feeling the junky love!!!

Excuse my french ladies but,

'Helllll Yeahhhhh"!

Zapp Hall, Hall of the Kings & Queens of JUNK!
I made it. I drove half way across the country to be here & can I just say, it truly is a

JUNKER'S PARADISE!

Y'all probably already know where I made a bee line too...The Junk Gypsy's of course!!!

Look at the cooooolest car in the history of cars!

This is the entrance to the hottest ticket at the show, at least it was for me.

And although I had my handy dandy, old as dirt, flea market cart...
I LOVED these vintage shopping baskets. Look at that rack, again the coooolest!

Walking in you are captivated by Hollywood icon, Walter Matthau. He was kinda like the Mona Lisa, his eyes followed you everywhere. {he may have been some kind of high tech security system, I'm just saying...you never know}

Now I was tired & I was hot. Did I say I was HOT?
But this bed looked mighty inviting & if I wasn't covered from head to toe in sweat, I would have loved to jump in it & just lay there to soak all this Junkified Goodness in.
{there was also a huge ceiling fan above it, moving air yesterday was a GOOD THING}


I do believe after making my holy trek to Junkland I should be considered an honorary 'COWGIRL', what do ya think??

Turquoise, Aqua...I just love anything in those shades of blue.

So, after viewing the entire booth at least 3 times, I needed to get down to business & SHOP!!!

Oh, wait...another awesome bed beckoning me to come take a load off.

I had to get a couple of these, my tank says 'Let's Get Back to the Basics of LOVE' & I now am an official member of the 'Junk Gypsy Road Crew' cuz that's what my hat & my bumper sticker says!!!

After spending WAY TO MUCH TIME in their booth, I was thinkin...these girls probably think I'm a stalker! Well, I guess I kinda am.
I walked over to the counter & said to Miss Jolie, "Hey girl, I'm Susie & I just drove all the way from Cali to see y'all". She then says, hold on to your hats..I couldn't believe it, "This is vintagesusie! She was the one trying to decide whether to drive or fly here, you drove! We posted your blog on our Facebook to let everybody weigh in...let me take a picture of you to put on Facebook!" So stunned & honored & sweating, I smiled as she took a couple of pictures of me. Then out comes my camera, to get a picture of her with George Burns telling a joke in the background. This sweet gal with her comes twice a year, for 12 years, from Georgia to help them with their sale. Jolie says "yeah, it's cuz we pay her so much." I say, "you could just pay me in t-shirts...'I Work For Tee's', Jolie thought that was pretty funny. ;)

She says, "You've got to meet Mama & Amie, this is vintagesusie...she's the one who was trying to decide if she should drive or fly from Cali!" Hugs all around, I told them they didn't have to hug me cuz I was so sweaty...but they did anyway.

I ADORE THEM!!!

They were worth the drive to Texas themselves!

Mama Gypsy thought I was getting over heated & I should go get a nice cold glass of ice tea & cool down a little. I told them I'd be back & I did exactly what Mama Gypsy told me to do. You know, since I don't have a Mama, I adored that Mama Gypsy took care of me. I wonder... if I hang around enough, do you think they might adopt me? My luck, they'll just call the State Trooper, LOL.

NEVER, They are FABULOUS & I truly do LOVEEEE them!

Back for more Junky Love today!!!

Oh & by the by...I did get some REALLY COOL JUNK already! Load me up my Texas pals!

XOXO

PS: I lost my cell phone, so I'm off to find another...silly me!

fredricksburg, texas & gingerbread heaven

Yipppppppeeeee, can anybody give me a 'Hell Yeah'! I have finally arrived at my destination...the great state of TEXAS!!!! On this particular morning, having had some trials & tribulations over at the caverns, I decide...you don't have to go to the Alamo today. Enough of the National Parks for the moment, {& I NEVER say that} you can just hit it on your way out. Let's head over to Fredricksburg, go on to Austin & then drop on down into JUNKER'S PARADISE. The plan was made.

