has it. Sure, I can order it online, but the shipping is nearly as much as the movie is. So I was pleasantly surprised to find Clueless stuffed into a holder at one of the stands on Saturday morning, and the guy selling it only wanted two dollars for it. Which seemed totally fair, considering the only reason I want to see it is b/c it's considered one of the best spin offs of Jane Austin's Emma, and it is also included on a couple lists of movies to see before you die (and we all know how crazy I am about my movie lists).

But the best find of the day came a few minutes later, at a stand three rows over from where I found Clueless. As you might recall, a month or so ago I compiled a list of books that influenced me as a reader when I was younger, and a writer now that I'm older. One of the books on the list was TimeCat. The copy I read when I was younger is a newer edition, rereleased for modern kids. I found the first edition copy of the book, hiden away in a pile and the seller only wanted fifty cents for it. I was so excited to find it, and I'm sitll excited now.

Of course, in the long run the book won't be worth anything (it isn't like finding a first edition of Gone with the Wind, or anything) but it's so cool to look at the old illustrations and hold the old book in my hand. And it smells fantastic... old and a bit moldy, just like all the great old books do. I'm not sure I'll be going to too many more flea markets... but Saturday's was definitely worth it.

Above is the old, and below is the newer version =)