824 MILES OF SALES?

Are you talkin' to me? Let me get this straight. An 824 mile garage sale and it just happens to span my neck of the woods to the tune of less than 5 minutes away? And did I mention I love a good bargain?

Oh fer silly, I'm gonna need a change of shoes to tackle this beast. This is perhaps more than my bargain hunter's heart can bear. I've said it before too; I'm nobody's clutter bug. I mean, in spite of feeling the joy of a good "find", I'm no sucker for Flossie May's mushroom canisters from 1973 or Ida Lou's orange and green crocheted pillows. But show me some practical things I can put to good use and, people, I'm in.

So, I wonder how many miles I'll cover before it occurs to me that I have to drive that same number of miles to get back home. And I wonder how many "sales clerks" I'll have to endure before I've had enough. You know, the ones who actually think you need help in making a decision about 50 cent paperbacks and the like. There's just nothing quite so annoying as a sales pitch while you tip toe through "one man's trash." Oh, the subtle nuances of.


The road is historic, but the sale is still in its infancy. The 4th Annual Historic National Road Yard Sale (www.oldstorefrontantiques.com/yardsale.htm) will take place this year from dusk to dawn, May 30-June 3, along Historic U.S. Route 40 from Baltimore to St. Louis. The sale spans approximately 824 miles and last year's event was such a success that some restaurants along the way even ran out of food. The road itself is part of the National Scenic byways program, and last year marked the 200th anniversary of this particular national highway. Patricia McDaniel, chair of the sale and who runs her an antique store in Dublin, Indiana, operates the website. Of the sale's inception she says, "I've always enjoyed U.S. 40 and the history and its people, and I espouse committees, so it's been one of my goals to develop a yard sale that individuals are able to enjoy." The site also lists helpful links to convention and visitors bureaus (www.oldstorefrontantiques.com/convention.htm) along the Indiana portion of the road, so you can start planning accommodations accordingly. Expect everything from antiques and collectibles to furniture, glassware, to fresh garden produce (yes, you're reading that correctly).

Toni