YARD SALE ACROSS THE SOUTH

We went, we shopped, we conquered! Just got back from The Highway 127 Yard Sale, aka The World's Longest Yard Sale or The Yard Sale Across the South. For those of you who haven't heard me talk about this before, its an over 650 mile yard sale that runs from Ohio to Alabama along Route 127. This year we (that would be Kathy Schopp, yes, that's her name, and I) started at Crossville, TN (approx. halfway between Nashville and Knoxville) and headed north, ending in Frankfort, KY.

One of our favorite stops was Clarks Range, TN. They had a huge flea market there and just a lot of individual yard sales and markets. Too many to visit them all. A fun side "bonus" was that while we were at the huge flea market there we came across the team from HGTV taping their yearly special covering the yard sale. It was fun to watch them filming and to see them in person. Did we end up on camera. We unfortunately aren't featured but you may see us lurking in the background if we don't end up on the cutting room floor (which I imagine is where we'll end up). None the less, it was a kick!

So what did we buy? Well, we didn't buy any "big pieces" which was really the only disappointment of the trip. We usually come home with a piece or two (or five) of furniture but we thought they were a bit light on large items this summer. Maybe we just didn't see what we were looking for though. We did find more than enough small items to buy. I bought a snail made out of metal parts to put in the yard/garden. One this size new usually goes for around $50 but I nabbed mine for $7, it was my first buy on Thursday at 7:19 a.m. My son collects stoneware mugs and steins from Germany. Those usually run anywhere from $10 on up at an antique store/mall but I got one for just $1, two for $4 each and splurged on the last one at $11, that totals $20 for an average of $5 each. I done good. I love pottery from the 30's, 40's and 50's and picked up three pieces. One is a turquoise blue California Poppy piece that I got for $13 (bargained them down from $18), a creamware rabbit planter for $3 (a steal) and a small creamware dish for $3 (note, wear your glasses when shopping, I didn't have mine on and thought it said $8 and asked if they would take $5, they laughed, told me it was $3 and we had a funny story). I picked up a cool old Retro Red Rotary Phone for 50 cents and the prize for most unique item would go to the porcelain arm/hand I purchased for $12. It's an unused form used to make latex gloves from an old factory. I plan to use it to hold necklaces, bracelets and rings on my dresser (I think). I also collect antique handblown green glass bottles/pitchers/vases and I found two at $2 each. My friend bought a set of six "game" (that's as in birds that are hunted) plates and to protect the innocent (from her husband) I won't tell you what she spent. She also picked up some small items such as crocks for as little as $3 each.

We were gone 3 nights and shopped the sale for two full days. The heat is usually brutal and we come prepared with little fans that spray water on you, hats and wet washcloths but the weather was lovely and we didn't have any problems keeping cool. And the scenery traveling north through Tennessee into Kentucky is beautiful. We passed over the dam at Cumberland Lake and it was beautiful.

The sale is always the first weekend (Thurs. through Sun.) in August so start making your plans for next year now!

YIPPEEE! YARD SALE ACROSS THE SOUTH!

That's right, baby.  It's that time (almost) and I'm counting it down.  A week from Wednesday I head to Tennessee to take in The Yard Sale Across the South, also known as the Highway 127 Sale, also known as The World's Longest Yard Sale.  I just call it a whole lot of fun!  The sale runs for over 650 miles from the Ohio/Kentucky border down through Alabama.  I've already been 3 times but each of those times was concentrated on about a 45 mile stretch north and south of Lexington, Kentucky.  This time we're headed in to the north part of Tennesee and the south part of Kentucky.  We'll be spending a lot of time in Jamestown, TN, the capitol of the sale and where it originated.

I've been "squirreling" my mad money away for over a month now and have a nice nest egg for spending.  I've made my list and I'm checking it twice.  My friend, Kathy, is emptying out their Honda Element, all but the front seats, so we can fill it with our treasures.  Kathy and I have been "antiquing" together since we got out of college.  We've been to numerous flea markets throughout the Midwest.  We've visited the Sandwich (IL) Antique Market, the Heart of the Country Antique Show in Nashville, TN, we've covered The Covered Bridge Festival in Brown County Indiana too many times to count and visited many an antique mall and shops all over the place.  On our list to still visit:  The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market in California, Round Top in Texas and Brimfield in Massachusettes.  And last of all we have dreams of visiting the markets in France and England.  I've made it to the Covent Gardens Market in London and another market over there (the name escapes me at the moment) but there is more to explore!

Back to the yard sale across the south, it starts on Thursday and we plan to be there when the stalls open.  We plan to shop all day Thursday and Friday and either come home Friday night or Saturday.  It just depends on how long it takes to fill the Element!  I'll fill you in on what treasures I found when I get back.  Got anything you'd like me to keep an eye out for?  A friend of my sister's wants me to keep an eye out for an old trumpet to make a lamp out of but I'm to pay no more than $20.  What do you want?

WORLD'S LONGEST YARD SALE

Mark your calendars now, I have. The Highway 127 Sale, the Sale Across the South, The World's Longest Yard Sale is scheduled for Thurs., Aug. 6th through Sun., Aug. 9th. And I'll be there on opening day! The sale is over 400 miles long and starts around the Ohio/Kentucky state line and heads south along Highway 127 through Tennessee and Alabama. I've been a couple times and done a stretch in Kentuck just north and south of Lexington right off Interstate 64. Oh, the treasures I have found. You'll find people selling from their own front yards, farmers, churches and others with property renting out spaces and flea markets that have sprouted up on their grounds, businesses participating, just the most sales you've ever seen.

If you want to go you're best to plan early. I'm going with a friend and we got together last week to plot our course. This year we're moving south down the highway. We plan to leave on Wed. and drive down to Cookeville, Tennessee to spend the night at Hampton Inn about 40 miles off the route. This is key to saving some green so you have it to spend at the sale. The rate at the Cookeville Hampton is $89/night. If you were to drive on to Crossville, TN, which is just off the route you would pay $181/night. There just isn't a lot of lodging along the route because it's not along an interstate, its on a secondary road. So there's a premium on lodging and it books early for the most part. But if you're willing to drive 30 to 60 minutes off the route you should be able to find lodging even at the last minute and for less dough. We'll drive on in to the Crossville area on Thursday morning and head north and start shopping. The sale is "headquartered" out of Jamestown, TN. We'll spend most of our day in this area we imagine and then head a little further north into Kentucky and spend the night, an expensive one (just over $150 but split between 2 of us), at The Best Western in Dunlap, KY. The next day, we'll head further north and do some of the area we've hit in past years, then connect up to I-64 and head for home. We have informed our husbands that if the shopping was just so good we couldn't stop then we might stop at another hotel (cheap this time) on our way back if it gets too late and finish the drive home on Sat. morning. If you want more info on the sale let me know or click on the title above and it will link you to their official website. You can also google any of the names it goes by and find lots of info and opinions. Oh, and one last thing, if you go, it will be HOT! Take your shades, suntan lotion. squirt bottle, fan, hat and wear as little as possible. And realize the worse you look the better deal you'll get, so don't carry that Prada handbag!