World's Longest Yard Sale Project

HGTV Was Listening....Ya Think?

2011-10-16T08:16:00.002-04:00

Tonight at 8pm EST on HGTV is the 2011 Endless Yard Sale Special. Apparently the powers that be at HGTV took my advice and ditched the "decorate a room" challenge format and kicked it to the curb. Hallelujah!!

Here is what HGTV has to say about tonights special:

Three teams of shoppers have two days and approximately $1,000 each to bargain hunt at the world's longest yard sale. They must complete 4 challenges as they shop for valuable treasures and haggle down the price. At the end of each challenge, estate sale expert Cari Cucksey will appraise the items and award the winning team additional spending cash for the next challenge. Host Kim Myles keeps us up to speed on the teams' progress and strategies, and provides design tips for viewers on how to separate the trash from the treasure. At the final appraisal, Cari will value each team's entire haul, and the team who found the best bargain prices will win the cash difference between Cari's appraised value and how much they actually spent purchasing their items. At the world's longest yard sale, the difference between purchase price and appraised value could be thousands of dollars.

Sounds better, but I don't know about that last bit about the difference between WLYS prices and appraised value adding up to thousands of dollars. You wish!

I'm looking forward to seeing Cari Cucksey on the show, I like her. I wish that my estate sales here on the penninsula of Virginia were half as organized as her sales in Michigan.

I will reserve judgement on Kim Myles until I have seen the show.

No doubt the show will trigger fond memories of my trip last year with BFF Beth to TN and KY to travel the WLYS. Good times, good times indeed :->

Wrapping It Up & The HGTV Special

2010-10-26T23:28:00.005-04:00

Our big trip to the World's Longest Yard Sale is but a fond memory now.

Beth and I both agree that we had a fab time. It was great just being on the road together and having all that time to really bond. We've been friends a long time, spent a lot of time together but this trip was special.

We are both so glad that we made it happen, we will treasure the time spent together always.

Would we go to the WLYS again? No.

We live too far away and we have yard sales right here in Virginia you know.

Would we go if we lived close? Of course.

If we lived within a 2 hour drive of Route 127 we would definitely go every year.

This past Sunday, HGTV aired their special about the sale. Let me sum it up in one word. Lame-o.

Too bad they have continued their theme of making the show really a show about home decor.

This year's show was so bad, the teams they picked were so lame, so lame in fact, they had to tell them half way through to stop buying stuff that was "made in China". (in other words, from Walmart)

This year Elyse Luray returned as the appraiser and new to the show was Kim Myles, the decorator. Ugh.

Even the coaching from the hosts could not get these 3 teams of women to pick out some cool vintage finds.

I was just reminded by one of my readers about the tires. Oh yes, one of the three teams of friends who are from Detroit bought 4 used tires to make a chair. That is the moment right there, when HGTV should have kicked those losers to the curb and just grabbed somebody else off the street and started over.

In fact, they did such a poor job of shopping, at the end of their shopping time the host Kim Myles surprised each team with a "gift" for the rooms they were decorating. She picked out something vintage and useful for each team's room.

Hey HGTV, how about a show that is about the cool vintage junk people are selling and buying. Show us the ladies making the fried pies and the churches serving up BBQ on the side of the road. We want to see what folks have bought and what they think was their best score or favorite purchase.

Oh wait, that sounds like a show for the History Chanel, right after American Pickers comes on :->

THE END

My Favorite Purchase at the WLYS

2010-08-11T17:04:00.000-04:00

Day 2 Cont. of the World's Longest Yard Sale Project

2010-08-10T21:15:00.000-04:00

A bit more of my random video clips from the trip.

The Treasure Hunt is Over

2010-08-09T15:09:00.000-04:00

My treasures have all been unpacked and distributed around the house now.

The dishwasher is full of all the vintage planters that I bought and they should be scrubbed clean soon.

The washing machine is working away on a small pile of linens, hopefully they will be less stained today.

The vintage christmas ornies are packed with many others now, I will be starting on my christmas crafting soon.

My garden is happy to have some more rusty crusty adornments.

Here is a shot of the whole lot.

The entire haul!

We shopped our way to the WLYS, and we shopped our way home from the sale. We both found treasures at the sale and along the way.

I was really hoping to find boxes and boxes of vintage christmas ornies but that just wasn't the case. What I did find was decent though.

