Everything Should Make You Happy

“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.”

Douglas Adams’ words from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy came to mind as I was wandering the aisles of the vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big Barberville Yard Art Emporium.

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This little guy made me laugh.

I thought about taking him home. I rounded a corner and saw him again and I laughed again. He came home.

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What a wondrously strange, but mostly expensive place.

In a way, this place had so much variety, and in another way, there was a lot of the same. Endless rows and piles of plant pots. Lizards and frogs and mermaids. There were so many of them, but most were painted in different manners, or somehow unique.

I took a moment to debate whether I needed to spend too much money on a chair that I wouldn’t be able to bring on the plane.

I spent so much time wandering around here, I missed my second stop; a bakery which was only open until early afternoon, and my arrival time would have been five minutes late. I consoled myself by pulling in here off the highway:

The store was small; not much bigger than the billboard I had seen advertising it. Their whoopie pies landed them on a show called “How To Do Florida”, and so I figured they must be something special. Spoiler alert: They were okay.

I stopped at a grocery store and bought veggies and water to make myself feel less gross about eating a whoopie pie before putting any real food in my body, and continued on my way. My next stop was one I’ve been wanting to make for a few years now.

Lofty Pursuits, “in Tallahassee Florida, just off the I-95”, as their YouTube videos say. I follow their channel and have spent many hours watching Greg, the owner, and his team make candy with their vintage equipment.

Unfortunately, Greg was out of town at a convention, and I’d missed the day’s candy making. But, that meant the store was quiet, and the staff had plenty of time to deal with my silly requests and answer my questions. I took my time moseying around – after all, according to their website, “Not everything in life should be rushed, but everything should make you happy.” I treated myself to an egg cream (the store’s signature drink at the ice cream/soda counter) and a few bags of candy to bring home. (Oh, and I hid a rock).

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I had messaged the Lofty Pursuits Facebook page yesterday, asking if Greg would be in this afternoon for a selfie opportunity. He responded directly, apologizing that he would not be in, but that he left me a signed postcard. How sweet! (Pun intended).

Once I’d purchased my sugar fix (and a t-shirt, of course!) I drove downtown, but parking was bananas and I had no idea where anything was, so I just took in the sights from the car.

I needed somewhere to sit and get online to book a place for the night. What better excuse to find a nearby thrift store? I definitely picked the right one, because they had two adorable shop cats, one of whom made himself quite comfortable in my lap when I squatted down to look at a bottom shelf.

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I am now comfortably in my AirBnB room with paper thin walls, next door to a woman whom I already know way too much about. I think tomorrow night I’ll be looking for a place to myself.