A Birthday Trip

I did it!! I survived the year that I was dreading...I am now, officially 28 years old. For those of you not in the know, I have a HUGMONGO problem with the number that sandwiches between 26 and 28. I don't like seeing that number, hearing that number, saying that number...ok, you get the idea. Well, I thought for sure I would have big problems that year, but somehow, I made it out unscathed.

To celebrate, Becky and I decided to take a road trip this past weekend, to celebrate my birthday, her birthday coming up, her new job, etc, etc etc...

So we packed up the Convertible and headed towards the bustling town of Galesburg, Illinois. Never heard of it? Neither did we, until a quick Google search for antiques in Illinois brought us to the town. We drove for 5 hours, got lost once while I was behind the wheel (duh, I always get lost!!) and finally arrived in Galesburg...at about midnight-thirty.

The next day, we hit the Galesburg Antique Mall, a nice three story Mall in which Becky found several Little Golden Books (her vice of choice) and I found a handful of the vinyl records (my vice.) Next, we walked up and down the streets, and found a few closed antique places (BOO) before heading towards a building down a side street that read Collectible - Flea Market. We got halfway there before we realized it said Collectible FIREARMS, not Flea Market. I don't know how we made the mistake either.

We packed up and drove towards our next destination, Kankakee, but Becky stopped at one more place. A real dive looking place called Ziggy's Antique Corporation. I wanted to keep going, but Becky was persistant. I am sooooo glad she was.

Inside, Ziggy's was a virtual record store with some other antiques thrown in. And, no, it wasn't just boxes of junk Musical records...it was the real deal. Among the finds...

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (3 album set)
Joan Baez - 1st Album, on Vanguard!
2 Beach Boys 45's with Picture Sleeves
A handful of Gene Pitney LP's for $1 each
An even bigger handful of 45's for .25 each
A few Beatles 45's

Ok, I'll stop, I know you probably are saying Gene PitWHO? What does Vanguard mean?

Anyhoo, I dropped a good $70 in there, and came out smelling like roses. If you are in the Galesburg area, I highly recommend Ziggy's on Main Street.

With the top laid back and the high shine shinin', we headed towards Kankakee via 17. It was a really nice 3 hour drive through the small towns and the farming communities. I can tell you, there is more than corn in Indiana, but after this trip to Illinois, I'm not so sure there's much more than that there.

We made it to the 50,000 square foot Kankakee Antique Mall at about 4:40 pm, and they closed at 5. So, we started to bust through the Mall, but found it was too big, so we decided to leave and come back the next day. Becky spent my last $2 cash on a Book, and we left. We drove to Bourbonnais, and grabbed a bite to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. Since the restaurant was in the mall, we decided to walk around when we were finished.

In the back of the mall was a store called Krazy Kollectibles. This place was the bomb!! It had old magazines, music memorabilia, and RECORDS...IN THE MALL!! I couldn't believe it. Of course, the prices were a bit steep. I bought a Lovin' Spoonful 45 with Picture sleeve for $5...I think that was a good deal, but the other stuff...not so much.

We stopped at the Ice Cream shop in the mall, and, since I had no cash, and they didn't take Debit card (who doesn't take Debit card? Even White Castle takes Debit card!!) We asked them if they took an out of State check.

"Um, I don't know..." was the response from the teeny bopper behind the counter. Then silence. Hello, McFly? Are you going to try to find out? Nope. We left. After driving all around the town, we found another ice cream place (unfortunately, it was the same company) but Becky had a 5 in her purse (which she didn't have with her in the mall) and we were able to eat.

We went back to the Antique Mall in Kankakee the next day, and it was a complete bust. 50,000 square feet and I only found 1 record for $2. I took it to the front, slapped it on the counter, and proceeded to pull the Debit card from my wallet...at this point I had no cash.

"Sorry to have to do this to you," I said slidding the card her way. A look of disapointment covered her face.

"Take the album, I'm not running a Master Card for $2!!" Ok, if you say so. I tucked the album and we started to walk out.

"Who doesn't carry cash? What if you wanted to buy a hamburger?" she asked.

I wanted to say:

"Hello, it is 2005 Wilma Flintstone, get out of the cave and join the human race!!"

What I did say was:

"Actually, Debit card is accepted at fast food places now, too."

I smiled, turned and left with my free record in tow. We put the top down, and drove the 4 hours home with the sun on our skin, and the wind in my hairs. Overall, a great trip.