I found a few nice pieces of old jewelry but I wish I had found more.

I really practiced restraint when it came to vintage linens. I need more vintage fabric like I need a hole in the head. Truly.
So that is a quick over view of my treasures. I will ~~brag~~ blog in greater detail about what I got in the next few days and I will let you know what my absolute favorite find was.
I know that Beth is planning to do the same, so stay tuned.

The Kentucky Lottery

2010-08-09T11:24:00.012-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

On day two of the WLYS 2010, Suzy and I found the Central Kentucky Agricultural Pavilion in Liberty, KY.

This huge covered arena was temporary home to lots of antique dealers, yard sales, and various other types of sales. Finding a diamond in the rough among all of the offereings was like winning the Kentucky Lottery!

We did find some very nice goodies to load into the car, but I would like to show you what we passed on.

This toy tractor was $700! Yikes!

If I had more disposable income I would have popped on these $500 Beatles bobbleheads!

I love this tin car, but not the $100 (firm) price.

This trunk was way cool but TOO big to bring home!

Stay tuned for more highlights of our journey on the 2010 WLYS!~~~XXOO, Beth

Day 2 of the World's Longest Yard Sale Project

2010-08-08T07:44:00.000-04:00

Day 2 was a total marathon. We made it all the way to Danville, KY which was the goal.

Along the way Beth and I went in to "american pickers" mode. Beth was Frankie and I was Mike. We "popped" on a few things, but in the end neither of us made as many purchases as we had anticipated.

It was an exhausting trip, so enjoy my little video and we will be back soon with more pictures and the reveal of all that we bought.

Day Two and a Short Post

2010-08-06T21:16:00.005-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

We are completely exhausted from Day 2! I can't imagine how anyone could do this for more than two long days! It has been a thrilling journey and we took lots of pictures and video, but it is late and we are ready to call it a night. We will be posting all throughout the coming weeks with photos and text to help you plan your WLYS journey or to take you along virtually! Anyway our journey through Kentucky on Route 127 was a fun one and we'll share it after we get home and rest up.~~~XXOO, Betg

Day 1 of the World's Longest Yard Sale Project

2010-08-05T22:33:00.001-04:00

I messed up the title a bit. You can see we had a fun first day.

Day 1: From Crossville, TN to Albany, KY

2010-08-05T21:20:00.018-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

We are on Day 1 of two day and about 150 miles of traveling the Route 127 World's Longest Yard Sale! Here are ALOT of photos of this wonderful day!
This is a little north of Crossville, TN. There are quite a few clusters of vendors in this area and easy parking in grassy areas or on the side of the road.

This vendor had lots of white painted furniture and pretty high priced but nice linens.

Here is Suzy making a purchase!

Here is my very first purchase! Glass and plastic buttons and a few pink birthday cake candle holders!

This cluster of vendors is on the grounds of the Cumberland Mt. General Store in Clarksrange, TN. You can see Suzy searching intensely for the special treasure!

A little north of Clarksrange we found FOOD! Not the vendor above who we saw at Cumberland Mt. Gen. Store but a fabulous and AIR CONDITIONED bar-b-que place called appropriately the Barbeque Shack. Great food at great prices! We were desperate to take a mid-day break as the heat and humidity was brutal!
Here is one of many individual road side sales. This one is heavy on the "mantiques."

And this sale while in the shade, which is a bonus, had little to offer us.

We passed on this "monster lawn tractor" too.

Before we made it into Jamestown, TN we encountered RAIN!

But the skies eventually cleared and the sun peeked out and thankfully the temps went down. Isn't this a lovely mountain view north of Jamestown, TN?

This is a beautiful park in Pall Mall, TN the nome of the famous Sgt. York. There was a wonderful cluster of sales here.
This vendor has wonderful chairs!

This is driving north on Route 127 into Forbus, TN near the Kentucky border. There is a nice old general store here with fudge!

Near the Kentucky border the road gets hilly and little winding. We stopped at one sale but didn't find anything other than this ancient and heavilly laden pear tree!

That's it for Day 1! Tomorrow we head north and will stop in Danville, KY, about 70 miles from where we are this evening in Albany, KY. We will show off our many purchases, and there were MANY on day one, on our individual blogs after we return home on Saturday. But please stay tuned to this blog for more photos and video!~~~XXOO, Beth

Headin' Out to the Sale!!

