Longest Yard Sale Day 1

We are in Crossville, Tennessee at the Bean Pot campground. We are lying on a mattress in our cargo van listening intermittently to music on the computer. The deafening cacophony of cicadas almost overpowers the music playing; it is so loud we chose not to pitch the tent among the trees because of the crazy noise! I just ate my first southern barbecue at Lefty's (four and a half star rating on a Google search thanks to Christine's trusty Sidekick- a wireless godsend.) a dinner of pulled pork, chicken, beans and coleslaw. It was delicious! We shared a blackberry cobbler, which the waitress tried to prematurely take away, sending us into an embarrassingly loud panic. I bought some BBQ sauce to take home to share with my foodie friends and to remember the experience by.

We got to Highway 127 at 6 pm- too late to really explore any of the sales for the day, except for one cluster of six vendors. The first man we encountered was a leathery-skinned gentleman with his arm in a sling and a language barrier possibly the result of the electric blue beverage in his mug.(Hypnotiq?) He wanted $50 for a horse tricycle, $50 for doctor's a scale, $100 for a dental cabinet, $100 for a baby buggy, $2 for each Playboy magazine (from '68 and'69) $1 for risque/50's pinup matchbooks, and $5 for a book called She Loved A Sailor- all ridiculously high prices. I think he MAY have been in a blackout, as his negotiation process was somewhat unorthodox- each time I made an offer, the numbers he quoted me changed and became higher not lower! It came to light after 15 minutes of bargaining that he was WASTED as the prices fluctuated each time asked with no rhyme or reason... I got the buggy for 40 dollars, then moved on, not feeling the love... Nor good bargain hunting juju.

We then found a vendor by the road who in contrast was super lovely- a mother and daughter selling primarily Victorian clothing and jewelry. They sold me some bloomers, a heart locket, a corset, a hat and a cheetah needlepoint. I told them I was looking for risque or "naughty" items. I toned down my description of the store but they got the gist. The daughter told me to email her as she was a collector of etiquette books and had many more pairs of bloomers at home. They ran an online business, and they asked me where my store was. When I answered that currently it was "only in my head," it was interesting to hear the mother say that she knew what I meant, that for years her store was "only in her head" too. Meeting them after the first crazy dude restored my faith in the yard sale and made me regain my excitement for the trip.

As midnight approaches, the last day of my 37th year, I realize I just bought the first five items for my store, the first $64 of inventory for the Inverted Eye. With my first few purchased treasures safely in my possession, the journey begins...