CA Highway 99

As a last minute decision while driving from Los Angeles to Sacramento I forwent the uneventful I-5 route for the uneventful Highway 99. I-5 is a long stretch of highway right through the middle of nothing while Highway 99 runs through the valley cities of Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto and many other little towns you didn't know exist. Highway 99 takes only a little while longer and is the ideal route if you're concerned about your car breaking down, or in my case interested in thrift store detours.

My little thrift stops tacted on a good hour and a half to the already long six hour drive, which if I had actually had any luck whatsoever may have been more like a nine hour drive. But as it turns out thrift stores in uninteresting towns are pretty, well... uninteresting. Quite the bummer since the last time I ventured up to northern California along Highway 101 I went home with a few of my favorite finds.

Let this be a lesson to anyone interested in a thrift store road trip that will take you through CA, forget about Highway 99 and head straight for the 101. It's a much prettier drive and definitely more prosperous.

With that said, I continued from Sacramento to Red Bluff the following day along Highway 99, it's a horendous two lane road with many-a-stop lights. This stretch of 99 is scattered so frequently with thrift stores that it may very well be worth the headache. If you ever find yourself this far north in California that is.

Road-Side Photographer

"The best camera is the one you have" - said by my friend Ivett Chicas before I embarked on this cross-country trip.


It's day one. Not only have we made excellent time but we have displayed the soul of true road-warriors, driving an eleven hour haul from Palm Springs clear to the middle of Utah.


On the road by 8am we lost an hour and arrived in Green River, Utah at 8:15pm! Smaller but far more alive, even with the boarded up gas stations and cafes along the one mile strip than our original sleepy destination of Richfield, Utah.


On a minor level I'm obsessed with Green River. The bright lights of Vegas reign throughout the town, a slow quiet river runs along the middle, half the town has been boarded up, keys tossed to the side due to our delightful economy and a majority of the population are tourists looking for some solitude.


The drive here was a long, pleasant journey through the familiar desert outside of California. Towns popped up along the way like a mirage, a place known only by those who never want to be known of again. Pink plateaus turned into green rolling hills, into vibrant red clay molds dashing toward the sky and back into pink plateaus.


The sun set just as we rolled into town.


And not once did we stop for a thrift store but twice we stopped for coffee. Tomorrow is another day and we've vowed to take it slow. A morning detour off the main highway and a thrift store or two along the way. Oh what the day beholds!

Cross Country Road Trippin'

There were days not to long ago when a road trip involving moi driving across the country would've meant, at the very least, a plan set in place one month in advance and a suitcase packed 1-2 weeks prior. Those days are so far gone I can't even see them in my rear view mirror.

Here we are going on the Wednesday before the long-haul begins and I can barely conjure the excitement to plan said route, I still haven't UN-packed my suitcase from northern California not to mention packed for five days across the country and five in NYC. And I need to be ready to go by Saturday!

Please forgive me if I sound as if I'm complaining, I certainly am not, honestly I couldn't be more excited. I'm merely stating my awe over time and how it gets the best of us - just another cliche ringing true as they all tend to do.

But I digress. I finally sat down and mapped out the trip, and even though we won't be venturing along any of the routes on the above map (Route 66 was considered) I thought this website, www.roadtripusa.com was worth a mention. It's the only place I was able to find on the web that lays out optional routes. On top of this places of interest in the various states are highlighted. I only wish someone would do THAT for my random route.

Here you have it, and any suggestions along the way are welcome!

I-15 through Nevada, Arizona and Utah
I-70 through Utah and Colorado
I-76 through Colorado into Nebraska
I-80 through Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio
I-90 through Ohio, Pennsylvania and we're almost there!

Any thrift store suggestions are VERY welcome.

Home. Sweet. Home.

It sure is hard to get back in the groove of things having been away for the past week. While driving 1,000 plus miles I thought a bit about what to post on this blog and came up with a few good ideas, it's just too bad that one of those good ideas wasn't to write it down pen to paper. Because now that I'm home in LA all I can think about is the truck load of goodies that need to be sorted and priced and photographed for your viewing pleasure.

And what a truck-load it is! In the past week I was able to conquer fourteen thrift stores, one antique mall, and one flea market. Not to mention my step mother's home and garage where I gained a lot more than goods - good-knowledge and insight.



For now I leave you with the above photo - my favorite antique child's teacup of probably 50 sitting in Sandy's (step-mother) dresser drawer. And the promise of soon-to-come photos of favorite finds and a thrift store breakdown city guide of sorts.

Road-Trippin' the 101

It's only Tuesday yet this week is shaping up to be a great one. It's week one on a long list of getaways through mid-September and already I've thrifted some great finds. The normally long drive along Highway-101 between Los Angeles and San Francisco increased by five hours yesterday when my detour to the Danish community of Solvang turned into a three hour excursion and the need to thrift pulled my car into two more towns along the way - Paseo Robles and Gillroy.

It was a long day filled with self, beautiful surroundings, good music and the periodic thrift store. As of Wednesday I'm going underground for some good times surrounded by good people, a camp fire, and lake-side adventures not to resurface until after the weekend.

For now I'll leave you with the 101 play-list inspired by my good friend Nic, down-loadable here. If you're interested in receiving one of nicsmix's on a regular basis let me know and I'll make it happen!
; )

Enjoy!