2010-08-04T05:00:00.002-04:00

The Forecast

2010-08-01T07:55:00.001-04:00

Long range forecast says temps will be around 90 each day with 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Photo courtesy of Iwona Kellie

I'm not going to get my panties in a bunch just yet. It's still 5 days out and the weather man has been wrong before.

Just in case, think I will get a new rain poncho :-/

Friendship and Yard Sales

2010-07-30T12:00:00.004-04:00

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Five more days until Suzy and I leave for the WLYS (and doesn't she make a great video? I love it!) and 6 days until we start shopping and shopping and shopping! Now, Suzy and I like many similar things, so you may be wondering (or not!) how we shop together...
Well we have gone to flea markets, estate sales, and yard sales together for many years and have devised a system that works quite well.

1. Whoever finds a treasure first has dibs. Simple.

2. If one of us finds something that can be shared (fabric, a box of buttons, a box of anything that we like and that can be divided), we split the cost and split the goods. We will have a separate bag in the car for such goods and will divvy them up that evening in the hotel roo,

3. If either one of us spies something that she knows the other likes or needs (and actually, do we really need anything?), she alerts the other one to the item. I call it tag team shopping.

That's pretty much it! We don't need or want anything so badly that we would get into an argument over...well, that is unless Suzy decides to nab that piece of Pixieware I need for my collection...XXOO, Beth

One Week From Today!!

2010-07-29T14:28:00.002-04:00

Just making sure the camera and the link to the blog is all set up for videos from the road, next week!!

Yard Sales: How I Roll

2010-07-26T07:58:00.002-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

As the WLYS is a mere 9 days away, I have been thinking about my "yard saling" strategy. Now, I am very aware that WLYS is not a yard sale in the traditional sense, that there will be vendors in fields and along the road who have travelled far to sell their wares. I also know that Suzy and I will encounter a mixture of traditional yard sales, church sales, and anything in between. But to be honest, the whole thrill of the WLYS is the unknown of what exactly we will find.

I do have a strategy, however tenuous, for the WLYS. Here it is in list form:

1. Carry a reusuable grocery bag anytime we stop at a cluster of sales. These bags are sturdy, lightweight, and foldable. I don't really need one at single sales. My hands usually work fine.

2. Keep moving. I know it'll be hot, it is August after all, but moving is the perfect way for me to beat the heat and to see the most the WLYS has to offer. I know what catches my eye, and I will linger over those goodies, but I know what doesn't and those goods will get narry a glance.

3. Look down in boxes. I can imagine that a lot of vendors will have boxes of goods sitting on the ground or on tables, and it's wortha quick glance or shuffle through to see what's in them. Sometimes the best stuff rests in the bottom of a box!

4. Have small bills so I can give exact change! This is vital to keep moving. No one has to give me change.

5. Carry a water bottle on a strap so I can keep hydrated and have a free hands.

6. My biggest money saving strategy is to ask on priced goods: "Is this your best price?" Saving a dollar here and there adds up. It is relatively easy to get an item marked $6 down to $5. I am always prepared to walk away. I don't bargain at charity or church sales. I usually even the charge price to the nearest $5 increment.

There is a my list. It is by no means complete, and I'm sure you can add to it! In fact, please do so by adding a comment to this post on your favorite yard sale/flae market shopping strategy. ~~~XXOO, Beth

Dining Out at the Big Sale

2010-07-25T07:17:00.008-04:00

Beth and I will be packing a cooler for sure. Lots of water and some easy snacks.

Along with all the wonderful junk we hope to find we are looking forward to some good regional cooking. We are both born and bred in the south, and our mother's always kept a large container of Crisco in the cupboard. Fried food is very familiar to us.

Normally we both strive to eat a healthy diet, but I'm looking forward to a few greasy treats on this trip :->

We've been hearing from a lot of veterans of the WLYS with some interesting tales and excellent advice.

Michaella just wrote and she has been going to the WLYS for years. Her note included some great tips about the food.

If you're going to be coming north into KY, keep an eye out between Jamestown and Liberty for a large sale on the right side of the road. You'll see a large sign advertising an amish store. The best thing here is ice cream sold by a group of Amish people. It is churned by Horse power (seriously, a huge Horse). It is very simply made with pure ingredients and is absolutely delicious.

