Euclid’s Geometry

You can do holiday shopping in Old Chicago, cook your own adventuresome dinner, then--free on Saturdays--skate until midnight in Fountain Valley. It’s all a straight line up Euclid Street.

AFTERNOON 1 2

Actually there’s a huge curve where Euclid goes under the San Diego Freeway, and the Old Chicago Antique Market is on it. The market occupies 16,000 square feet, and 120 dealers occupy it. Each has a particular, if not peculiar, strength, so there’s something to please everyone. Look for the red British-style telephone booth out front.

Just inside the door are wooden tennis rackets circa 1920, a 1913 typewriter (the Oliver Standard Visible Writer) and an accordion made by Riccordi (practically “accordion” spelled sideways), all for sale.

Moseying down the aisles, you might see a Charlie McCarthy doll, turn-of-the-century telegraph or “Star Trek”-inspired Borg coffee mug. There are several Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy books, not to mention a Hoppy bread wrapper and milk pin. How about a framed, autographed photo of Don Knotts or a photo of Barbara Eden coupled with her signed check to a landscape company?

Tired? Don’t sit on that settee! It’s 140 years old. Prices range: A street-legal 1960 Trident electric car featuring three speeds and three wheels goes for $3,350; a box labeled “Adopt an Ancestor” contains old photos for $5 or less each.

This stretch of Euclid Street also is something of a rug row, with at least three businesses specializing in Persian and other Asian rugs and tapestries: Rug Mart Inc. (18167 Euclid St.), Rug Club Inc. (18191 Euclid St.) and Rugs + (18375 Euclid St.)

The plus in Gibson’s Pottery Plus is a biggie. The store offers a host of elegant lamps for the home, for instance, and a multitude of fountains for the garden.

Right now, it’s filled with holiday merchandise including trees, lights and some pretty amazing ornaments. Oversize (about 8 inches in diameter) balls run from $10 for a simple design to $78 for an intricate harlequin pattern.

Some of the most elaborate ornaments come from the Polish company Polonaise. Alongside a four-ornament set called “Christmas in Poland” ($172.88) are others inspired by ancient Egypt ($172.88) and Coca-Cola ($137.88).

DINNER 3

The sign at Picnic Garden describes the restaurant as a “Korean B.B.Q. Buffet House.” It may seem expensive ($12.99, $7.99 at lunch), but it’s all-you-can-eat, and, because you cook your entrees yourself on a grill fired up in the center of the table, the chef’s for sure a genius.

Lunch choices include several kinds of sushi, baked mussels, a salad bar, fresh fruit, barbecue selections such as honeycomb tripe, beef intestines, calamari and octopus, spicy chicken and pork chops and a variety of condiments, among them spicy radish, seaweed, kimchi and a bottled Argentine sauce. The waitress comes around and cuts any large pieces you choose down to size with a pair of scissors.

Desserts include lemon Jell-O. With the check comes a stick of melon-flavored gum. Dinner offers all that and more: Add crab legs and lobster for starters.

AFTER DINNER 4

Skate it off!

The Circuit Skate Center primarily serves the sport of roller hockey. Inside the 36,000-square-foot center are two rinks with professional boards and tempered glass, a pro shop, locker rooms and showers, an arcade and--if seaweed and kimchi aren’t your thing--pizza and burgers at the Cross Check Cafe. Offerings include youth hockey classes, aerobic skate classes and women’s clinics (whose sponsors include the Black Widows Roller Hockey Club).

Public skating kicks in on weekends. Skating is free at a 1970s-themed party Saturdays from 8 p.m. until midnight. Public sessions also are offered noon-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday, and 8 p.m.-midnight Friday; admission is $3.50 per session, with an additional $1.50 for skate rentals. Children under 3 are free at public sessions, but skate rental still applies.

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1) Old Chicago Antique Market

18319 Euclid St., (714) 434-6487.

Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

2) Gibson’s Pottery Plus

18285 Euclid St., (714) 641-6611.

Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

3) Picnic Garden

15972 Euclid St., (714) 775-1118.

Open daily. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

4) The Circuit Skate Center

18060 Euclid St., (714) 432-0200.

Open 4 p.m.-midnight Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-midnight. Saturday-Sunday.

Parking: There is ample free parking in lots at each location.

Buses: OCTA Bus No. 37 runs north and south along Euclid Street with stops at Talbert and Edinger avenues.