Now in Cali the speed limit is 65, so when I'm going 80 on the Interstate I feel like I'm flying...my skin slightly stretched back from the GForce. {but that's a goood loook on me!} So when the lights went on, on the State Troopers Patrol Car behind me I thought, "What the hell, I wasn't even going 80, my foot cramps from pressing the petal that hard...oh CRAP!"He politely asks me to exit the vehicle. I ask him"What did I do wrong officer, I know I wasn't speeding?" "Well M'am, you were driving too close to the car ahead of you. You didn't leave a safe distance between you & the other driver." I was surprisingly calm at this point, as this was nothing in comparison to the CAVERNS! I then start talking in tongues, even I don't remember what was said. Something about 65 in Cali, not use to 80, just learning to use the cruise control, trying to get to The Junkers Paradise...yada, yada, yada. He now asks me to get into the patrol car. Ok, this is it...I'm headed to a Texas Penitentiary, my husband is NEVER going to let me take a trip alone again! Sitting in the patrol car, I cordially extend my wrists to be shackled. He says, "No M'am...I'm just issuing you a warning & I didn't want you to get hit by a vehicle waiting outside." What, I'm not going to jail...only a warning, Blessed be Baby Jesus!!! I guess I wasn't doing what the sign had told me to do... Drive Friendly, The Texas Way!

So my question Texas Pals is...How many of you have sat in a Texas State Tropper's Patrol Car??? Yeah, that's what I thought.

But...Fredricksburg was sooo Charming!!! Someone even took my picture there! :)

I fell in LOVE with Red Baron Antiques & the lovely Paula & Adrienne, they are adorable! & the antiques were hot too!

I bought several thing from this vendors booth...I couldn't help it. I LOVED everything she had! If Debbie Fritz is out there, your style rocks girl!

And now for the GINGERBREAD!

I'm going to buy this house & live here forever!

I adored Fredricksburg...I really thought I would love to live there & open my little shop in one of the Victorian buildings downtown. But times a wasting & off I go headed towards the 'Austin City Limits'. Suddenly on the very road I'm driving on, I see this!!!

What, a National Park?? {I quickly, but safely, swerve to the side of the road} I look in my handy, dandy passport book to see if this is the real thing, I mean is there a stamp in this place. By the heavens above & the Gods that guide the avid National Park enthusiast's, there is. I have found yet another Great American National Park completely by accident!!!

This is the 1st school house LBJ started at 4 years old.

It really was very interesting & the cattle wondering on the property were kinda cool...

until I came to this dude staring at me through my open window.

What'd I do NOW???

But the vistas & the views from his property were absolutely spectacular!

Texas, is a thing to behold!

The back side of LBJ'S Texas White House.

And as the sun sinks slowly in the west, I headed to La Grange...where I am writing to y'all right now, getting ready for my 16 mile drive to Warrrenton. Let the party begin!!! :)

Yeeeeeeee Hawwwwwww Sistahs!!!

See y'all in a couple of minutes!!!

XOXO

carlsbad caverns & she loses it

Good Morning Friends...from TEXAS!!! That's right, through my wanderings & unexpected adventures, I have finally made it to the Great State of TEXAS, Yeeeeee Hawwwww!!!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park was unbelievable. The idea of traveling 750 ft below the surface of the earth on an elevator that takes like a minute, is simply CRAZY!!

Now, I had mentioned to the gal I bought my ticket from & the elevator operator, that I am a bit...how should I say it, CLAUSTROPHOBIC! They assured me that once in the huge rooms I would feel completely comfortable & not to worry & so I didn't.

The one thing I just had not really thought out very well, was the fact that it's PITCH BLACK down there. I guess I thought they'd have a skylight or something, but you'd think the fact that they were selling helmets with lights on the front would have given me my 1st clue...but no, I missed that.

Initially the grandeur of the place was all I could think about & as brave as a little girl scout, I set out on one of the paths heading back into the bowels of the cavern.

Now, it was unfortunate that I didn't know how dark it was down there, as I had only worn my sunglasses in & my regular glasses were in the car 750 ft above me...not a lot of help, right! But I continued my hike half blind & was still enjoying it at this time. Now picture this, I'm alone, no one is near me, I can see no one & they tell you not to talk down there for the enjoyment of the other guests, so it's completely quiet...now this is starting to get a little creepy.

Still making the most of my handicapped situation, I come upon the Hall of Giants. OK, I am unknowingly starting to lose it here, but all I can think is...these look so very phallic to me. They look like enormous penis's, as I shoot away giggling ever so softly as to not offend the other guests.