That sounds exactly like the kind of treat I'm talking about!

She also had this to say:

We have been to several churches in KY that have sales and some of them even serve full meals for a very reasonable price.

Church lady home cooking? Sign me up. We will definitely be on the look out for the church sales now. Thanks Michaella!

OK, now I am going to jump from food to the subject of bathrooms. I know, but one kinda' leads to the other and well, more good advice here:

Be prepared to find that even when buying gas, many gas stations in KY will close their bathrooms to the public (to keep for cleaning them so much).

We like to stop at church sales because a lot of the time there are clean bathrooms available.

Now I'm hoping there are a lot of churchs along our route.

Photo courtesy of Robisan's

Watching out for the church sales will be Beth's job. I'm the designated driver on this trip so our deal is, my eyes on the road at all times and Beth will be looking out for the sales to stop at. Michaella also said:

Your biggest obstacle will be the sheer number of people dashing in and out of traffic to cross the road.

Maybe I should get a cow-catcher for the Honda Pilot just to make things easier :->

photo courtesy of psd

List Making!

2010-07-23T14:20:00.003-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

Well, with less than 2 weeks to go until the BIG EVENT, I am making my list!

Now bear in mind that this list is not limited to what you see, but it is very important to me to jot down things that I know I'll need when Suzy and I hit the road on August 4th.

I usually don't divide my take-alongs into categories, but I did for this post. As you can see hand sanitizer and wipes are in My Necessary Items category along with money in small bills. That's how I roll :)

XXOO, Beth

Two Weeks To Go!

2010-07-21T17:40:00.000-04:00

Beth and I will be leaving on our big adventure two weeks from today!

If you recall, we are jumping off our trip from Johnson City, TN, the hometown of MamaPeach. We will leave Virginia on Wednesday and spend that evening in Johnson City. Then we will rise very early on Thursday and scoot over to Crossville and start our trek north.

Lisa from Birmingham, AL sent me some fabulous links to her 2009 blog entries that she wrote about her trip to the WLYS last year.

This is some really good stuff. She wrote about her trip in three parts. Start here:

Then go here:

Lisa's blog entries are very interesting and she has lots of great pictures!

Sounds like she had an awesome time.

Finally go here to see all the loot that she scored.

I'm drooling over some of the stuff in her pictures, let me tell you.

All photos courtesy of Lisa

Great Tips Keep Pouring In

2010-07-14T16:43:00.000-04:00

I think everyone is getting really geeked up for the big SALE, I know I am. We are seeing a lot more traffic over here at the Project and I received a very nice email from Michele in Gadsden, AL.

Michele has some great advice :->

I have attended the yard sale for the past 5 yrs and in that time have purchased enough to furnish a garden home for my step-daughter and 2 vacation properties! I am fortunate enough to own a home in Mentone, Alabama that sits directly on the route. I start on Wednesday in Gadsden and drive up to Mentone shopping all of the way! I have found the majority of my things in Alabama and Georgia, I have literally spent the whole time in these areas due to the amount of vendors. There are some returning vendors, as well as, new ones…this year the Mentone Springs Hotel (which is the oldest hotel in Alabama) will be selling some of its contents, since it will be closing and awaiting new owners! I would recommend loose clothing, bottled water, and packing material/twine. I usually take sandwiches and snacks and eat in the car to save time, but there are plenty of vendors selling food along the way. One of treats that I had last year while shopping was a fried Oreo cookie (they also had fried moon pies) and homemade peach ice cream…talk about a sugar high! There is so much to see and you can get bogged down trying to see it all, but there is just no way possible, just pick and area to start and talk to other shoppers along the way, I have changed directions several times based on word of mouth!

Thanks Michele! Love the advice about checking with fellow shoppers to see where the best "junk" is. Oh yeah.

Great Tips from a Seasoned WLYS Shopper

2010-07-09T07:42:00.006-04:00

WOW! So far we have heard from some great folks that have been to the WLYS and gotten some interesting feedback.

Linda was kind enough to answer a few questions for us and she has got some great tips. Linda will be attending the WLYS for the 3rd year in a row this time so that makes her a veteran.

Be sure to pop over to her blog, A la Carte and say hi!

