Oh hello again!  

I’m glad you are tuning in to my vacation exploits, and enjoying them along with me!

This is one of my favorite houses in Daytona.  Note the vases on the exterior wall!  I am always worried that the vases will be gone–maybe they’re actually cemented to the little shelves?  They usually have plastic flowers in them.  Life goals: vases on the outside of my house.  I think it would be adorable, even on a farm house instead of a coastal rancher!

Today’s thrifting was a little less fulfilling than previous days but I still got a few gems, and pictures of some of the things I left behind.

At one of the GoodWill stores I found this Harajuku kawaii dream outfit starter kit.  Too bad the GLAM PIE shoes by Love Pastry were too big and the candy pop shirt was too small. Cinderella couldn’t win this one.  I also bypassed the cute little bus stop girl and the safety pin beaded angel, but they were totally worth showing you a picture of!

Okay now, here is the doll that I tried to buy yesterday at City Thrift and tried to buy again today.  Unfortunately she still didn’t get to come home with me.  The store has a policy that if an item doesn’t have a price tag, the item can’t be sold.  I guess this is presumably to  keep people from getting a different price? The cashier told me yesterday that the doll would be priced and ready for purchase today but she was still behind the counter with priced dolls so yet another cashier refused to sell her.  I guess I should have asked for a manager, but I just asked if I could take a picture.

I don’t think she is really worth anything monetarily, but I really like her.  I love her polka dotted dress, hoop earrings and big bosom!  At least I have a picture.

To soothe my sadface we went and lunched at Aunt Catfish.

Our local friend Suanne met us there for lunch.  She had to have water since she had to go to work, but mom and I had margaritas. These are legit cocktails, not the watered down stuff that a lot of tourist locations try to pass off.  Completely worth the $8.

This is a pretty quintessential tourist destination and you will probably have to wait for a table if you are around during the weekend or any peak week.  There is a reason for the crowd though–the food is perfect, and the restaurant is a well oiled machine.

Go ahead and drool. Sorry for the slightly shaky picture-I was twitching with delight.  Seen here is the fish reuben for $9.99.  Every meal comes with a cinnamon roll.  Not sure why they give you one; it’s just part of the shtick and thank goodness it is.  My mom usually manages to save hers for breakfast the next day but I do not have that kind of self control.

Pro tip: you can sit at the bar and order food and not have to wait on a table.  There is also a community table where you sit with strangers and also don’t have to wait as long.  There is a great hot and cold buffet that are worth indulging in also.  Um, all you can eat cheese grits and slaw?  Yes.  On the salad bar they have all the standards plus some specialties like pickled watermelon rind.  So fun!

After lunch we shopped our way through the food & booze that threatened to hold us back.

More strange dolls I snapped pictures of but did not snap up.

I almost couldn’t resist this stuffed cat.  I am such a sad sack for stuffed animals–I want to take them home when they look lonely!  I know it’s silly, but it’s how I am.  This sweet cat was just the prettiest lightest pale blue.  I finally decided that it was cute that surely someone would buy it for their kid or grandchild.  Sigh.

The cats on the right were totally bizarre plaster wall hangings about a pound a piece and 2 feet tall.  So delightfully creepy, but I was worried they would fall off the wall and break, even though they’d look amazing next to my pair of chihuahua pictures.  Yep, I have chihuahua pictures.

OH LOOK!  ANOTHER GROTTO?

But for real, these Catholics have a garden of statues at every thrift store.

Here is your funny for the day: we’ve been driving past this place the whole trip and I finally got a decent picture of the sign.

WHAT IS AN ACID CIGARILLO?!?!

The Desert Inn was one of the fanciest hotels that I remember from back when I was a kid. It always looked SO glamorous, so exotic.  The Inn had a multi-story lobby with chandeliers that lit up the inside at night and made the entrance look like something from a Humphrey Bogart movie.  There was a hurricane around 2006-2007 that have devastated Daytona area that have damaged many motels and hotels beyond repair.  The Desert Inn is one of the casualties of that storm.  I keep hoping someone with a ton of money will take on this once glorious location and bring back its former awe inspiring presence. So far the shell lingers with depressing no trespassing signs that threaten felony charges for entry.

