First stop was the Tulsa State Fairgrounds on 21st Street between Harvard & Yale Avenues. Expos and collectors' conventions are held every weekend, except for when the State Fair runs early October. Parking is free. My Dad used to spend hours at gun shows here, about like I've done at sports memorabilia gatherings. This day was featuring a sports car show with local dealerships. Smaller buildings in the rear were mobbed with shoppers at factory clearance sales on electronics and appliances.

A guard suggested the Tulsa Flea Markets, which run east on Admiral, off the Memorial exit.. Backed-up traffic fed into the congestion of shoppers and vendors, eventually lining both sides of the avenue. A person serious about their browsing could waste an entire day at this weekend event, with more indoor/outdoor booths than could be guess-timated. Collectors of kitsch or anything deemed of questionable value are guaranteed to find something amid the junk, overstock, and new items.

A franchise of Cheapo Depot, an Oklahoma favorite for factory closeouts, only compliments unnecessary spending. Prices are slashed on everything, including basic household supplies and hardware, which can turn up hidden bargains. Preparing to enter the store, a sign implied, No shirt, No shoes, No Entry!. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen one of these, but this was Oklahoma, land of half-breeds, hillbillies, and a booming Hispanic population.

Based on questionings, a vendor mentioned another nearby market specializing in foreign products, and the intersection of Garnett Ave. & 21st Street was definitely passport-worthy. Plaza Santa Cecilia is the heart of a new Little Mexico. Shops and offices providing appropriate services were peppered with inexpensive cantinas, cafes, and bakeries.

The Gator Grand Prix Gameroom, which included indoor electronic go-carts, needed a revolving door with such heavy traffic. Traditional Sunday family outings were on full display, especially outdoors, where car hoods were covered with locals chatting with friends and low-rider occupants cruising by after finishing at the corner car wash. The scene implicated East L.A. gang-bangers, but all was tranquilo, with Tejano music accompanying aromas from outdoor food carts.

Across 21st Street on the northwest corner was another converted shopping complex called Internationale Plaza that had an intriguing mix of foreigners. Cheap restaurants specializing in Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese provided no shortage of places to eat, but one surprise was Nam-Hai, the largest Asian supermarket I'd ever seen.

With more than a dozen aisles, fresh produce and meat sections were indoor strolls comparable to any Chinatown sidewalk. Tanks full of large fish and lobster surrounded a hectic butcher counter. Roasted ducks, hanging by their necks, over-shadowed boars' heads and standard unidentifiable body parts considered delicacies. I resigned looking for exotic plants but made quite the haul on foreign foods—yet another reason to return to Tulsa soon.