Takes fleas

No, not on the Vega Dog.



Flea markets.



I know what your first thought is....AJ....there are flea markets everywhere. True. But L.A. couldn't possibly do things without its own special flair.



True, your run of the mill yard sales occur here every weekend. But on one special Sunday a month, the yard sale puts on its L.A. best and heads for Pasadena to take over the Rose Bowl on a grand scale.



I can hear you now - 'we have flea markets here too!'



Oh yeah? How much do your fleas cost? Everything has a premium here. Ours even charges early bird admission for the real thrill seekers.



Does your sell $5000 Rolex watches?



Do people wear tuxedos to yours????



No? Then come to L.A. for the show.



Pay your $8 and you, too, can stroll miles of....uh....stuff. The website claims "Name the item and the Rose Bowl Flea Market is bound to have it." This is no understatement. You can buy all of someone else's unwanted treasure you want. Housewares, jewelry, vinyl records, old furniture, antiques, 'vintage clothing' you could wear to a costume party and 'vintage bikes' that might not get you down the block (banana seat, anyone?). Arts and crafts of every variety - candles, soap, jewelry, art - and creative inventions such as the football helmet dog beds, customizable to any team. And who has a marshmallow thrower on their Christmas list?



You can linger by the resellers of antiques such as Hummels and old Playboy Magazines, and brand new items such as the skin we picked up for my blackberry or any variety of socks you could possibly want.



Not impressed yet? What about the Rolex's, you ask? Yes, indeed, you can drop serious cash at this rummage sale on gorgeous, real watches. Rolex. Omega. Cartier. Vintage Mickey Mouse. Pocket watches and grandfather clocks.



Okay...high end watches...what else? Does your flea market have articles from movie sets? No? Well, come to Pasadena and you too can own the stools used by John Goodman in the live action Flintstones movie. Or perhaps one of Dracula's coffins. (To be pulled out as the guest room bed the next time an unwanted in-law drops in.) If you have ever wondered what happened to old stage sets, you might want to check out our little (you know....only 2,500 vendors) rummage sale where you, too, can buy furniture that looks like it walked off a Jetson's set or out of the Brady Bunch house. You could re-create an entire bowling alley from just one of the vendors (or have a lovely pair of bowling shoes for every family member at your next reunion).



Doesn't that sound like something people would wear tuxedos to shop for? Okay, maybe not the WHOLE tux...only the white coat. With tails. Over his white half shirt. And white cut off jean shorts. It's truly an upscale affair. Have a beer as you stroll among the treasures - who cares if it's 10 a.m.? You need something to wash down the kettle corn.



Now, don't worry if you didn't pack your tux...you can buy a vintage one at the market. Lace and all. What color would you like? How about sea foam green? It will blend right in with the entire bedroom set of the same color that is available. Not the right blue for your decor, you say? How about the set of four (still attached) royal blue theater seats....removed when cup holders became all the rage. Didn't you want those for your breakfast nook?



If you're not in the mood to buy (or not in the market for swords from the set of Kung Fu theater or the hand claw a la He-Man villian Skeletor), you'll still have entertainment value for the price of your admission. You can star watch. According to the website, big stars shop there. We didn't see any of famous people we could identify (they must have paid for the early bird special), but we did see people looking to be discovered. The people-watching rivals Venice Beach. In addition to Mr. Tux, there was a lady selling vintage clothes modeling some of her wares looking like Lucille Ball. Then there was the train guy riding a scooter, decked out like a train, complete with whistle and caboose. He stopped at any and all vendors offering trains and inspected their wares. And the guy who had a motorized cooler on wheels, complete with bar taps front and back, never far away from his favorite brew. And if the woman head to toe in a Solid Gold Dancer costume makes you nostalgic, you can pick up one of your grade school lunch boxes - Peanuts anyone? - or Rainbow Bright dolls. A Care Bear. Or Papa Smurf. Or Strawberry Shortcake (10 points if you can name the villian!). Or an Ewok Village set. Or the Star Wars Pez dispenser set.



So the next time you're in the market for...well, anything....take a look around and ask yourself..."wouldn't the dragon head coffee table look fantastic in my living room?"...and remember, it's what's helping us Survive L.A.