Photo courtesy of Vintage Lilac

1) Are you taking the same route this year and what are your beginning and ending points?

We are not taking the same route this year. The past two years we have driven from Atlanta to Alabama and up to above Chattanooga, which meant we back tracked some. This year we are driving up to Jamestown, KY and then will drive south stopping around Chattanooga and then drive home the next day.

2) How many days will you be at the sale?

Drive up on Thursday, shop days will be Friday and Saturday, we will skip Sunday this year.

3) Do you book your hotel rooms ahead of time or do you just "wing it"?

We book our rooms ahead of time.

4) Are you looking for anything specific, adding to any collections are just buying what ever strikes your fancy?

I have a list of items I would like to look for, collections to add too, but I am open for whatever great deals I find.

This year I will also shop for one of my Blog followers in a contest I will have before Aug 5th when I leave for WLYS.

5) Who is going with you?

My favorite Junk partner and my Honey, Carter

6) In previous years did you spend all your money or did you have some left over?

I have a budget and don't go over it, or not by much. This year I have an ETSY shop so my buying might be a little different.

7) How hard is the parking and how crazy is the driving on the route?

We didn't have too much trouble parking as we tend to stop at large fields full of sellers. Just makes sense for us as we like so many different things and tend to stop shop and then contact each other via cell phone if we loose track of each other. Driving can be bad and my advice be very careful in congested areas where people are going back and forth across the roads.

8) Would you say the selections and the prices are ok, good or great?

All of the above! Some prices are way too high like they were in the antique malls, some are good and then there are those people who are really looking to sell. I ask for their best price, bargain with them if it's still too high and walk away if it's still too much. First day folks are less willing to come down but by later Sat they are usually ready to bargain. Lots of dealers leave after Sat which is why we are skipping Sunday and honestly two days is enough for me.

9) Are the sellers mostly antique dealers that set up along the route or is it mostly folks cleaning out their stuff?

Since we stop in a lot of large fields we see a mixture of antique dealers and some folks who save up and do this yearly. Smaller areas or in people's yards are where you find the folks cleaning out their stuff. Of course you have the flea market folks and the craft booths so its a real mix! You need to take a quick look, see if they have your kind of 'junk' and either shop or move on. I also check prices and if they are all really higher then I'm ready to spend I move on to another booth.

10) Is it hard to get food along the route? Bathrooms?

We try to eat breakfast either at the hotel or a Waffle House or somewhere fast. We take a cooler with water & drinks & snacks for during the day. We try not to stop during the day for food. There are places with food at the large sites and lots of folks have water for sale. We then get a good dinner and crash!

BATHROOMS... WELL BE PREPARED FOR PORTA POTTIES! Another plus in large areas of sellers is porta potties. (take some tissue with you also, they run out).

***************

Photo courtesy of jbcurio

That is some really helpful info, but Linda didn't stop there. She had more to add and this is the best advice yet:

Here are a few things I would love to share with you that I have learned. Wear a hat, it is so hot and you will get sunburned. Comfy shoes for sure and light clothing. I take a tote bag to put my purchases in ( I buy a lot of smalls). I keep my money in a fanny pack or small bag that goes across my body, along with my sunglasses, phone and camera. Leaves my hands free except for the tote or backpack style tote. I keep paper in the car as so many dealers just don't have that much to wrap stuff in and I want my treasures to get home in one piece. I also keep some boxes in the car to separate the breakables from my Honey's stuff which tends to be larger and heavier. I take wipes(it is dirty out there), a disposable poncho, money in small bills and a smile. Last year I bought a little book and recorded all my purchases as soon as I had time. Helps me keep track of what I buy and what I spend!

And lastly these great words of wisdom for those of us who will be virgins to the WLYS this year :->

It is fun but exhausting and you need to have patience and a good attitude! Have Fun!

I am really lovin' all Linda's great tips and advice. I especially love the idea of taking a small notebook along to record the purchases. That way when we get home we can tally it all up and figure out how we managed to spend so much money!

Only 26 more days until Beth and I leave for TN and the WLYS!!