Then I come upon this...you tell me what you think this is! It's gotta be some kind of a hoax, right! Some frat boys came down here & made this out of sand just to see if they could dupe all the tired, blind & gullible tourists

By the time I got to Fairyland I'm thinking to myself "OK, I've seen enough amazing rock. This is really awesome & I truly appreciate the natural beauty & geology that went into making these wondrous sites...but I think I'm done now. Thanks everyone, adios!"

Awwww, not so easy my friends. You see I had started on a one way hike in which you had to finish the hike to come full circle back to the beginning & I have no idea where I'm at on the hike. Do I have another mile to go, 5 miles, 20 miles, how the hell do you get out of here? Now I'm starting to panic, sweat flowing from my pores like a river. Finally I can barely see the figure of a couple ahead of me on the trail. I run up to them & ask, trying to remain calm, "How far are we from the end, do you know where we're at on the hike"? The old lady says "I think we're probably about 1/2 way through it". OMG, I've been down here for an hour. That means I have another hour to go, can't do it...no air! I say to her "I just really need to get out of here, I'm feeling a little nervous, sweat pouring from my face. She then says to me "Well just hope the power doesn't go off, ha, ha!" What the power could go off, oh shit...I should have bought one of those damn helmets with the flashlight on top. A zillion curse words fly through my brain, but thank god my mouth wasn't working at that moment.

I now start to jog on the path & try to convince myself to stay sane. Sing to your self I thought. ABCDEFG...what's the next line? Thinking about screaming for help, but it's too soon for those kind of theatrics. I see the slight outline of another couple on the path ahead, I yell out.."HOW FAR TO THE EXIT???" There foreign, no speaka da english. Now my mind actually cracks & I think things like, why would anyone even come down here...I've seen this very same thing on the mine ride at Knott's Berry Farm or I'll just live here, I'll become like a mole & sit down & just stay forever, or maybe if I take a nap on the path someone will think I've died & call for help...my shirt & pants & hat are soaking!!! In the distance I can just make out the figure of a person walking towards me, hey they're going the wrong way, I see the outline of a hat. As the figure becomes clearer to me I realize it's a RANGER, thank GOD, I'm saved!!! She walks over to me & asks if I'm alright, I tell her NO & how far away is the exit?? She says, "Your just 5 minutes from it, I'll walk you over there". An angel has appeared to me dressed like a Park Ranger. She asks me questions to keep my mind occupied as we walk together to the elevator. I ride in silence the 750 ft up to the surface of the earth, exit the elevator & bolt to the car breathing in the fresh, cool air. I change my shirt, right there in the middle of the parking lot. In the safety of my own car I think, what made you even imagine that you could do that???

Nothing came to me....LOL!

Today I'm headed to San Anton & The Alamo, what's a crazy girl to do?

Miss you & really wish you were here yesterday!!!

XOXO

gila cliff dwellings & white sands

What do you do when you want to get a picture of yourself on a fabulous adventure & there is no one there to take it???

You take it yourself...say cheese! lol

This trip is getting better every day! I had no idea I would be going to some of our country's most amazing National Parks, but I'll do just about anything to get another stamp in my passport book!

White Sands National Park is a phenomenon, 275 miles of of gypsum sand dunes, the largest fields in the world.

The most amazing thing about this remarkable sand is it's soooooo soft & soooooo cool. It's like stepping into a pool of moon dust...magic.

These picnic areas are ingenious, made of cool aluminium they look space age against the backdrop of ancient sands.

The one thing I've fallen in love with on this journey...

CLOUDS.

How cool is this?

My bestest friend {as long as she keeps up the good work} on this trip, my Dodge Durango.

This is the Gila Cliff Dwellings in the mountains high above Silver City, NM.

You climb a mile up into the cliffs to get your first glimpse of these ancient dwellings.

They're magnificent!!!

And talk about a room with a view...

The ceilings of these dwellings are still black from the smoke of ancients fires.

They can date these dwellings back to 100AD...

standing there feeling the natural breeze, looking at the breath taking views, walking where native families lived & worked & laughed & played with their children...

was a kind of a spiritual experience for me. Words can't express the grandeur of this magical place.

I am LOVING this adventure & going it alone has definitely had it's benefits. I go where I want, when I want, listen to what I want, stop when I want to stop. Dianne of Piece's of D had that one sooo right! On to another adventure today...I'm in Carlsbad, NM & I'm headed to the Caverns! The journey continues.

Wish You Were Here Sweet Hearts...

XOXO