Location: 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena

In the spirit of my newly discovered obsession with flea markets (read about my first successful experience at the Melrose Trading Post here), we made the trek to the mecca of flea markets over the weekend to the Rose Bowl. Every second Sunday of the month, over 2,500 vendors set-up on the seemingly never-ending Rose Bowl grounds. I’m still in the process of finding artwork, furniture, and unique vintage or second-hand goodies for my new apartment. Let’s be honest here, a nice piece of jewelry for the ol’ jewelry box is never a bad idea either.

{Tickets.}

{Entrance.}

Free parking (yay!) and $8.00 admission (boo!) gets you access past the big gates and into a world filled with old books, necklaces, rings, bracelets, handbags, clothing, art, china, furniture, and random junk from every decade imaginable.

{Jewelry booth.}

{Artwork booth.}

It was a beautiful day to be at the flea market, but is was H.O.T. 101 degree weather swarmed around us as we walked through hundreds and hundreds of booths. Not much shade or a place to sit comfortably didn’t help matters, though the $5.00 fresh squeezed lemonade was a nice treat to sip on. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great experience with lots of interesting treasures, but I will NEVER (and I mean NEVER) go out in that type of heat while trying to shop and look for awesome bargains again! It’s almost pointless because you’re constantly wiping your forehead, thinking about air-conditioning, how far you have to walk back through Hell to get to the car, and still pay attention to all the “flea-ing” you’re supposed to be doing. 🙂

Suffice to say that because the place was so huge and the weather not very kind, it made taking in everything more work than I would’ve liked. I didn’t find anything that grabbed me in a way where I had to have it, but this wouldn’t prevent me from trying again in the near future.

I couldn’t believe that by the time we got back to the car after nearly passing out from heat stroke (not really, but it felt like it) it was only 2 hours later! I’d swear we’d been there at least 4 hours, but walking in the heat sure does tire you out and make the days feel longer. If you’re ever looking to trick yourself into making your weekend seem prolonged, just wander around in 100 degree weather for a few hours!

I’ll definitely give the Rose Bowl another go, but will wait until the weather catches up with the calendar that says summer is supposed to be winding down, and fall joining us in 2 short weeks.

If you’re reading and happened to make your way to the Rose Bowl Flea Market over the weekend, I’d love to hear about your finds. Please feel free to leave me a comment below. At the very least, a comment about how hot it was in Pasadena over the weekend would make me happy because I couldn’t believe how many people were there despite the harsh temperature.