Spending the weekend in the Adirondacks region of New York (lucky me!), you can't help but notice the numerous antique stores selling anything from dolls to furniture. That's not the surprising part. After all, that's what antique stores are supposed to do: sell old stuff. The surprising part is the following these place have, especially on weekends...people set out a day to go "antiquing". (I love how Americans have the ability to make a verb out of just about any noun.)

The trouble is, I have a hard time seeing the appeal of antiquing. Does it go back to the good old hunter gatherer thing? See, I am a minimalist, so spending my weekend accumulating dust-catching objects is about my worst nightmare. Plus, I grew up in Europe, constantly surrounded by old stuff and hand-me-downs, so the idea of filling my house with them doesn't sound cool at all. Yet, the tree-hugger in me appreciates the fact that all the stuff people buy gets "recycled" and reused by someone else.

As a tourist, I must admit I like seeing the roadside Antique sale signs. It's an essential part of kitschy Americana that cannot be replicated other places quite the same way.

Filed under: North America, United States