Gene is determined we are going to get to all 12 stores left
on the list today. We wake up around six
am, and get everything packed and on the road by 7:30. According to his calculations we’ll make it
to the store in Palm Desert before they open the doors. After a quick stop at a Carl’s Junior
drive-thru for breakfast, we’re on the road.
This man who drives like an old grandpa is flying like a bat out of
hell. I’m in the back seat typing on my
computer being thrown this way and that.
It is a narrow winding road through some beautiful scenery before we hit
the desert. We think we’re making really
good time when gps tells us to pull into a trailer park. Hmmmm?
We struggle to follow the directions and we end up in front of someone’s
Before I even entered the, I was loving the wind chimes that
were hanging outside of the store. Most
of them used vintage silverware for the chimes, but some of them used
keys. Once inside the store there were
more wind chimes. I love them! I’ve made one wind chime, and was gearing up
to make more after my last trip down to the Oceanside Farmer’s market I saw
some nice ones. This store had a side
room with snacks and “Grandmother” from little red riding hood. You spin a wheel for your discount and a
prize when you purchase. Also with a
minimum purchase there are Coke bottle top necklaces with Little Red Riding
hood pictures in them. They have lots of
vintage buttons and clip on earrings as well as vintage jewelry.
As I approached the
Garden of Beaden I noticed more wind chimes and some hanging candle
holders. We entered the Jungle
Book! The charm was a cute little
monkey. I’m sort of partial to
monkeys. Then we were shown the snacks,
and I believe this was the first one with some healthy snacks thrown in with
the chocolate. There was fruit as well
as veggie sticks. Of course I went
straight for the Mr. Goodbar minis. The
make and takes were really cute, they had two types of charms that were Genie
bottles, and a key fob made with leather strips and flowers riveted
together. There was a trunk show for
passion for paper beads, and the woman who owns it was there showing someone
who had come a long distance to get tips on making the beads. I picked up her card to check out her youtube
videos. The owners were so impressed
that we had come all the way from Vegas, that she wanted to take our
picture. I guess I need to watch their
website for our photo.
Bead it! Was
spotlighting Black beauty, and as I neared the front door I see next to the bale
of hay there is a tiny little black pony. They were getting pictures of all of the hoppers with the pony, and they
will be posting it online. Sorry I don’t
remember what they said about that. As
soon as I entered the store I’m given a black bag with a coupon offered a
snack, some cold water, and my charm. She points to a discount table and tells
me of the gifts with a $15 purchase. I’m
told to head to the back table where there is FREE make and take. It’s a little charm beaded in a spiral stitch
and a horseshoe charm at the end.
Knowing that we’re trying to get all of the stores in, they offered to
let me take it with me, with instructions.
NICE!!! So I make my purchase,
get my free gifts, and we’re off to the San Gabriel Bead company. We
thought the phone said about 20 minutes, but when we looked again it was saying
almost 30. Uh oh!
As we neared the location the phone was telling us to go, we
just knew it was telling us wrong, because the address is in the 300 block, and
we were in the 4100 block. All of a
sudden the addresses went from the 4000s to the 500s. I’m really trying to rush, because Gene is
still thinking we can get to all of the stores.
I’m directed right to the table to get my charm and my passport
stamped. The trunk show is right there,
so I start looking. There are stones
galore. I start asking for specifics,
and one after another He doesn’t have what I’m looking for. Then I see it! Vintage Czech glass graduated pearls. $3 and $4.50 a strand!!!!. I take all that he has. Yes, I’m spending my fortune!!! I’ve got a lot of pearl knotting in my
future! After I had already made my
purchase I made a once around the store, and was torn, because I really felt
familiar, and comfortable with the types of materials and components that were
sold there. They’d already given me a
free make and take right with the check in.
They did a great job. Oh yeah,
the theme was Secret Garden, and the make and take was seed beads in a seed
envelope. Really cute idea! I look again at the paper they handed me, and
I realize that there are more freebies.
There are 3 free patterns there just waiting to be picked up. I want
to stay, but we have more shops to hop to.
I’m starting to see that it’s impossible to hit all of the stores
today. Soon I’ll have to break the news
to Gene. He’s repeated several times how
much fun he’s having. Yes, you read that
right. He’s not just tolerating it and
being a good sport, He’s actually having fun!
He said it was sort of like a scavenger hunt. It really is.
We’re off to the Castle the
Creative Castle. I wonder what book
they’ve chosen.
Apparently all of the crazy driving and the battery popping
out of my computer not once, but twice, I’ve lost a few hours worth of
blogging. I’ll have to try to remember
and reconstruct what happened. When I
opened it this time, it looked normal, but it said read only. It was letting me type, but maybe that’s what
happened after the battery fell out the first time. Time to reconstruct.
Creative Castle had a trunk show with Swarovski rivolis, cameos, shibori ribbon, and suede. I found some peacock eye rivolis, and some cameos that caught my eye. Their theme was the secret life of bees, and I got a nice little bee charm. I bought a few charms, a stone donut and some lacy stiff stuff.
Beadiak I was greeted by a hearty Aloha. I asked if we were in Hawaii, and was assured
that we were. The book was Hawaii by
James Michener. On the table to the
right, there was a platter of Spam Musubi.
I knew when Gene made it inside that he would want some. He walked in, and he was mesmerized staring
at the tasty morsels. The lady who made
them was happy that someone wanted them.
Most of the people had no clue what they were. I think she even told him how to make
them. I found some copper charms that I
can’t remember now the name of the finish, but I had typed it before. Lol.
Beadahs was a
challenge to get to, because we were here on a Saturday evening at dinner
time. We were right on Wilshire BLVD
where all the beautiful people go to be seen.
The gps told us we had arrived when we were square in the middle of an
intersection. We got stopped at the
next light, so I got out and walked to the store. Gene was gonna try to find a parking spot,
but if he couldn’t, I was supposed to meet him at the corner. My phone was on silent, don’t ask me how that
happened, and he tried 4 times to call me.
Then I tried to call him to tell him where the parking was. He was driving and was yelling at his phone
that was on speaker. Can you picture
that. Well he didn’t hear that I was
telling him where to park, he thought I was telling him where to find me. He drove around and around, and called back
and asked where I was. Eventually he
made his way into the Great Gatsby! They
had some really cute earrings for the free make and take. I even bought a couple of extra kits. For a moment I thought they would have a
donut in the Pink Crazy lace agate. They
had geometric shapes in that stone, they had flat round beads in that stone,
they had at least two dozen donuts on display with more under the counter, but
no luck. They had no donuts in the Pink Crazy lace agate. After playing their version of beer pong with
green olive colored ping pong balls into the martini glasses, and neither of us
were successful, we rushed off to …. To find the car. It wasn’t on the third level, and the
elevator didn’t believe we really wanted to go from the 3rd to the 4th
level. Don’t they know sometimes people
get off on the wrong floor and need to go up one more floor? We punched the last store we expected to go
to into the gps. Too late. Then we punched a closer one in. maybe we could make it? We headed out. I asked Gene why everyone was passing him,
and I could tell that he wasn’t having so much fun anymore. As we finally pulled up in front of the
store, I was so disappointed to see that it was less than 5 minutes after 7 and
they were still in there. So close, but
yet so far. I saw a poster for the
collective works of……Emily Dickenson. At
least if it were Edgar Allen Poe, I could have quote the Raven and just said
Never more.
Then end of another long day hopping. Gene really did seem to be having fun. He even is trying to figure out a way to come
back on Friday. I really appreciate his
commitment to me, and to our family.
Here's the view at Peperdine University as we drove past.
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