On the Road Usefulness

2010-06-22T15:42:00.003-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

I have traveled to every state in the USA (except for one--Kansas) by car. Logging in thousands of miles as a rider (I'm not a confident or capable long-distance driver so I play the role of navigator) and seasoned road tripper, I have come up with some things that MUST go in the car. Now, that Suzy and I are planning to hit the WLYS in about 6 weeks, I am thinking about what to include on our must take list. Today I'll share one of those items with you: zipper plastic bags.
Most particular JUMBO zipper plastic bags. These can hold 2-1/2 gallons of what you wish. We plan to use them to hold ice from the hotel ice maker to put in our cooler. We will use them to corral small items we find on the WLYS. We hope to use lots and lots of these bags to corral little treasures! The jumbo bags are also useful for holding dirty or wet laundry (although don't leave wet stuff in them too long or you'll get mildew--ick!). If you open a bag of crunchy snacks like a total spaz (like me) and burst the bag, slip your crispy treats in a zipper bag to keep them fresh. ~~~I'm sure you can come up with more uses than these as the need arises for these versatile bags, but I will tell you that several boxes of these will travel with us come early August!

Happy Trails!~~~~XXOO, Beth

I am SO Psyched!!!!!

2010-06-17T21:14:00.002-04:00

Hello, Friends!~~~

Suzy has graciously allowed me to post comments into her fab WLYS Project blog as we COUNT DOWN to the BIG EVENT!~~~~I looked at the calendar and we are EXACTLY seven weeks away from our first day of the WLYS!~~~I will periodically check in with posts of my favorite yard saling tips, traveling tips, and anything else I think you may find useful for plqanning your own WLYS excursion!~~~Until then happy yard saling in your neck of the woods!~~~XXOO, Beth

Partner in Crime

2010-06-17T16:55:00.000-04:00

Beth

If you know my other blog then you must know my BFF, Beth.

That's because we are two peas in a pod, BFF's, former neighbors, lifetime crafters AND we were both born in 1960.

Yes, that makes' us 50 this year and that is our excuse for taking off, leaving behind the dirty dishes, dirty laundry, teenagers and husbands to go off on this adventure, the WLYS!

What a way to celebrate, wouldn't you agree?!

Now that we are getting really, really close to our trip we are going to crank up this blog and get the party started.

Stay tuned right here and you will hear more from me and from Beth right here as we get ready, get packed and get psyched for our big trip.

Practicing for the Big Event

2010-06-17T16:45:00.000-04:00

There have been lots of great yard sales so far this season and I've been out there practicing, getting ready for the WLYS!

I'm hoping to find lots of vintage christmas bulbs.

I love vintage planters, especially cute ones.

My eye is always looking for old junk to repurpose into fun art for the garden.

The big event is getting so close now!!

WLYS on YouTube!!

2010-05-26T16:27:00.002-04:00

YouTube is a great source for scenes from the WLYS in previous years.

Watching these gets me so geeked up for the sale. Oh yeah.

This Gal Lives Right On the WLYS Route...LUCKY!

2010-04-16T16:05:00.002-04:00

Say hi to Alexa from Chattanooga, TN. This lucky gal lives in a city that is right along the WLYS route. Chattanooga is along the southeastern border of TN.

I don't know if I mentioned that I grew up in Johnson City which is near the northeastern border of TN.

Johnson City is where I will be jumping off from to begin my trek along 127. It's not on the route, I will have to get up super early the first morning and drive about 2 hours to get to Crossville, TN where I am starting.

Alexa has been to the WLYS two years running and is definitely returning this year.

Alexa sent me a great note about her experiences.

Photo Courtesy of Alexa

I happened upon your "World's Longest Yardsale Project" blog....loved it. Anything that promotes the highlight of my year annually can only be my friend. Most of your entries are in regard to people that attend days of the junk extravaganza, but I live in Chattanooga and can only dedicate one day to my adventure.

I begin the day at 5:30am, drive directly to Dunlap, TN and take 127 all the way into Chattanooga. It takes about 14 hours of intense junk-a-mania! No stopping to eat: bring snacks....bring liquids...drive large vehicle. No small children or husbands. I like to fly solo, or I will now allow my 14 year old daughter, of which is becoming my yardsale apprentice. It is a day like no other. I'm now on my third year so many vendors have now become friends. Certain spots along the way are regular haunts and "must-see" destinations.

I'm with Alexa on the "no small children or husbands" rule! I will have partners in crime though and we all know how to appreciate a great yard sale!

