8/9/09

Endless Yard Sale

You have probably heard a lot this week about the Endless Yard Sale. It is always held the 1st weekend of August and it stretches down U.S. 127 over 600 miles from West Unity, OH in the north to Gadsden, AL in the south. Along the way it wanders through the farmlands, mountains, and heartland of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.

You my have read posts by both
Rhoda & Layla, who together hit up the southern end of the sale in Alabama. Well, my girlfriend Denise & I hit up the northern end in Ohio.

We began our trip at the very tippy-top in West Unity, OH and from there wandered south down U.S. 127. It was gorgeous day - sunny & 75. So perfect to be driving through the beautiful farm country of northwestern Ohio, cornfields dotted with quaint old farmhouses for miles upon miles. I didn't find much after an entire day of sales, but to us it was the adventure of it. Such a peaceful day for 2 best friends to catch up and enjoy each other's company. No family, no work, no teenagers, no cheerleaders, just the two of us and miles of open road. We truly had a glorious time - the sale became almost secondary.

The few treasure I did find, I am thrillled with. First off, I found more buttons, which you may recall
I have a thing for.


Next I found these glass bottles for 25 cents each and this this cute little silver bowl (I'm sure it has a proper name. Anyone?).

Here are the bottles and bowl looking all scrumptious on my nighttable.

Lastly, I got this beauty on the way out of town. We whizzed past a home that had a table of these by the side of the road, and the sign said, "FREE". So of course I couldn't resist turning the van around and grabbing this one. It is huge!



As we traveled along we determined rather quickly that it was most advantageous of us to pass by the random farm houses holding sales, and wait until we arrived at the next small town. This way we could park the van and walk from house to house. Most of these town were very tiny, I mean you could spit from one end to the other, but we'd get more sales that way.
Here is the town of Pulaski. About 10 houses with sales and of course the sale in the church hall as well:




Loved this garden out back of the church. The flowers were gorgeous and I loved the wicker loveseat DIY'd into a garden swing. How clever!

We checked out all of the goodies at the booths. It seemed as if we either encountered antique dealers with overpriced items, or clothing & baby items, and loads of people with just good old "flea market type J. U. N. K.".

By the time we neared Bryan, OH ( the largest town we came across) we were ready for some lunch. Thank you to the nice folks at Shaffers Country Style Restaurant. We had a nice lunch, and were fortified to hit the road again.

There were many nice homes in Bryan. I fell in love when I walked up this driveway and spied rows upon rows of white hydrangeas just about ready to bloom. I wanted to just dive right in!


We drove through the historic district of Bryan and there were many old Victorian homes that had been refurbished and looked amazing. However, we were drawn to the homes that have fallen into disrepair. Can you imagine the fun (and hardwork) of restoring a home like this?



On the front porch of this house we found this cute, little, old lady. She was fine until Denise took her picture and then she yelled at us to "go away". I felt bad, but we just loved her old, falling-down home.


On the way out of Bryan we encountered a SONIC. Which some of you may be shocked to know that I have never been to! We just don't have them in Northeast Ohio. We both ordered the same thing: Strawberry Limeade Chillers. YUMMY!!


Even though we stuck to the towns mostly for the sales, that didn't stop us from visiting the farmhouses that either looked interesting or looked like they had "good stuff". This was our favorite farmhouse that we stopped at. The owner was gracious enough to show us around her amazing property and show us her oodles and oodles of gorgeous flowers and gardens.






Not every farmhouse we came across was gorgeous, but you never know what you will find. At this next farm I purchased a 16 x 20 framed picture for $1.00. I will toss out the picture and spraypaint the frame black. I have been looking for just the right frame for a poster for my daughter's bedroom, so now I have both the frame and glass for a buck. You never know what you will find and cannot judge a book by its cover. Or in this case a sale by its house. Case in point: the beautiful flower Victorian home above had only clothing at their sale.


Well, after a long day of sales, and driving (almost 400 miles there and back), and quality friendship time - it was time to turn around and head back home. On the way back to the interstate we stopped at this old cemetery on a hill which we had admired on the way in. We both love old cemeteries and it was one last stop of peace and serenity before heading back to reality.



I hope you enjoyed my little travel journal of our day at the Endless Yard Sale. We can't wait to do it again next year!!
This week I am joining Rhoda and all the gals for the Thrifty Treasure party. Make sure you head over to Southern Hospitality to hear about Rhoda's adventure at the Endless Yardsale!
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18 comments:

  1. Oh I wanna come!!!! Is California to far away to meet you ;) Sounds like a fun day even if you didn't find too many treasures. A day to yourself and a friend would be a treasure in itself to me!

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  2. Another lucky one who got to go! Looks like it was quite an adventure, and I especially enjoyed the gardens you showed!

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  3. So jealous of the buttons! You got some great goodies!! Love all the pictures too!

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  4. BUTTONS***I'm so jealous! I loved your pictorial tour and all of your goodies! Thanks for sharing and come over and visit anytime...

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  5. I would LOVE to go to the endless sale some day. What fun you must have had. LOVE all of your pictures...just beautiful.

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  6. So glad you got to go too!! Great pics you shared.

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  7. That's funny: i got that same silver bowl (3rd pic) from a free box @ a garage sale this weekend!

    I wish I could've gone to that endless yard sale!!

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  8. Looks as if you two had WAAAYYYY more fun looking at houses and gardens... LOL You did find a few cute things,too, though- like the buttons, and the little footed bowl. As for that zucchini- that is one big honkin' squash! It'll make enough meals for a month. So how far south did you go? did you make it down to Cincy? I had plans, but they fell thru. went yard sale-ing on Sat. instead. Nice to meet a fellow Ohioan.
    :-) Sue

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  9. What an adventure! You guys looked like you had a blast - and what lovely photos! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. What fun!
    I love how the silver bowl and the bottles look on your night stand.

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  11. Oh my, that old woman looks exactly like my Aunt Mildred. She would have yelled at you to go away too. :o)

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  12. So jealous - sounds like you had a great weekend.

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  13. Great trip! Maybe I'll check it out next year, seems like so much fun :)

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  14. Yes, your account of your yard sale day was delightful to read! Thanks for sharing.

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  15. What a fun trip ! We don't have anything like that in Colorado....
    Hugs ~ Kammy

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  16. Great pics you shared.
    --- www.adsglobe.com

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