We've Seen This Before

One of the major events here in the Amish Country of northeastern Indiana is the Shipshewana Flea Market, held each Tuesday and Wednesday. We wanted to be sure to see it. Tuesday, after we checked out our new RV, we drove a few miles to Shipshewana. The Flea Market is huge. The parking lot was filling quickly--until we looked and saw it could accommodate twice the number cars that had already parked. Standing in the center of the market at the intersection of two aisles, I took this photo in one direction. Each direction we looked, the booths stretched just as far as here.

During our winter stays in Mesa, Arizona, we always check out the Mesa Swap Meet once each year. We thought it was large. This flea market is two or three times larger. We expected to see lots of local crafts and products, as well as a good selection of vegetables. We weren't disappointed. There was a full aisle of produce, including lots of fall-blooming mums and apples. We don't see either of those products in Mesa in the winter.

Do you remember the lines from a song, "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck"? I seem to remember learning that a peck was half a bushel. Tuesday, I bought 1/4 peck of apples. If you look closely at the baskets of apples above, the smallest is 1/4 peck, the mid size is 1/2 peck, and the larger baskets on the floor are each a peck. I will make the apples into a cobbler for Sunday dinner.

We saw homemade ice cream in freezers run by a gas engine.

And heavy jackets for children. Those are not sold in Mesa.

There was rusty stuff for Diana.

And a shop selling upholstery fabric.

There were also lots of knives, kitchen gadgets and tools, leather wallets and cell phone cases, t-shirts and socks and "As Seen On TV" products. Those are just like what we see in Mesa and I didn't take any pictures of them.