The Seedy Underbelly of the Swap Meet-- How Tasty!

I have been to some pretty frightening swap meets in my lifetime. I have no, repeat NO interest in walking around a parking lot, looking at other people's castoffs, but USMCMan seems to have a genetic imbalance that drives him to seek out and wander swap meets across the country. (NOTE: This genetic imbalance comes from his mother, who is the Queen of the Dollar Stores and Flea Markets. In fact, she takes buses of fellow seniors on tours of flea markets in PA. Truth!) Thus it was that USMCMan, Thing1, Thing2, and I were headed to the Oceanside, CA swap meet.

Some swap meets have themes. Some are known for permanant structures and long-time residential vendors. For example, the High-Desert area of Yucca Valley, CA has a swap meet that features an 'unwashed jeans' vendor. This means that all jeans that he sells are foul beyond belief, full of true, American stink. What doesn't sell at the swap meet is Ebayed to Japan by the crate. Nasty? Yes. Yet, it must work for him since he's been in the same stall, selling crappy old jeans since before the Civil War.

The Oceanside swap meet is at the site of a former drive-in movie theater. It's really huge. It is also 98% Hispanic. As we walked in, I had a vague urge to search for my passport. It really was like going to Tijuana-- everyone talking Spanish, Mexican soccer jerseys flapping from stalls, the smell of Mexican food wafting from the food area. We walked up and down the aisles, staring at the oddities: thousands of bras in piles (how would you know if it fit?), bins of thong underwear, millions of used tools, mariachi band CDs, and pile after pile of used clothing. It was really crazy!

Then I began noticing people carrying bags of wheel-shaped chip thingies. The bags were about the size of a standard Dorito bag, but clear plastic. The tops were cut off and adults and kids were munching. The funny thing was that some bags were splattered on the inside with red goop. Of course, I had to find out what was going on, so I started watching for people with full bags. Full bag = vendor nearby! I finally found a food tent with hundreds of the bags all piled upon tables. People would buy the bag (flour-based chips), cut off the top with the vendor's scissors (many pairs available) and then grab spray bottles and squirt inside the bag. I discovered that the bottles had lime juice or lemon juice in them. Then, the customer would grab a bottle of liquid: hot sauce or sweet/sour and squirt happily into the bag. Off they'd go, munching the "Durito". It was a similar combination to the chicharrones (pork rinds) that are flavored with lime/chili or the Cheetos flavored the same way. But do-it-yourself. How cool! Little kids were getting plain bags. Maybe a little sweet & sour. Adults were snurfing the hot sauce.

I couldn't stand it. I bought a bag, cut the top off, squirted the lime spray inside, and glooped in hot sauce (but only on one side). YUM! Really good and tasty. Later in the day, they weren't so tasty-- they got a little mushy and stale-- but still very different. I'll have to admit it. The swap meet wasn't so bad because I got to try a new experience. I think I'll go back with The Illustrated Librarian and DecoyDuck so they can experience the seedy underbelly with me!