Yard sales -- Visit a true American experience.
In addition to our yard sale buys, we enjoyed chatting with other folks who were perusing, and sometimes purchasing, the merchandise, and observing what kinds of objects were native to the setting.
My wife and I were customers at one of the estimated nine million yard sales and garage sales that take place each year in the United States.
“Oh Look,” my wife Fyllis exclaimed with surprise and delight. “I’ve been looking for antique candle sticks like these for ages.”
“And I’ve been searching for an old-fashioned brief case like this one,” I replied, lifting my find from a pile of items spread out on a long table.
We were far from home, enjoying a vacation in upstate New York, when we came upon a yard sale while driving to a restaurant for lunch. While we’re not frequent fans of those outdoor displays, we decided to check this one out as part of our immersion in the destination we were visiting.
In addition to our acquisitions, we enjoyed chatting with other folks who were perusing, and sometimes purchasing, the merchandise, and observing what kinds of objects were native to the setting. In addition to what we bought, we spotted bottles of Loganberry soda, jars of tomato butter, Onieda flatware and other home-made and home-grown products and produce.
Check out yard sales near where you live and when you travel
Whether close to where you live or held at a destination you’re visiting, these events offer opportunities to pick up something you may have been seeking or an object that catches your fancy, and to interact with other shoppers and those with something to sell.
Yard sales also provide a bit of nostalgia, given their roots in past decades. They began to spring up during the 1950s and 1960s when some people began to realize that they could pick up a bit of extra cash by selling goods they had accumulated but no longer needed, or wanted.
Since then, these activities have evolved to become in ways as recreational as they are financial. Buyers meet and greet their hosts, chat with other participants and may mingle with new neighbors. Some people enjoy perusing what others have collected over time, keeping an eye out for a rare item and haggling good naturedly over the price.
Yard sales come in a variety of types and sizes
These mini-marketplaces come in a variety of types and sizes, and await discovery by people close to home or far away. At the top of the list is what’s aptly titled “The World’s Longest Yard Sale.” That describes what takes place along U.S. Route 127 as it winds 690 miles from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Tennessee, spanning six states along the way. Stretches of this rural highway introduce travelers to a variety of cultures and local dialects.
Some roadside marketplaces settle for a century-size length. Virginia’s 100-mile Yard Sale, which actually covers 10 additional miles, follows a meandering route through a number of towns. The focus is on antiques and vintage treasures.
The two-day Kansas-Oklahoma 100 Mile Highway Sale leads to a dozen tiny towns. In addition to individual vendors and small gatherings of dealers along the way, there are large group sites where several dozen people offer their wares.
In addition to clothes, kitchen gadgets, toys and other usual items, the 301 Endless Yard Sale in North Carolina includes some unexpected things like high end antiques, old farm equipment and even the occasional boat over its 100-plus mile route. More than 500 vendors set up along the way.
Yard sales with historic roots
Michigan’s Longest Garage Sale doubles the length of that path, as it winds over 200 miles along the U.S. Heritage Trail from New Buffalo to Detroit. Adding to the usual offerings are fresh garden produce, homemade jellies and jams, and live entertainment.
Another historic route hosts the U.S. 40 Yard Sale. It occupies an 800-plus mile section of Interstate Route 40 from Maryland to Missouri. That road was one of the first national highways created in 1926 when it linked New Jersey with California. Today, it’s traversed by thousands of visitors seeking bargains and hard-to-find collectibles.
If your travel schedule doesn’t coincide with any of the seasonal yard sale offerings, there’s always Indiana’s Antique Alley. That is a year-round destination for those seeking vintage treasures. Two interlocking loop trails lead to hundreds of dealers in the scenic eastern area of the state. They display everything from hand-crafted wood items and stained-glass pieces to furniture and vintage clothing.
If you visit a yard sale, you could find that long-sought item for which you’ve been searching for months or even years. Or you could just enjoy inspecting the displays, interacting with other shoppers and reliving a chapter from the country’s recent past.
For a list of yard sales which take place throughout the United States, log on to garagesalefinder.com and gsalr.com.
Victor Block
Victor Block retains the travel bug after gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns. He believes travel is the best possible education and claims he still has much to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.
