A lot of stuff

Is that sign for real?

/ Roadtirementvintage / 1 Comment

Today was an uneventful and quiet day. It started out cold, though. The overnite low was 36, and it was chilly this morning. A jacket was the required article of clothing until about mid-morning. We just talked with our fellow vendors throughout the day.

Warning! Or a joke?

Warning! Or a joke?

The sign next to a nearby pond is rather ominous. The pond is about 20 yards from our spot. One of the vendors here told me that if there are no birds on a pond it is a good sign there will be ‘gators in the pond. I guess ‘gators like to eat birds that land on the surface. Hmmmm. We have seen no birds land on the pond or the banks of the pond…

Happy Valentines Day!

Afternoon shopping, an evening of music and a cold night coming

/ Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment
Buddy and Diane

Buddy and Diane

Today was kind of a mixed bag. We are at the Florida Flywheelers grounds in preparation for the big show that starts next Wednesday. We set up our tables yesterday, and today we needed to make a run to town to get some food and some table cloths for our display tables.

We went through Avon Park and on down US 27 to Sebring. There we did our shopping. We stayed in the WinnDixie parking lot and had a light lunch. By the time we were ready to leave it was getting on into the afternoon.

We drove back to the Orange Box Cafe in Frostproof and had supper. The seafood buffet was quite tasty. After we got done with supper we decided to stick around and listen to the local entertainer Buddy. (See our post on his show here.) Tonight he had his singing partner Diane Pari, with him. Diane is a mother of 5, grandmother of one, and an accomplished singer/songwriter. We heard a couple of her songs that she wrote. She is a great singer and she and Buddy were great singing duets.

Diane Pari, singer/songwriter

Diane Pari, singer/songwriter

Then it was back to our spot at the Flywheelers grounds. We had to get by the deputy at the gate by showing our parking sticker and armbands to get in the grounds. Thus today came to a close, with an overnight low of 36 expected. Seriously? Is this really Florida in February?

 

Today we began to set up for the show

/ Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Today we decided to set up all of our new tables and to begin to get our goods ready for the Florida Flywheelers

Getting the goods out and priced.

Getting the goods out and priced.

show that starts next week. This is the first time that we have set up the new to us frames and boards instead of our usual long and heavy tables. You can see the frames and boards in the photo clearly.

Part of the day’s work was to arrange the ‘tables’ the way we thought would provide the best trffic flow for our customers. Also we decided what things to put where. We are going to have the old tools on the tables next to the road. This will attract more attention from the men and get them to turn down our aisle in their golf carts or ATV’s or whatever they are driving. Then when they stop the ladies will see the necklaces on a seperate table. Beyond that will be the “Antique” type things including the old leather elephants, the brass vases from Senegal and the wooden round end table from Spain. We also have a lot of nice glassware for sale.

Anyway, we also put price tags on all the things we had bought at the auctions. It is always better if you have everything priced because a lot of people just won’t ask what your asking price is for something. How do we price our things? Well, often we know what things are going for, and if not, google is your friend. (So is eBay if you look at the sold listings.) We did pick up a nice wood carving at a recent auction. We didn’t really plan on getting it but it was put in a lot with an item we did want. Turns out the carving is by a very well known artist whose similar carvings have sold for as high as $450! Maybe this will be one of those great (and lucky) finds.

A long, busy but productive day. We even made our first sale of the show, before the show started. The porcelain enamel street sign from New Bridgeport, Mass. is gone from our inventory.

Arrived at Florida Flywheeler show grounds today

/ Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Today started early! We moved from our parking spot at the cafe and got in line at the Florida Flywheelers at 4:00 am! We did not reserve our spot after the January show, and we wanted to get the same spot which was one with electric and on the end of a row. (This was important so we could drive in and out of the grounds at will. If we had a space in a line of vendors we would be trapped.)

We got in the grounds at 8:00. We did get the spot we needed. Paid the $65 for our vendor spot and what will be 11 days of camping! That is only $5.90 a day for a spot with electric. The show runs Feb. 18 to the 21st but the grounds opened today.

I got our table boards and frames set outside and got the electric hooked up. (Had to use the extension cord this time to reach the shore service pole.) With the TV antennae up we could get several local broadcast channels. We will start to unload our things to sell tomorrow, and may set up the tent then.