On a happier note: HAPPY HOUR!  The Oyster Pub is a fantastic sports bar where each table has it’s own tv and they have 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails from 4 to 7 Monday through Friday.  This place proves that a bar can have stiff drinks for a good price, friendly service, and the staff can still make money off tourists.  Asheville bars could learn a lesson from places like this.

NOTE:  I loathe Keslowski–please excuse my use of his coaster.

 

 

Can you see the little lizard in the lower right corner of this picture?  I’ve been trying to get a picture for days of the silly little lizards that scurry around the grounds of our condo.  This is the best I have gotten!  I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are today’s treasures, puny as they are!  2 little doll purses (for 10 cents each!), a tiger tail keychain, faux coral rosette necklace, Sally Hansen salon polish ($2.59!), set of doll eye chips and a diamond button (may can shave these down for a Bylthe–50 cents!), Cajun cookin’ playing cards with magnetic box (featuring a recipe on each card), and the real score of the day: cat earrings!!!!

This book.  I couldn’t resist.  I’ll report back on the gems that are surely inside.

See you tomorrow for the final vacation installment! 

 

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Even though we have been taking this Daytona trip for about 34 years and staying at the same condo AND spending a LOT of time thrifting, we somehow only found the Our Lady of Lourdes thrift store just last year.  I bought a pair of bronze cowboy boots on the first visit.  Enough said.  We tried to hit up the store today but instead we found this sign.

WHAT THE HECK IS A GROTTO?

We actually did find the building where we *think* the thrift store is located.  It sounds like it might be a weekend thing so we’ll check back in to it later in the week.  If the store is open, I’ll be sure to ask about the grotto thing.

Another perennial favorite is the Secret Attic.  I found some of these curiosities there:

Ughhhh I just love weird toys.  I may go back for this sunny clown doll.  It was 1/2 off…

Ceramic bell with tabby cat and a gold bow? Tiny little person with luxurious painted on lashes kneeling next an oversize shoe named January?  $4 jar of decorative rotten green beans?  Guess which one is coming home with me…

I saw this store out of the corner of my eye and hollered for mom to whoop it in to the parking lot.  It was worth it for both the signs and the tiny basket of trinkets I picked up there for just a dollar.  PLEASE DO NOT MAKE A MESS.

And then it was lunch time.  Last year while looking up breweries in the area we heard about BJ’s Taphouse.  It’s a chain which I sort of avoid in general, but this place is worth a try.  I mean, just look at these taps!  And this 4-screen Brady Bunch looking tv thing is pretty great, especially for sportsball and/or the political season.  I love multitasking.

During lunch hour there is a $7.99 unlimited soup and salad special.  You can mix and match all the choices you want–sorry I didn’t get a picture of EITHER of the Caesar salads that I ate; they were just that good.  There was also a wedge salad option, and this balsamic reduction Caprese salad.  Tomato bisque was only one vegetarian soup so I can’t speak to the others but the guy sitting next to us at the bar was raving about the chicken tortilla.

After fueling up our bellies it was race time!

Mom read in the newspaper that there was going to be a free fan event at the speedway today.  There was legit free parking in the CLOSE parking lots which made this a totally easy and for real FREE fan event!  I think this year is the 2nd time the speedway has hosted this.  If it happens again next year we will be there–mom and I are already planning drinks and snacks to take with us!  It still boggles my mind that you can walk around drinking out in the open, like you’re in New Orleans or something!

First stop was gift shops, because I love gift shops. Make me exit through one any time.

Water bottles and plushie racing critters!

It was kind of a bummer to discover that there isn’t a merch lot anymore.  It used to be that individual drivers had big rig trucks with all sorts of merchandise for sale.  Now all the merch is sold by one company an there aren’t as many inexpensive and sale items (like bumper stickers, key-chains, and last years shirts).   The one kind of cool thing was the vintage style items from retired or long lost drivers.  These Cale Yarborogh trucker style caps were really neat.

This little die cast car caught my eye because it says “Smith Auto Parts” (my last name).  On second glance I figured out that it’s actually a model of the car driven by a LADY driver named Louise Smith.  I can’t wait to read more about her!  Learn something new every day, y’all.

 

 

AIR CUSHION SEAT: “BEATS THE SIT OUT OF OTHER SEATS”

$8 domestics, $9 premium, $9 mixed drinks, $7 wine, $5.50 peanuts,  $4 water.

