World's Longest Yard Sale

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Thursday, August 1^st, 2013



What could be more alluring than the World’s Longest Yard Sale? First held 26 years ago, and always the first weekend of August, Highway 127 from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama is the 690 mile stretch of highway that creates this unique experience.



While not die-hard yard salers, we do like adventures, so decided this was the year we would tackle the parts of Highway 127 within a day’s drive of our home. So on a beautiful summer Thursday morning we headed south on Highway 127 where it crosses Interstate 70 in Ohio.Our plan today was to go as far as Cincinnati. On Saturday we’d pick Highway 127 up again near Covington, KY.



We had only gone about a mile before we came upon the first sale. There was no way we could have stopped at every sale, so many times we would simply slow down and “see” if it might be an interesting stop. Places that had numerous booths set up were always on the must stop list.



Some areas were easier to park at than others. Parking, as we definitely found out on Saturday, was a BIG factor in whether we even could stop to browse.



By the time 3 o’clock rolled around we were nearing Cincinnati, so we called it a stop for the day. Drove over to the Horseshoe, played some “free play”, and had a late lunch, before getting on the road to avoid rush hour.



While we had a pleasant drive, and enjoyed being out in the nice summer weather, the actual buying was a big disappointment. We spent a grand total of $1.50 for some McDonald’s Happy Meal toys that we’ll probably make about $3 on.



Saturday, August 3^rd



The goal today was the stretch of Highway 127 from near Covington, KY to Owenton, KY, about 45 miles. Just past the business area, we came upon the first of many HUGE multiple sale areas. Parking along the highway was nearly non-existence, or dangerous, as we found most of the day. These first two large sale areas provided off-road parking at a fee: $2 for the Boy Scouts at one spot, and we didn’t even inquire at the church, where we saw the cars stopping to pay. We drove onward.

The small town of ? was another area of multiple sales. Again parking along the highway wasn’t even an option, all areas full. The local elementary school was getting in on the action here: Pay-to-Park. We drove on, not finding a frugal “free” area. Despite not stopping at these sites, that in no way limited our options. For the next 45 miles, and many hours, we stopped at dozens of sale sites, many in parks, fields, or fairgrounds. All offering FREE parking! There had to have been 500-1000 sales or more, along this stretch of 127. And to imagine it goes on and on and on all the way to Alabama!



Yet, despite all those sales, we didn’t find a single item we felt we could reasonably resell on e-bay and make a buck. In fact, we didn’t even find anything we couldn’t live without for ourselves. With that being said, it was a beautiful drive on a sunny summer day, filled with adventure.



By the time we arrived in Owenton, it was way past lunch, so we stopped at the first restaurant, only to leave when no table was empty. Owenton did though have a McDonald’s.



We were yard saled out by then, so called it a day.



We’ll be back next year! Alabama or bust!

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