I’ve been visiting Los Angeles as far back as I can recall, so it’s not like I have a ton of “bucket list” things left to check out. I’m always discovering new stuff when I come here, but everything on the checklist of things that I haven’t been able to do before but always wanted to has been pretty much crossed out. I’ve seen the sunset during multiple Dodgers games, I’ve made an ass of myself in front of a few celebrities and I’ve had my fair share of amazing tortas, tacos and sushi dinners in the most low-key, out-of-the-way not on any Infatuation or Eater Heatmap writer radar type places. But for years my visiting L.A. meant I was at the mercy of people who had a car. It wasn’t until about seven or eight years ago that I’d come out here, rent a car and have a little time to explore in a way I’d previously never been able to. I got to explore the city and really started to appreciate it more, but one thing remained for me to see and that was the Rose Bowl flea market. Yesterday I finally did it and I like to think I did it right.
I like to get up early on normal days. But 4:45 AM on a Sunday was a little out my own comfort zone. I had a rough night trying to sleep, but bounced out of bed, got dressed and made it to my car in about five minutes. By 5:15 I was at the Rose Bowl. I parked and walked around, desperately looking for anybody that would sell me a cup of coffee. Why there aren’t a dozen people trying to caffinate the early birds I have no idea, but all I know is when I did see a stand with a guy selling coffee, and he charged me nine bucks for a cold brew, I happily handed over what was definitely too much money but also money well spent.
The thing I quickly realized was that my anxiety-rattled brain saw the opportunity to get to the flea as early as possible and understood it as if you don’t get there as soon as the flea opens, everything is going to be gone. That’s definitely, 10000 percent not true. Getting to the flea as early as possible really just serves as a good warmup, a chance to get your legs moving and get a lay of the land since there’s a whole ot of ground to cover.
At the end of the day, I spent four hours walking around and by the time I was done, I’d walked away with a couple of shirts I’m excited about. I didn’t find any booksellers and didn’t feel like buying any antiques I’d bring back to NYC and run the risk of breaking in my luggage. In most cases, I’d say the fifteen I spent on the ticket and the other fifteen I spent on parking was a waste, but the fact is that I had a blast. The Rose Bowl flea is an experience, it’s a chance to be around all kinds of people and listen to how people out here talk about clothes. One dealer talked my ear off on all things 1990s Starter and another talked up selling movie promo merch and mentioned my GQ piece on the topic, which I was pretty psyched to hear. The difference between the Rose Bowl flea and most of the others I’ve been to across the country is the experience. I had more of a good time just meandering around the parking lot of an iconic football stadium than I did worrying I was going to have to fight some crypto bro over some piece of furniture he’s trying to buy to impress his girlfriend. I don’t know what the later part of the flea is like, but I love the feeling of real heads only wandering around in the wee small hours of the morning looking for a deal.
The act of browsing should be as interesting as finding something. I think about this one Lucy Sante essay where she writes about the old book dealers and sellers of other merchandise that you’d find along the sidewalks in Manhattan. I have little memories here and there of those kinds of dealers, but also stops at tag and garage sales, and, of course, walking into a thrift store and hoping maybe you’ll find a thing or multiple things. For me, buying the ticket and schleping out to Pasadena before the sun was up wasn’t about finding anything at all. I mean, I wanted to at least come away with a couple of things, but I wasn’t going to be mad if I was empty handed on my ride home, but ultimately the whole thing was about doing it. Going there. Seeing what it was like and leaving knowing that next time I’m in town when the flea is going on that I’ll definitely wake up early again, and then I’ll be looking to shop. But this time around it was just nice to get to say I woke up early and checked something off my silly little bucket list.