The Highway 127 Annual Yard Sale

Well, I spent an hour today preparing a picnic lunch and getting the kids ready to head up to the Pumpkin Patch playground on Highway 127, a 30-minute drive. Imagine my surprise when, merely a mile from the entrance, traffic slowed to a stand-still. It seems I stumbled upon a great annual event that, had I been prepared, I would have enjoyed immensely. As it was, I grumbled about being stuck in the hot car for an extra 15 minutes while we tried to get to the most awesome playground in the South.

So it turns out, the first weekend in August every year, Highway 127 hosts a giant yard sale, from Alabma through Michigan, where antique booths and funnel cake concessions line the road. I spoke with a couple who attend every year. They said usually, the traffic is stand-still bumper-to-bumper for the entire length of the trip (at which point I breathed a prayer of thanks for the recession and lighter traffic!) This couple told me I could Google it. So I did. If you like bargains, antiquing, yard-saling, you should, too. If you're just trying to get to the playground, perhaps you should choose any other weekend of the year.