Thursday, September 24, 2015

Gone Junkin' in Round Top: Part 1

Welcome to Round Top, Texas (Pop. 90), where in a bit of departure from garden visits and plants, I'm taking you on a "junket" to Texas Antiques Week when we were there in March.  It used to be just one weekend and over several decades it has grown to more than two weeks.  The twice-yearly market is on again from now through October 4th so it's a good time to show you what you might see if you decide to go.

No surprise to regular readers, I love to add stuff to my garden so back in March when we spent a few days visiting my family in nearby Chappell Hill we took a side trip to Round Top.  I've already shared several posts on the gardens at Festival Hill in Round Top and now we'll take a look at some of the chaos that goes on along a usually sleepy road known as TX 237.

Turn off U.S. 290 onto TX 237 and the show begins.  At first we just cruise along deciding where to stop...the choices are endless.



Same place, different cow


Yes, we're definitely in Texas.


Miles and miles and miles of tents along both sides of the highway and back deep into fields.


This goes on for about 15 miles!  Some places charge parking and some higher-end venues charge admission.  Most places are free and those are the ones I looked for.



Plenty of nice things to browse in all these places.


Once you find a place to park be prepared to walk,


and walk,


..and keep on walking.  This was on a Monday nearly a week before the real antique weekend show actually gets under way!


No sidewalks, the dirt track must be a mess on rainy days.


There are places to sit a spell along the way.  We're mostly still cruisin'


An occasional stop to look at some of the stuff.


Cows to graze on the lawn, check out that birdcage on the left.


Jailhouse doors.  Real ones.  Very tempted...but passed.


Handcuffs



Wagon wheels


Good stuff


Cool fan, my photos are mostly random snapshots as I was busy looking.



Indoors and out, the selection is almost overwhelming at times



It's amazing how much randomly interesting stuff there is to see.


Interesting, but what's that I see just beyond the sleeping cowboy on the bench?


Olive Jars!  Really old ones.  From Turkey and Armenia.  Just what I was looking for.  There are hundreds to choose from


After some negotiation we loaded up three, which was as many as would fit in the car plus the olive bucket.  A good day's haul along with a few other small items.  How much?  Well I bought three olive jars for less than half the price of one I've seen in antique shops and the olive bucket was just $25 as compared to $158 online at Terrain.


I left this one behind, maybe next time.  That's the same cowboy from the bench.


Back on the road I soon spotted Large Marge and we turned into The Compound.


Stay tuned for a tour of Junk Gypsy World Headquarters tomorrow.

7 comments:

  1. Nice,oh how I wish I could go to this. May be one day. You really scored. Will you show us your treasures once you install them in your gardens?

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  2. With such an amazing selection you demonstrated great restraint. Without a narrow specific goal I'm a constant hazard to our budget under such circumstances - everything begins to look like a bargain to my eyes. And I'm sure I have a place for....everything!

    I'm with Anon - can't wait to see more of your adventures but wondering where you'll site your great finds so far!

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  3. "Almost overwhelming"...I'm officially overwhelmed and not even there in person! What fun you must have had...so much to see!

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  4. I'm afraid this in real life would blow my circuits. Much prefer getting my second hand second hand, so thanks!

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  5. I would have grabbed those olive jars too. Very nice addition to any garden. I am jealous you got them. Jack

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  6. I have 2 cabin trunks from my grandparents, but otherwise I lean to simply buying modern but with charm.
    That would TOTALLY overwhelm me to trawl those stands.

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  7. Niiiiiice finds!!!!

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