Montsweag Flea Market and Wiscasset

This past Sunday was a picture-perfect day here in Maine, and that's something I haven't been able to brag about often enough this summer. Ken and I had watched the forecast all week with an eye toward going to the Montsweag Flea Market between Bath and Wiscasset.

The day dawned sunny and warm, so we were on the road by 8:00 a.m.

Ken looks for antique tools and anything having to do with antique autos when he goes to flea markets. I look for handstitched items, china, children's books, and anything else that strikes my fancy at a bargain price.

My niece Cheryl joined us for browsing. In fact, she arrived before we did. Later, my sister and her husband stopped by, too. We practically had ourselves a family reunion right there at the flea market, for crying out loud.

I mentioned to one vendor that I buy like-new children's books to donate to Camp Sunshine and to our local food pantry. He promptly dropped his price for me. That was kind of him, especially since his prices were already extremely reasonable.

I found a strange crocheted doily in that it's covered in flowery "knobs," but the colors and stitching are so beautifully done that I had to have it for $2. It now adorns the bureau in one of the guest rooms.

I spotted a few pieces of Old Ivory china (It's the bottom plate on the website listed here.)at unbelievably reasonable prices, and I intended to go back to that table before I left and part with a few dollars. I managed to forget this promise to myself, though, and I've been kicking myself ever since. That was the closest I'll ever come to owning some beautiful Old Ivory.

No trip to Montsweag is complete without driving a few miles farther on to Wiscasset, which calls itself "the prettiest village in Maine," and I suspect it's right.

We got lobster rolls at Sprague's because the line at the famous Red's Eats was just too darned long for us. We enjoyed sitting at a table on the landing and observing a black Labrador wearing purple nail polish, courtesy of the owner's grand daughter.

After our huge lobster rolls, a tasty lunch topped off with Gifford's Moose Tracks ice cream cones, we waddled past several of Wiscasset's interesting antique shops, then we headed back home.

1. It was a good day, despite my forgetting that Old Ivory china.