Tri-City Garage Sale Extravaganza!

Oh.

My.

God.

We left my house at 6AM. In early October, in the northern hemisphere, it is still very dark at 6AM. On the way to Sam's house we saw two deer, a gorgeous full moon, and almost ran over a raccoon. We experienced a lengthy delay while Sam Mapquested the sale address. It was really an excruciatingly long delay, Sam, since we were so excited.

The sale had a centralized starting point at some sort of civic center in Brentwood. They had clear signs marking the entrance. They had free coffee and donuts. Some very cheerful ladies were handing out maps of the many participating sellers.

Here is a friendly man handing out the free food:

And here is a pleasant lady (left) showing Samantha (right) the maps.

In the parking lot, adjacent to the building, sections were available for people who live in apartments and therefore have no garage or yard in which to sell. These folks had some good treasure. Some notables were: metal bike rack (Nancy), warm blankets (Laura), smart-kid-toys (Sam).

With coffee in hand, we headed for the neighborhoods. Samantha is a genius of maps and directions so she told us where to go. I was the driver, a little groggy from last night's outing and sore on the face where I smashed into a screen door. Don't ask. Seriously. Laura offered enthusiasm. She is always peppy and energetic. But the free coffee made her positively hyper active. I have never seen her on coffee and it was a scene I will not soon forget.

We skivved all morning. You will remember from previous blogs that skivving is the act of wheeling around in your car, looking for garage sale signs, and veering wildly off course to attend the sales. Today was a skivvers' paradise! There were sales everywhere. We would find a street with a bunch of signs, park the Van O' Dreams, and walk (run!) to every sale within sight. When our arms were full we would make a drop at the van and head out again. Once the sales in that neighborhood had been milked dry, we headed to the next stop.

Here is an incomplete list of today's finds:

• Megablocks
• Vintage Star Wars figures and war ships
• 4 foot water-filled bubbling aquarium light full of plastic fish
• 4 small vintage school chairs
• Pampered Chef products
• Soup tureen
• Wool peacoat
• Industrial garbage can
• Kid clothes
• Girl's bike to replace the one I ran over last week
• Excellent old table
• Rainbow afro wig
• Patent leather suitcase
• Weird cardboard container that defies description

There is too much to list. And simply listing the items we bought doesn't do justice to the experience we had. The people we met were kind, generous, and funny. They were quick to come down on any price just to see their garage cleaned out. They were happy to share their treasures with women who so clearly loved the hunt. I'd like to extend special thanks to the following vendors:

• the couple with the three well-behaved labs and the beautiful backyard garden
• the lady with the soup tureen and the beautiful old light fixture, original to her house
• the lady who crochets snowflakes and was knitting a scarf as we shopped her yard
• the lady who gave Laura the card catalog drawer for free
• the free food people who were wide awake and perky at 6:50AM
• the lady who sold me the Chinese jumprope and warned me not to be a Brownie leader-- ever!
• the fellow shopper who let me have the exquisite Eddie Bauer leather man-bag even though I know he wanted it

Special recognition goes to the man who dressed up in full Santa costume, presumably to attract more shoppers.

And kudos to the old geezer who had the balls to offer these magazines for sale:

Come back soon for a special YardSaleAdventures report:

"Owls for Sale -- the decorations no one wants anymore."