$12,000 Chaps

Off on a little shopping spree at the local antique stores, I spotted this beautifully carved sign.  It's new, just completed by a local artist and installed two days ago.  It says Ocean Park 7 miles.  The other side says Long Beach.  I LOVE that they use local talent.

Along the way I stopped at some geocaches that eluded me last year.  I found one after cheating and reading that the coordinates were about 45 feet off.  After clomping through the bushes looking for the BIG tree (they were all big) and getting even more mosquito bites, I finally located the box.

With that I required sustenance.  This is the Corral Drive-in, on the North side of Long Beach.  GREAT burgers!!  Yeah, it's kind of another dive, one I probably wouldn't stop at if I hadn't heard about it first.

If you like ooey, gooey, juicy, drippy delicious burgers, this is the place for you.   It was a five napkin burger, bacon and cheese hit of the day!!  I ate every single bite.  

Next up ... Ocean Park where I stopped in at Long Beach Peninsula Trading.  It's huge and stacked to the brim, a lot of which is not for sale.  It seems Margaret, or Judy or whatever her name was, decided to keep all the good stuff behind glass with lock and key.  

Not long into my visit I spotted a pair of goatskin hair chaps wadded up on the bottom shelf (pronounced shaps ... I know, everyone says it differently, but take it from an old cowgirl, it's SHAPS).  I'd love to have a pair hanging on the wall in the Arizona house.  Funny, when she took them out and looked at the price, SHE almost fell over backwards.  It was NOT a typo - $12,000.00.  Not really an antique pair, they were a modern version you can purchase new for $300.  No pictures allowed, so here's one from the net.  Had they been worn by Will Rogers or even Roy Rogers, I might have looked twice.

Thank you I said nicely, but your price is out of this world and over the moon.   There's no way you're going to sell these.  She stated it was in her handwriting, but she just wrote down what the owner told her.  Too bad I heard her speaking to a woman in the back about how she accumulated all of her "treasures", meaning SHE was the owner.  I told her if they were actually antique, I would only pay up to $500.  Thank you and goodbye.  She made a beeline for her computer to check my price.  I drove away.  

I made a quick run through two more antique stores ... more like junk stores really ... and came up with this $12 wooden horse and .....................

this gate for my walkway at the Lost Horse Ranch.  Check out the handle ... it's a horse shoe.  A pony shoe actually, but no matter ... it's perfect.

Of course I was really on the hunt for a wine bottle opener.  I hit up three Thrift shops and found nothing.  Since I was already in Ocean Park, I stopped in at Jacks.  You can find anything at Jacks.  Sure enough, there was the 7" cheesecake pan I needed, the small pizza peel, silicone pot holders for cast iron handles (because the cloth ones catch fire, personal experience speaking here) and of course the bottle opener.  

Just because I haven't seen this little gadget before ... have you?? ... I bought it.  It's a pot gorilla  Who knew?  I'm hoping this helps with my cooking skills.  Every time I cook pasta, it boils over because the lid won't stay at an angle.  Attach this little red beauty to the edge of your pot and VOILA!!  Your lid can never close, letting the water make a gooey mess of your stove.  I know, it's cheesy ... but you have to admit it's also very cute!!!

Already thinking about breakfast, I headed back on the East side of the peninsula and stopped at Baileys Bakery in Nahcotta.  I've heard great things about their pastries.

Wasn't I surprised to find hardly any had been made that morning.  I settled for some scones, a delicious peach (buy this one) and a blackberry (do NOT buy this one).  They were okay, but to be honest, I can make better.  Shocker, right??  The peach really was good with my morning coffee.

Much better was THIS ... did I show you before? ... a beautiful tiger paw from the Bakery in Long Beach.  Are you getting hungry yet???

Since it's Sunday, I'm headed back to Astoria for the market.  I really don't need anything, it's just an excuse to go back to the Thousand Trails park in Seaside and check on my new Quilting Friends parking space.  They are scheduled to leave tomorrow and hopefully I will slip right in to their empty space for a two week stay.  

Mosquito Counter ... 10