Alexa has a great blog and she has written about both of her trips to the WLYS.

You can read about her adventure in 2009 here.

For more adventures and LOTS more great pictures, read about 2008 here, here, and here.

I love how Alexa refers to the WLYS as the Ga-Zillion Mile Yard Sale.

Photo courtesy of Alexa

Are we all getting excited yet? August seems forever in the future.

Nah, it will be here before you know it :->

Kim Says She Would Do It Again!

2010-04-14T15:56:00.003-04:00

I recently heard from Kim about her trip to the WLYS in 2008 and she was kind enough to answer a few questions.

1) What year(s) have you been to the WLYS?

2008

2) What was your starting point?

Crossville, TN

3) Where did you end and how many miles did you cover?

Ended in Ohio-not sure on the miles, didn’t keep track. Many websites tell you that it continues to the Michigan-Ohio border, and that really wasn’t true. It was mostly over when you got to the Cincinnati area.

4) Were you looking to find specific types of items?

Looking for Fiestaware, and amethyst and clear depression glass, and old tools, and anything that happened to catch our eye-but mostly it was for the adventure!

5) Would you go again?

YES! J

6) What was your best “score”?

That is a really hard question! They all were! The whole experience was probably the “best” score!

7) Would you go again and if so would you cover the same route or expand your route?

YES!! In a heartbeat! I’d start in Gasden next time and work my way north from there.

8) Where are you from and how did you travel to get to the WLYS?

Michigan, and we left home on the Sunday prior. We planned a bunch of stops at places we both wanted to visit. We stopped at the Homer Laughlin China Factory for a tour, tried to visit a Diner’s Drive Ins and Dives Restaurant, visited Smokey Mountain Knifeworks, the Smokey Mountains and Ober Gatlinburg and then started the sale in Crossville and worked our way toward home.

Photo courtesy of Kim

Kim also offered some more info and tips.

We took bagels and stuff that was easy to grab for breakfasts and lunches and only ate dinners out, that saved a lot of money and helped keep us on the road more instead of having to stop so much or waste valuable time sitting in a restaurant.

Since we started a day early the crowds really weren’t that big yet, and I would definitely start early again!

We took a roll of quarters each, like a lot of websites tell you to do, and we never used them! They were heavy and a pain to carry. We took a lot of ones and were glad that we did that.

We bought disposable rain ponchos from Walmart in case we needed them.

We took all of the back seats out of our SUV and put our car top carrier inside the car (to save on gas mileage) in case we needed more storage space for the trip home, and in case we couldn’t find a hotel and might have had to sleep in the car.

Kim wrote a great blog post about her trip and you can read all about it here. She included lots of great pictures too.

Kim covered basically the same route that I will be taking so it was really great to here that she had a great time and experience. Can't wait!

Have You Been? I want To Hear From You!!

2010-04-09T15:34:00.002-04:00

I'm really interested to hear about your World's Longest Yard Sale adventure and would love to share it here on the blog.

Photo courtesy: Alabama Tourism

If you like to share, and you know you do, shoot me an email and I will send you a little list of questions and feature your story here on the blog.

Can't wait to hear from you :->

The Route

2010-03-09T22:56:00.003-05:00

Tennessee and Kentucky.

I will be jumping off from Johnson City, TN over to Crossville and heading north from there. I did a little bit of research tonight about Crossville, Clarkrange and Jamestown.

I found an interesting Thread about good places to eat along this part of the route.

Someone mentioned in this thread that it will take about 2-3 hours to navigate the 40 miles between Crossville and Jamestown during the sale. Ah ha, that's about what I expected.

There was a lot of positive reviews about the Hangin' Hog restaurant. Hmm. Not sure about that name. Just doesn't conjure up the best mental picture of an appetizing meal.

Image: TN52.com

After this past winter I am really crazy for some shopping like this under the trees :->

Getting Wound Up for the Sale

2010-01-21T09:55:00.002-05:00

127 Yard Sale
Originally uploaded by georgiapeachez

This is it, 2010. The year of my (big) birthday and my celebration trek to the World's Longest Yard Sale. Woohoo!

I've been watching this slideshow of the Flickr Group, 127 Sale.

Check it out, this will really get you jonesing for the sale. oh yeah.

