Saturday, May 3, 2014

Fanning

We took the Glacial Hills Scenic Byway toward Fanning. The drive was gorgeous; the blue sky contrasted perfectly with the budding greenery all around us.

As we traveled, we were intrigued by the number and vehemence of signs advertising flea markets. We began to suspect that Doniphan County was, in fact, one continuous flea market from one end to the other. We were still looking for a clean restroom. I asked Magen, "Flea markets have clean bathrooms, right?" She wasn't so sure.

We followed the signs to Fanning's Community Flea Market, which was in the church hall at the Community of Christ. As we pulled in, our 4-year-old asked, "Is this where you were married?" No, son, we weren't married at the Fanning Flea Market.

We had high hopes of finding a bathroom, snacks, and some fun, but it was not to be. The flea market was winding down, so the bathrooms were being cleaned.

However we did have a fun surprise: As we browsed the few remaining tables, a kind lady gave cowboy hats to the boys. "I remember one time up at White Cloud, a man gave my son a cowboy hat," she told us. "He remembered that all his life."

On our way out, several kind folks stopped us to visit and told us how sweet our boys were. Fanning probably stands out as the friendliest place we saw in the whole county.

As we left the church hall, our bladders were still full... but our hearts were also full from the kindness of strangers. And we certainly hoped that the heart-fullness would last much longer than the bladder-fullness.

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