Why I love The World's Longest Yard Sale - 675 miles of treasure

Last weekend, I made my annual trek to The World's Longest Yard Sale.  My friend Annette and I have been doing this for quite some time.  We can't really remember exactly how long we've been doing it, but we're pretty sure it's been 8 to 10 years.

The World's Longest Yard Sale is 675 miles long.  It starts on US 127 in Hudson, Michigan and travels all the way to Gadsden, Alabama.  When we first started going, it was a week long event.  It has since been cut down to a 4 day weekend.  In the past, we got up early, met at Publix and headed to Mentone, Alabama.  We've always started in Mentone and gone south to Gadsden where the yard sale ends.  From there we would usually head to Ft. Payne to eat at the Cracker Barrel and then back home.

Winston Place Bed & Breakfast in Mentone (Valley Head), AL

This year we did things a little different.  We drove to Valley Head Alabama on Thursday night and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast.  I must admit that this felt a little awkward for me.  I'd never stayed at a B&B and thought it odd that my first time was with my friend and our daughters.  I LOVED IT!  When we arrived, we found ourselves sitting on the front porch in rocking chairs talking to complete strangers and enjoying the conversations.  Everyone that was staying there, was there for the yard sale.  The second floor, the floor that we stayed on, was all people from our hometown of Huntsville.  Small world.  There was even a couple there from California!  She was an amateur antiques dealer and was so excited about the treasures that she might find.  At breakfast, she was telling us that her husband was so happy because the night before, he caught his first firefly ever!  I thought wow, I've been doing that since I was a wee tyke.  If you've never stayed at a B&B, you should definitely try it.  Breakfast was served like a big family meal.  We all sat and ate at a big table in the dining room.  Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with cheese, french toast casserole, hash brown casserole, grits, bacon, sausage, coffee, juice and fruit.  Sound like enough food to you?

The couple that own Winston Place are so very nice.  She is a teacher and he runs the B&B.  Yep, you heard that right, he cooked all that breakfast for us.  I asked if I could send my hubby up there for training and he said "Sure!  I've trained quite a few husbands".  :)  He played football for the University of Alabama and has the rings to prove it.  I plan on going back with my husband soon.





Annette and her daughter are so very organized.  They bring lists of things that they are looking to find.  This year it was things for the wedding in September.  I, on the other hand, fly by the seat of my pants.  I might have something in mind to look for but for the most part, I'm just looking for things that are different or out of the ordinary.  I have a flattened Coke bottle wind chime that I bought from a man that lives on the mountain last year.  I paid $12 for it and I just love it.  He melts the bottles flat in a kiln in his backyard.  A couple of years ago, I found a huge decorative plastic ladle, the kind that you would hang on the wall.  I paid a whopping $1 for it.  It was painted brass or bronze and pretty old.  It has since faded to black and that just adds to it's beauty.  I drilled a small hole in it and hung it on my back porch.  Sometimes, I fill it with flowers, other times I fill it with bird seed.  I have been asked many times where I found it.  People seem to really like it.

I also have to mention that this year three of the four of us were injured.  My daughter, Heather was stung by a yellow jacket.  She cried out and when I looked around to see her, the stinger was still in her thigh.  I used my Jeep key to scrape it off.  It was huge!  Annette and I were stung too but we're not sure what got us.  That wasn't a good way to start the day.  I'm just glad that none of us had an allergic reaction because we were in the middle of nowhere.

These shots are from the garden lady's house.  She is the sweetest thing, my idea of a perfect southern grandmother.

We have met some very interesting people on the yard sale.  Some of them are in the same spot every year.  We took a side road a few years ago and came across an older couple at their home.  He sells used/repaired lawnmowers and yard equipment and she sells odds and ends and flowers that she grows in her garden.  I think we've been to their house for the past three years now.  She remembered us this year.  Her garden is so big.  They have cows, chickens and dogs.  She always tries to give us something.  She saves the seeds from some of her flowers in envelopes and sells them.  I have some of her seeds myself.

Lirpa-Anad-Nitsud
April - Dana - Dustin?  my guess

This year I came across this larger than life, really cool robotic sculpture.  I had to take a pic of it.  After taking the picture, I noticed that it had a paper in a plastic cover attached to it.  When I got close enough, I realized that this man had created this art for his grandchildren who have Cystic Fibrosis.  The note tells a little bit about the children and then asks, if you enjoyed seeing this sculpture, please donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Notice the red box by the base.  It has a slit for the money to go in and is chained to the sculpture.  This is literally in the middle of nowhere on the mountain.  I found this very interesting and touching.

Herbie the Love Bug - all decked out and pulling a trailer.  Gotta love that!

This is why I love The World's Longest Yard Sale.  You never know who or what you're going to come across.  For me, it's more about the interaction with other people and the thought of finding something really cool and out of the ordinary.  That's why I go and that's why I'll keep on going.