(Whew lordy, this is why ya bring your own supplies!)

Here are the rules for the race track!

(Can you bring knitting needles?  I still dunno because they didn’t check my bag!)

Requisite track shots!!!

I hadn’t been to the track since 2003 and boy have things changed.  There have been pretty major improvements made to the entire compound.  Unfortunately, tickets have gotten so pricey that we certainly can’t afford them anymore.  I’ll not get too political on that note–I was really excited to get to see all the changes…for free.  There were even some cars running laps during the fan event so we got to hear the roar!

Oh, rule breakers. NO STANDING.

It was a really fun time.  Thanks Daytona International Speedway for the dang rad freebie.

Here are the spoils of the day! Tiny telephone keychain, 2 tiny blue princess castles, tiny bear in a chef’s hat, troll doll with lavender hair, nekkid kewpie girl, doll spray bottle & milk carton, pop-a-point pencil, 80s pale pink basket, plastic box of 1×1 squares of multicolored paper , baja blast colored falsies with golden polka dots, stretchy black belt with hook buckle, fruity infuser water bottle.

More fun tomorrow!

Holler if you have any ideas for more fun stuff to do in the Daytona area! ❤

 

 

 

 

Hello from sunny 70 degree Daytona Beach!  Today is actually supposed to be the warmest day of our trip, so don’t get *too* jealous.  Mom and I made stops at some of our most favorite spots today, starting with the Daytona Flea Market.  There are some people down here already but it feels like not a lot of  race fans have gotten to town yet.  Even though the flea market is open the whole week leading up to the 500, there were a lot of vendors who didn’t open up shop today, even by the time we left around noon.  There weren’t many produce vendors so that was kind of a bummer.

Thank goodness the weird Asian dollar stores were open–they are my weakness.

ENTER OUR HAPPY WORLD!

HURRY TO COLLECT ME!

EVERY STYLES FULLY WONDERFUL!

Knock off Monster High girls-I like the box on the right were it looks like Frankie is trying to hold Clawdine back, lol.

(I did NOT buy any of these dolls, but I was temped by the girl on top! Too bad she’s $13.99)

A box of mechanical puppies–I am totally temped by the green striped one.  Mom and I momentarily thought the box was an embroidery kit instead of “embrocation”…whatever that means.  After reading the ingredients list and smelling the tiny bottle inside, I think it is some sort of pain relief liquid.  I just love weird stuff like this.

Pooh wants out of that van, I think… oh, flea markets.

There have been several bars & restaurants we’ve gone to over the years, “down under” the Dunlawton bridge. I barely caught this pic of the sign as mom drove down.

Under the bridge, DJ’s Deck has been a top favorite for the past 3 years.  We usually go at least two or three times while we are in Florida.  The place is right on the inter-coastal waterway and next to a seafood market so boats go in and out and you can watch seafood get unloaded by all manner of salty dogs.  Our top picks are the fish dip $6.99, hush puppies $1.99, and the ONE DOLLAR oyster shooters. Horseradish, hot sauce, jalapeno, oyster, and a splash of beer.  SMH.  See it pictures below next to the beer.

And now for a few more weird scenes from the day!

“SCRAPPLE INDIANA TENDERLOIN LASAGNA”

(what the actual heck?)

“VOODO CHICKENS $75.00”

(Again, what the actual heck?!)

Crab legs!!!!  Charlie Horse was recommended to me years ago by my college friend Dustin Spagnola (a really rad artist who grew up in  the area).  The Tuesday special is two pounds of crab legs for $20.  You pretty much can’t beat it and the legs have been fresh every time I’ve had them.  The Ceasar salad is also a favorite–the lettuce is so cold it’s just a notch above frozen.  Totally worth going 2 nights in a row.  And we usually do!

Purchases of the day!  Vinyl apron (featuring strange Asian to English translations), 2 plastic deviled egg plates, beaded poinsettia appliques (10 cents!),6 feathered birds, plastic string, glittered fold-up fans, bright yellow im-PRESS nails (my favorite falsies), 3 picture easels, 2 jewel encrusted hair clips, and an outfit that you’ll prolly get to see tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more fun tomorrow!