Chuck, Kim & Virgil's Archeological Expedition

Will be adding the rest of the photos soon!

2009-12-20T23:28:00.000-05:00

Last Day :( ...Bargain Day :)

2009-08-10T01:17:00.006-04:00

City: Nashville, TN
Odometer: 857.0
Soundtrack: Hit Parade of 1947, Machito,
Johnny Cash

Today being the last day of the sale, we were hoping it would be bargain day and for the most part it was. Many vendors had signs up saying "1/2 price", and we even saw one that said "Everything 25 cents". It was supposed to be a scorcher again today - and it was - the thermometer hitting the mid-90's even into the night. We again chose our sales strategically in the shade, and Chuck even used the umbrella for a while in the afternoon. The first score of the day was a big one for Kim - a ceramic retro tourist plate from Hawaii in perfect shape (see pic). Other booty included a toy tractor, a quilt with a horse pattern, and 2 pairs of "shredder scissors". For some reason, we saw tons of glassware today - many vendors just had table after table of random glasses and ceramics.

There was a lot of great scenery again today, and we even passed a car graveyard that had only really old cars (like from the 50's; see pic). Even though it was incredibly hot, we did luck out that it hasn't rained the past four days. We heard on the news that it was supposed to rain for the next four, and it did start to drizzle a tiny bit just as we were wrapping up our day.

We Done Saw Lotsa Interestin' Stuff Today

2009-08-10T01:11:00.004-04:00

Nashville Here We Come

2009-08-10T00:47:00.003-04:00

Just as the the sales were wrapping up around 7pm, we found ourselves near Hwy 40, which heads due west into Nashville - so we bid farewell to the big sale of 2009, grabbed a quick dinner, and hopped on the highway to Music City. As soon as we arrived we found a nice Comfort Inn just on the edge of town. We dropped off our stuff and took a brief driving tour around downtown before turning in for the night. Looking forward to exploring Nashville tomorrow.

More Pics from Saturday 8/8

2009-08-10T00:42:00.001-04:00

Pampered Pooches Sniffin' Out Bargains

2009-08-10T00:39:00.002-04:00

Hot Stuff!

2009-08-09T23:42:00.007-04:00

Date: August 8
City: Somerset, KY
Odometer: 626.2
Soundtrack: Louvin Brothers, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton

[Note: Yesterday was crazy hot and by the end of the day we were wiped out, so I'm posting this Sunday night.]

After grabbing a quick breakfast bite at the Big Boy, we kept on crusin' thru Kentucky, and had many long stretches of no yard sales but lots of beautiful countryside. We did stumble across a few large field sales, which were basically private farms or small businesses that turned themselves into flea markets for the 127 Sale. Many of these were populated by prefessional flea market vendors; which we of course tried to avoid, since their prices were way too high - but some of them were just regular folks who just brought their old junk out to sell. It was really, really hot today - up to 95 - but it seemed like it was over 100, and it was definitely having an effect on us. Sales "in the shade" became more appealing than the open field ones, and long rides between sales in the air-conditioned car were essential. We still managed to find a few gems - including a bamboo breakfast tray (good for laptop), bag 'o trucks for Matthew, a groovy 1970's yellow desk lamp, and a huge cantaloupe among other things. Virgil bought a cool vintage framed picture of a train, a hurricane lantern, and a huge stick (for moving logs I think?).

By the end of the day we were near the town of Liberty, but all motels were booked solid around 127, so we had to drive a bit south and east to find vacancy in Somerset, KY. We got the last 2 rooms at the Red Roof, and cooled off with a Dairy Queen snack before hitting the sack.

Makin' Out Like Bandits!

2009-08-08T01:11:00.004-04:00

City: Frankfort, KY

Odometer: 498.1
Soundtrack: Johnny Cash, Bluegrass Roots

Howdy Y'all!

Day 2 of the big sale and we began our day by driving straight down to Owenton, KY to meet up with Virgil. He was helping out at his brother John's booth, and had also taken down some of Chuck's squirrel feeders to sell (see him showing one off in the pics below). We hit a few traffic snags but made it there by 1. Chuck put out the critter trap he brought down to sell, and sold it in about a half hour; while Kim was busy picking through a giant stack of Thomas clothes (for Matthew) at the vendor next door. After pausing to take pictures of 3 Turkey Vultures devouring a field mouse and briefly touring John's super-cool barn/workshop, we were on the road.

