Three Day Weekend...Two Days Of Saling...180 Miles

We are still just a little behind on the blog but we'll be up to date soon. This post is for the weekend of August 7th through August 9th.

We try to take a vacation day each month to extend a weekend, normally choosing a Friday, not only because it is easier for Rob to miss a Friday at work than a Monday, but also because there are more saling opportunities on Fridays. This Friday was the chosen one this month and, as it turns out, we found a sale that appealed to us. It would be a long drive but the forecast was for beautiful weather and it would be a fun day whether we found anything or not. Of course, we were hoping that we would!

Our Friday sale was 63 miles away and was in the heart of the north fork of Long Island, a beautiful area that we will be revisiting in October (when we stay at Silver Sands Motel in Greenport). This sale was in Southold which is just a few miles west of our October destination. 

We got an early start since the sale was over an hour away. We saw this truck ahead of us and wanted to pull alongside to see if Jed or Jethro was behind the wheel.

As we got closer, we realized it would be neither of them. Someone was just transporting church pews somewhere. 

Eventually, we made it to the sale and not too long after it opened. The sale was run by a fairly new tag sale company that we know has been active for at least a year but this would be our first experience with them. The sale ad showed pictures of some old Christmas things and that was enough to draw us to the sale. We wondered if it would be a quiet sale since it was a Friday and it was so far out east. It wasn't. The sale drew a lot of people and that would hurt our bargaining power a bit, especially since the sale would be run on Saturday too.

There were lots of things in the basement and Christmas things were among them. Most of the Christmas items down here were newer but we did find a couple of nice things down here. There were two other floors and it was the upstairs that had the Christmas things we saw in the pictures. We got some things up there but not everything we wanted. The prices were a little high and we had to pick and choose and then negotiate at the end (which we did with some success). We also found some records, some old pennants and a few other things. 

Our drive back home was slow. We were not in a rush to get home. After all, it was a vacation day! We stopped to take a picture of this old sign along the road. There are so many great things to see out there but we limited our pictures. We will be out here again in October and we will take lots of pictures then!

We stopped for lunch at The Cutchogue Diner. It was not our first time here. This great diner first opened in 1941 and has changed very little since then.

You could eat at the counter or in a booth. We chose a booth but it doesn't mean that we didn't admire the counter. It is just like it is supposed to be! Eating here is always a great experience! 

We spent the remainder of Friday relaxing, barbecuing and planning our adventures for Saturday. We found eight potential stops for Saturday but knew we would not make them all. We chose our favorite first (which was just fifteen minutes away) and made sure to get there nice and early, There were pictures in the ad that we really liked! 

Our first was advertised as "Original owner-1960" and the sale was run by one of our favorite tag sale companies. The owner tipped us off a couple of weeks ago that we would want to be here. The pictures in the ad sealed the deal.

The front door was really cool. We hoped it would be just as cool inside the house!

We would have to wait to find out. There was a line and we were #6. The number really didn't matter. Most tag sale companies let at least ten people inside at the opening. 

It was a thirty minute wait and Rob had a chance to make a few friends outside.

Once inside, the downstairs was our first point of attack. Monica searched behind the bar. Yes...we brought home that Rheingold clock! 

There was a lot of beautiful stonework downstairs. The former owner was a mason and he did the work himself.

The main floor had an old couch with a matching chair. The chair was not in great shape but the couch was. 

We love seeing old intercom systems built into the walls of old houses. This one had a radio too! 

This little door was on the outside of a small storage space that was empty except for a mounted pencil sharpener inside. We should have known! The picture of it did not come out so we can't show it to you but, trust us, it was there.

Sale #1 was everything we expected and we got some great things. A vintage plant stand, a Rheingold clock, a vintage footstool, some records, some bar items and a few other things came home with us from this sale.

Sale #2 was just eight miles away and was advertised as "vintage home overload". That was a description we like to see. It was run by another tag sale company that we like a lot. We were anxious to see what was inside!

