End of story.
If you have taken the time to read Part one, you know we enter Part two having walked out the door of Oley Valley Architectural Antiques in Denver, PA to a flat tire. Well, not exactly. My theory is that the parking lot at this architectural salvage bohemoth of a store is that there are questionable sharp objects adorning the parking lot. Makes sense with the types of loads that must be pulling up here. At any rate, by the time me and a rammy one-year-old made it down the road to Adam's Antique Market, my tire pressure light was a-blinkin.
Hoping for the best, I found the nearest gas station and filled the tire, but by the time we pulled in (again) to Adam's Antique Market, it (and I) was half-deflated. Thank the good lord for AAA. In my opinion, it is probably my most valuable membership we have, by far. One of the roadside assistant services they offer is a tire change and we did have a donut, so, naturally, we headed inside Adam's Antiques to bide the hour or so it would take for them to arrive.
Adam's Antique Market is an indoor (at least in the dead of winter) flea market with separate booths all with their own personality, which is super fun. Right as you walk in, there is a huge section that houses mostly jewelry and memorabilia and is for sure worth a look. As you weave throughout you discover vintage clothing, pottery, housewares, ephemera, etc. Some booths are piled near to the ceiling with beautiful things, so plan to spend some time.
The thing I mainly love about these types of markets is they have a more formal feel than an outdoor flea, where folks pull up their pickup and unload the same morning. The sellers spend time refining and organizing and creating a vibe for shoppers. It is a much more lived-in experience - more of a personal shop than a space full of junk. This is not to say that everything here is pricey. While there are many precious, rare and just uber cool items, there are also very reasonably priced vintage wares. And, despite the photo below, there are definitely booths that are a total mess. Those are my favorite, you can really dig for treasure and feel like you've done something.
Adam's Antique Market also has an adorable little sodashop-esque space at the very front, where you can refuel, making it a superb lunchtime stop if you are spending the day antiquing through the area. The day I went it was not very crowded, but I am sure it fills up quickly. There is room for a stroller without feeling like you are inconveniencing everyone around you.
Above was my favorite find at this market, a very old set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves dolls inside a very old dental cabinet. In my dreams, I buy both with a grand flourish, carrying the case out on my back while deftly steering the stroller, the envy of all the pirates around me. But alas, not enough sheckles, so I left this fairytale for another lucky customer.
Besides, I needed to meet the AAA guy outside.
* A little addendum to this story is that while waiting to have our tire repaired at Maaco out there near Denver, PA we met a charming elder named Dorothy. She noticed the turquoise ring on my hand and shared that she deals in silver and turquoise, many of them antiques. This is basically my advice to always chat up the locals.