Today seemed to go by very quickly and it seemed like we didn't cover much ground, but we went to a LOT of sales, got a good amount of stuff, and met some really nice folks from all over the place. See the pics below for a sample. Around 7pm when the vendors closed up, we were near the state capitol, Frankfort, so decided this would be a good place to crash. After finding out most motels were already full, we got 2 of the very last rooms at the "Bluegrass Inn" just outside of town, and then drove downtown for dinner at a friendly Italian restaurant. On the way back to the Bluegrass Inn, we were tempted to swing by the drive-thru window at the "Whiskey" store and pick up a souvenir, but were too tired, so we turned in for the night.

As you can see by tonight's "bounty" shot (scroll to end)- we managed to score some big deals today. Matthew was of course the big winner with a pile of Thomas stuff we managed to sniff out, including a very nice wooden train set and a pile of adorable t-shirts (among other things). But Kim, Chuck and Virgil didn't do bad either - Chuck found a very nice birdhouse "lodge" and yes, a singing Bass fish wall plaque for fifty cents (sez he's giving it to a pastor); Virgil picked up a serious axe handle, a few toys for Matthew and a mirror with a "V" on it; and Kim was ecstatic to score an Asbury Park tourist plate and an INCREDIBLE "Don Ho" Manhattan glass from the Polynesian Room of Waikiki Village on Hawaii.

Tomorrow we keep on truckin' down Route 127, our "home" until Monday!

2009-08-08T01:05:00.001-04:00

2009-08-08T00:25:00.001-04:00

Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

2009-08-07T02:28:00.002-04:00

City: Covington, Kentucky
Odometer: 376.4
Soundtrack: The Meters, Patsy Cline, Django Reinhardt, Hit Parade of 1947.

Today after a nice stay "somewhere under the rainbow..." we headed straight for the starting point of the big sale in West Unity. Our very first stop proved quite successful as we found a cute little Thomas backpack for Matthew.

Then we made a quick stop for breakfast at Lester's retro diner in Bryan, and continued on down 127. We tried to prioritize and just stopped at the larger "clusters" of sales, but still only made it about halfway through Ohio by 6pm when the sales started closing up for the night. We had to make it to Cincinnati tonight since we're meeting up with Virgil in the morning, so we grabbed a bite to eat at the Motor Inn Truck Stop and then ended up crashing just over the Cincinnati border at the Holiday Inn in Covington, KY.

Below are some of the many pics we took today, including a still-life of (most of) today's bounty. Since I'm exhausted, I have to keep this short, but stay tuned - I'll keep trying to post daily.

Oh- I forgot to mention yesterday - a big THANK YOU to Greg & Michelle for the use of their nice new minivan!

BTW - We're having a great time! Tomorrow is all Kentucky.

2009-08-07T02:27:00.000-04:00

More pics from today

2009-08-07T02:13:00.001-04:00

More pics from today...

2009-08-07T02:11:00.002-04:00

...and we're off!!!

2009-08-06T01:54:00.007-04:00

City: Holiday City, Ohio
Odometer: 181.3
Soundtrack: Blue Rodeo

Embarked on our journey around 8pm today, and crossed into Ohio at 11:01pm. After hitting a few "No Vacancy" signs we managed to score the very last room at the Rainbow Motel in Holiday City, which is just a few miles from the Yard Sale starting point (West Unity, Ohio). Once we were on Highway 127 we already saw quite a few Garage Sale signs and (even though it was dark) some tents set up with tarps over the goods all ready for the crowds tomorrow.

As we were passing through the charming little town of Bryan, Chuck noted that the Court House (below) bore a striking resemblance to the City Hall in Waxahachie, Texas (on the right). What a memory that guy has!

Note to our "fans": I'll try to post every night, but since I'll be at the mercy of the WiFi gods, it might not be possible. ...but I'd like to say to all the family & friends who are following our trek here through the magic of technology - a big Thank You for joining us "virtually"! - and please feel free to leave comments or email.

Nutty Chucky's Squirrely Twirly

2009-07-31T00:02:00.006-04:00

Hi Folks! Part of our road trip adventure is to spread the word about Chuck's crazy squirrel "feeders" - aka: Nutty Chucky's Squirrely Twirlys. In a few days we will hopefully be adding digital video of these torture devices... I mean FEEDERS... in action! Until then, here's a few photos of the spinners, featuring Chuck's personal menagerie of yard squirrels who graciously agreed to model for the photos. Also included here is a copy of the order form [if you right-click on it you should be able to download it to your desktop; then just print it out and you can order your very own Squirrely Twirly!].

Charting Our Course

2009-07-08T21:48:00.005-04:00

We're gearing up for the big trip and beginning to map out our itinerary. Yay AAA - thanks for the maps & guidebooks.

Countdown: 29 days 'til launch.