There was a garage and two levels to search. Our favorite thing inside was this great entertainment unit. We wished we had room for this but, alas, we do not. What we did have room for, and what we left with, was a pair of vintage sweaters for Monica, some Christmas things, a Niagara Falls ash tray and a few more goodies. 

With two sales visited, we were now pretty hungry and breakfast was on our agenda. We were sidetracked by a church sale that we saw along the way and we stopped there first. It was a quick stop but we came away with two knee hugger elves and one ceramic elf and that only set us back 75 cents. We were now even hungrier and we stopped for that breakfast that we promised our stomachs. 

After breakfast, it was time for our next planned stop which was about twenty miles away. Even though this was the second day of the sale, a "60 year accumulation" is worth investigating! 

The sale was run by the guy that hosts a garage sale advertising site and we know him from various times we have run into him at sales. The house had three floors including this narrow one that led to the upstairs. It was clear that many things had left the house the day before but there was still a few good things here.

This creepy doll was in an upstairs bedroom and was left behind. She was still there when we left the house but what wasn't there was a tiki mug, some records, some booklets and a few other small things. That's because they left with us! 

It was now early afternoon and we had some decisions to make. There were five more potential stops on our list and we had to figure out how to make the most of our time. We didn't labor over the options very long. It was an easy choice. We decided to visit Monica's dad for awhile and then hit one more sale on the way back...and so we did.

Our final stop of the day was advertised as "moving after 63 years". We were anxious to find out what "63 years" looked like. It was the second day of the sale and it was run by the family. There were a few things inside but most of the stuff was outside. This didn't mean that it was a quick stop. It wasn't. There were a lot of things to consider and we found a lot of good things. We became the proud new owners of a metal picnic basket, some records, a hat for Monica, some Christmas things, some books and a few other things.

Here are some of the things that we brought home:

Some Hawaiian records

Some other records

Some Christmas records

Some books and one astronaut poster from the 1960's

Some bar booklets and a liquor store calendar

Cookbooks

A few other books

A vintage sweater with reindeer for Monica

A vintage sweater with bowling women for Monica

A hat for Monica. It would look great in Thailand though a trip there is not planned. She will come up with a different idea for this hat

A great vintage footstool. We already have one exactly like this. Now, we have a matching pair!

A vintage plant stand table

An old back scratcher, some boy scout stuff from the 1960's, two old decks of flamingo playing cards,  a vintage plastic clip-on bird and a Niagara Falls ashtray (marked Japan) 

A pair of old Niagara Falls pennants, an old package of doilies from Lustro-ware, a vintage handkerchief and some Halloween treat bags. The treat bags are not very old but...they are Halloween treat bags and we love them! 

An old crocheted poodle bottle cozy, a Thanksgiving Gurley candle, a ceramic elf, an "indian" napkin holder from the 1970's, a metal band-aid canister and a tiki mug (marked Japan).

Some old barware including a Rheingold clock

Christmas things...some old small stockings, a small package of ornaments, a set of plastic Snoopy ornaments with antlers (from the early 1970's) and a package of felt shapes for stockings, packages, etc.  Even though the package is opened, nothing is missing. It is marked Japan on the back.

More Christmas things...an old fake fireplace in its box, an old plastic tablecloth and an old package of stencils

More Christmas things! Everything except the snowman in a pot and the two cake toppers in front of him are marked Japan

More Christmas things! The box on the left is empty (we wish it still had its contents) but it is still a great box. 

We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing together and, of course, barbecuing. We do this as often as possible on the weekends as long as weather permits. Our Sunday was a typical one for us...doing chores, running errands and finding some time to relax. It was a great three day weekend with plenty of saling adventures that covered 180 miles of travel in total. The best part, though, will always be the time spent side by side. We'd travel to the ends of the earth and smile every step of the way ...as long as we went together.