P.S. for those still racking their brains: The Purple Pieman

Surviving L.A. - Takes a parade

As if people watching in Los Angeles was not good enough on a daily basis, occasionally they throw a parade to put L.A. life on display. You may yourself have started off the New Year by watching the Annual Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, CA. Pasadena is just east of Los Angeles, and has been home to the Tournament of Roses since 1890, when organizers first decided to rub what they perceived as California's stellar weather into the noses of the rest of the country.

"Oh, you have 8 inches of snow? We have roses blooming in 80-degree weather....just look, we have so many we can have a parade!"

Two years later, they added races in an effort to expand the event. The first race was between an elephant and a camel. In 1902, they decided human entertainment was more interesting and, according to the official tournament of roses website, was added in 1902 to "enhance the days festivities". (http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/)

Those of us who miss snow may not be so impressed by the 80-degree weather Los Angelian's brag about, but we do enjoy a good parade. (Okay, I should say I, I can't lump Richard in here.) So when our friend Bob asked about attending the parade, we decided we could not pass up one of the best people watching opportunities in Southern California.

If you are willing to spend the money, several hotels line the route offering fabulous packages for their balcony rooms overlooking the flowers going by. (See picture including hotel.)

If you are okay getting out of your PJs to watch the parade, you can spend between $50 and $150 (and perhaps more) to get a a number on a peice of cold steele -- and $10 more for a seat cushion.

If you are adventerous (or out of your mind), you can camp out the night before. Before you dismiss the idea, consider that this is not your parent's camp out on hard ground. Gone are the days of stumbling out of your New Year's Eve party to pass out on the curb, only to wake up when the first school's band goes by.

This is a new family bonding event. (See crowd shots.)

Starting at Noon on New Year's Eve, you and those you can coherce into joining you can stake out your 'section' of the sidewalk, your home for the night. Imagine a massive game of musical chairs ending at the stroke of a clock. Your mission is to have the people in your party spread out blankets and chairs as far as they can get away with until they border the person next to them. This will enable you to set up your TV room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom. Afterall, you need space for the bed rolls, the table to eat on and cooler to keep meals in, the grill or outdoor firepit for cooking and warmth, and the generator and TV. You don't have to miss the ball drop in Times square, plenty of people had flat panel TVs. You don't need to relegate yourself to hotdogs and smores over a hibatchi. Oh no, there were buffets rivaling Super Bowl tailgate spreads. (Appropriate that they tailgate before a parade that preceeds a football game.)

The parade starts at 8 a.m. local time. Depending on your location on the route, the parade may start at 8:55 a.m., as it did for us. (Bands don't march quickly when they've been cueing since 3 a.m.)

This being our first experience, we were not sure what kind of insanity to expect. We left West L.A. for Pasadena at 5:45 with the intent to getting into Pasadena, getting into our parking space, and into our seats before 8. For the record, we left late, we arrived early and we spent a lot of time in the bleachers waiting for a parade. It's almost as if Pasadena has done this before and they know how to handle crowds!

Given the same circumstances in the future, what we would do is leave, late, arrive late, and not miss a beat. There were obviously people in our section who knew this strategy, because their seats were empty until about 10 minutes before the B-2 flew over to open the parade.

Being there early was not all bad....there were plenty of characters providing pre-parade entertainment. Protesters. Running clubs making their inagural run of the year. Christians reminding us to repent. Random people with a wagon throwing candy into the crowd, some of whom were still sleeping in their bed rolls. Cyclists. Kids playing in the street. Vendors with just about any snack food you could want. L.A. truly is the entertainment capital of the world.

As for the parade itself, we highly recommend it as an addition to your life list. Having watched the parade many times on TV, I can say it is a fabulous experience to catch the live show. The floats are amazing, the bands entertaining and the whole experience a very good way to start any new year. You might even be able to talk us into going with you again....so long as Richard doesn't have to use the curb as a pillow.

We did not attend the football game itself, choosing instead to watch that from the comfort of our couch, a much-welcomed cushion after the bleachers. Here is my favorite story about the Rose Bowl - as relayed to be by a former lobbyist for Washington & Jefferson University. In 1922, W&J, located in Pennsylvania, was invited to play California in the Rose Bowl. The school took a barebones team across the country, playing exhibition teams along the way to pay for the trip. The day of the game, the local paper had a long article about the game. The writer extolled the virtues of California's football team without really refering to W&J until the final sentence: "The only thing I know about Washington & Jefferson is that they are both dead."

The games have gotten much more interesting, and the parade is always fabulous whether or not the game is a close contest....and it is helping us survive L.A.