Lots of Smalls

2009-11-02T15:11:00.002-05:00

It's still a long way off till next August and my trip to the WLYS but already planning this trip has taken my mind off the fact that I am rounding the half century mark next year. Instead I am having fun looking ahead to all the great stuff that we are hoping to find on route.

I can tell you right now it's going to be all about the smalls.

I don't have room in my houses for one more stick of furniture.

(I absolutely won't be bringing home any crappy neon signs either.)

That is unless I stumble across this:

Then there might be a trailer rental involved or a lot of bungee cords.

I am certain, without out a doubt that we will be finding lots of these items.

I think there will be a lot of ziplock baggies needed for this trip so we don't lose any good stuff between the seats, better put that on the list of things to bring.

What's On My List?

2009-10-16T11:32:00.004-04:00

I am starting my shopping list for the big event and I know it will be a loooong one.

First on my list and I shop year round for this is vintage christmas. That is more of a category, because it can be almost anything. I collect vintage christmas items, the kitschy the better and I also acquire vintage christmas items that I use to repurpose into creations.

So I'm on the lookout for just about anything that's christmas related and old.

I'm really hoping to find alot of christmas items, especially some really old and cool ornaments.

The most special ones will make it onto one of my 9 christmas trees that I put up each year or they will become wreath creations for my etsy shop. This year I collected enough vintage ornaments to make 8 wreaths for my shop.

That's a lot of ornaments!

Beginnings and the HGTV Special

2009-10-10T09:33:00.007-04:00

While this little ol' blog is still in it's infancy I'd like to give credit where credit is due. I certainly don't have the computer skills to put together a blog banner much less one as fabulous as the one at the top of this blog! This banner and button are the genius of the creative guru that is Katie Runnels. If you have never been over to Katie's blog, The Constant Gatherer, then it's your lucky day because I am pointing you in the right direction.

One of the things that I am hoping to do when we get over to Tennessee next August to begin shopping at the WLYS, is to hook up with HGTV. At the very least we hope to come across where they are filming for their annual special about the yard sale. In my wildest dreams I would love to star in the 2010 Endless Yard Sale Special!!!

This year HGTV picked out 3 teams of shoppers and gave each team $500 to shop for a room makeover. HGTV calls their special "The Endless Yard Sale" and this year's installment airs this Sunday at 8pm EST.

If you follow the link over to the Endless Yard Sale page on HGTV you will find several articles with lots of pictures. You can be sure that I looked at every one of those and read all the captions. One of the pictures mentions that it was taken in Clarkrange, TN. So over to mapquest I go.

Clarkrange is north of Crossville, TN where I am starting and south of Jamestown, TN (official home of the WLYS) so YES, I will be traveling through Clarkrange, TN.

Also, I want to thank everyone that has stopped by and anyone that has left a comment. I'd love to reply to your comments but I can only do so if you have an email link in your blogger profile. You can email me anytime just by following the link over in the sidebar.

Enjoy the show!

What is The World's Longest Yard Sale?

2009-10-07T08:20:00.011-04:00

The World’s Longest Yard Sale (WLYS) is 654 miles long. It stretches south from Gadsen, Alabama up north to West Unity, Ohio. The WLYS follows Route 127 through Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. It was begun by the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, TN to stimulate tourism along this scenic highway. The sale always starts on the first Thursday of August through Sunday. During this weekend, traffic is congested as thousands of vendors rent spaces in fields, yards, and parking lots along the route. The lure of find that perfect treasure around the bend brings in yard salers from all over the country. Restaurants are packed and hotel/motel rooms along the route are fully booked several months prior to the sale. So book early!

I have already booked my room and have planned which section of the WLYS I am going to tackle. I chose the section which is geographically closer to where we live, if 9 hours is considered close! It is also the section which has the official WLYS headquarters, Jamestown, TN. I am hitting Route 127 at Crossville, TN and will travel 175 miles over two days north to either Danville, KY or Lawrenceburg, KY (depending on our mood on day three). That's my plan. Part of the fun is, of course, not knowing what treasures lie beyond the next bend. It may take hours to go several dozen miles, but so be it! I expect that.

As this blog unfolds, I will share with you the minutiae of planning for this event. I am going to research as much as I can, share what I find with you, and then share my personal travel tips. I can’t wait, and I'm so glad you are taking the journey virtually with me!