The rest of the day was relaxed, with some online work and even a nice nap. The grounds were really wet when we got here, but the sunshine today really began to dry things out. We will be set up here for 11 days, with at least one trip to a nearby town for supplies before the show opens next Wednesday.

 

Dancing the night away in Frostproof, Florida

/ Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Sher and I and two other couples we know spent a couple of nights at the same little RV parking area next to the Orange Box Cafe in Frostproof, Florida. After supper we adjorned to the screened in porch for an evening of music by a local singer/cover artist. (See his story here)  Not only did we enjoy the music but we danced to the music too. We all had a great time.

Sher and I "cutting a rug"

Sher and I “cutting a rug”

Packed dance floor!

Packed dance floor!

Buddy Lyn, our entertainer for the evening

Buddy Lyn, our entertainer for the evening

Local talent at a local cafe in Frostproof, Florida

/ Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments
Buddy on the guitar and singing

Buddy on the guitar and singing

We went to a nifty little cafe at Frostproof, Florida that had RV parking (see our review) and decided to stay a second night. After supper at the Orange Box we stayed around for the Tuesday entertainment on the outside screened in porch.

The entertainment was provided by Singer/Cover Artist Buddy Lyn.  Buddy sang and played his guitar and had a sound track system for accompaniments to his singing. He sang some of the great country songs from Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Roy Clark and more. Buddy was glad to take requests: nobody asked for anything he could not sing for the crowd.

Buddy also had a friend from Alabama who also sang some songs. Scotty was a good performer and had all of his songs memorized and did not use the prompter. Everyone also enjoyed it when Scotty sang.

Buddy sings every Tuesday and will be back Friday and Saturday nights as well. This Friday his singing partner

Scotty on the mic

Scotty on the mic

Diane will be with him at the Orange Box. We are planning to go back and hear them both perform their Kenny Rogers/Crystal Gayle songs. The Orange Box Cafe provides a nice evening of music on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to 9.

Parthenon Restaurant at Tarpon Springs, Florida

/ Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments
Dining room at the Parthenon

Dining room at the Parthenon

While strolling down Dodecanese Blvd. at the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs recently we went by the Parthenon Restaurant. The manager was out front standing by the menu board and began to tell us about the restaurant offerings. He did a  good job, because we decided to go in and have a bite of lunch.

Sher had the Greek salad and I had the butter cooked pasta with grilled chicken strips and both came with peta bread. The meals were very good and the portions were quite substantial, to say the least! This was the first time that I have ever needed a leftover box for a pasta meal.

The Parthenon is located at 751 Dodecanese Blvd. just past Athens Street in the Sponge Dock district of Tarpon Springs. This is a good establishment to get an authentic Greek meal.

Greek Salad at Parthenon Restaurant

Greek Salad at Parthenon Restaurant

 

 

Orange Box Cafe in Frostproof, Florida has RV parking

/ Roadtirementvintage / 7 Comments
L to R: Nicole, cook Robert, and Libby in front of the salad bar with the Antique store in background

L to R: Nicole, cook Robert, and Libby in front of the salad bar with the Antique store in background

During our travels this winter in Florida we have been blessed to know a couple of couples who we met last year in Ohio during festivals. We have been in contact with them at some of the flea markets we have attended. They told us about a small local cafe near our next event.

The Orange Box Cafe is a favorite of the local residents, and our friends have been here before. The cafe is not only a restaurant, but also a produce store and antique store as well. There is live music on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday nights.

All six of us had supper there last night. The salad bar is small, but has fresh ingredients including marvelous home made cole slaw. The soup of the day was potato and it was delicious.

Sher and our friends ready to enjoy supper

Sher and our friends ready to enjoy supper

Sher enjoyed the soup and salad bar and I had the same plus the evening special: meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The serving of meatloaf was huge and very tasty. The slice was about 2 inches thick and covered half of the plate, smothered in gravy. One of our party made a special request on the preparation of a Reuben sandwich. No problem with that, the cook will prepare about anything you want.

The service was excellent and we had fun talking with the waitresses. We enjoyed the meal and the company. In addition, this place has a large parking lot for truckers, and they also had six sites suitable for RV’s. So we stayed there overnight and were able to plug into the electric service at the picnic shelter for no charge. This is one of those interesting places you find when you are on the road.

Nice parking spot at the Orange Box Cafe. No charge but be courteous and patronize the cafe.

Nice parking spot at the Orange Box Cafe. No charge but be courteous and patronize the cafe.