Finding Camelot, Again

It's that time of year again, friends!! One of the few times I can be dragged to a yard sale. Normally, I don't really care for yard sales - neither attending them nor hosting them. I find it awkward, but I'm weird that way. It is time for the world-famous "World's Longest Yard Sale" along the 127 corridor from Gadsden, Alabama to Up North somewhere. Frankly, I haven't crossed the Mason-Dixon line yet, so I can't tell you much about the quality of the jun.. antiques Up North. I am sure they have fine quality stuff you simply must have or die. Maybe. Hubby & I hope to partake of some of the miles and miles of jun.. fine quality antiques to be found this weekend. Personally, I like to start in Dunlap, Tennessee and go north. Not Up North, just in a meandering northerly direction. Dunlap is one of those fun little towns where you can walk the sidewalks and peruse the fine assortment of treasures just waiting to go home with you. Just ask my eldest grandson - he about cleaned out my wealth last year before we'd even gone 40 miles. There's an awesome little diner we eat at because hubby ate their with his Uncle Bob & Aunt Ethel Crownover, so it holds sentimental memories for him. You know the one, it's right there where the motel with the swimming pool used to be behind it. Also, for fine dining in a dairy farm setting, stop by The Cookie Jar. Just across from the Sequachee Valley Electric Co-op, turn right and just go. The food is good! The Dunlap Coke Ovens are pretty cool, too, if you detour ever so slightly there in the middle of town. From Dunlap we mosey on up toward Pikeville. It's also a lovely old town with lots of the buildings composed of sandstone. I guess there was a huge quarry there 100 years ago, I just don't know. Some of my Mom's people were from up in that direction - some Jones, maybe some Eppersons, even a Standifer if the family lore is true. Bledsoe County was once known as "Bloody Bledsoe", did you know? This was because it was a poor place where bootleggers plied their trade up in the hollers. Lots of murder & mayhem went on, back in the day. I figure that might be how we ended up with the name Jones, as an alias. I'm tempted to stop at some of the old graveyards and try to scare up some relatives. Not actually scare up, as in zombie, but.. well, you know what I mean. While in Pikeville one simply must stop at Simonton's Cheese Emporium, on the left if you're headed north. Free samples. All along the route people are set up. Private homes, rented lots, shady spaces and pure mudholes. You never know what you'll find. One of Tommy's treasures was a belt lacing machine for $10. You have to be a farmer, and know about hay balers, to know what that is. He was happy so I was happy. I am the appointed look-out. As we drive by, I give it a professional picker's glance and decide do we stop or keep rolling. My practiced eye tells me if this is old drawers, dingy glass, or a treasure trove. By now we've made it to Crossville, TN. Crossville is more "refined" and doesn't have quite as many dealers as they used to. Just like Signal Mountain. That used to be a prime piece of real estate in our ventures. The folks up there got tired of us riff-raff and they don't have it across there anymore. Crossville is home to the Cumberland County Playhouse, which is on my bucket list. Otherwise we just pass on through on the search for more things I must have to put in the storage building. Ha. Last year we got ballsy and went on to Jamestown, TN - the birthplace of the WLYS. I didn't find much there, and frankly once or twice I swear I heard banjoes. Fentress County is the poorest county in the state. Anyway.. on to Pall Mall. This is the home of the WWI hero, Sgt. Alvin York. They have a nice little park in his honor and we paid our respects at his gravesite. We were also starving and the only place to eat was up the road a piece in Forbus. It was a general store dating back to the covered wagon days. I ordered a baloney sandwich and it was Slap Yo Mama good!! It really was. Word of warning -- in Forbus the only facilities are of the commercial outhouse variety. Since we were "this" close to Kentucky we said "what the hey" and so we carried on! I tell you, there was NOTHING at the state line there but a peep show and a gas station. I mean NOTHING. Static, Kentucky. I do mean Static. Dead. Nada. We were tired and getting a little touchy, so we turned around and went back toward home. It was then, in Fentress County TN that we saw him!! He was tall, like a golden god standing in the sun. We had found Camelot!! http://www.wbir.com/news/article/282841/2/Fentress-judge-finds-Camelot-at-US-127-yard-sale Camelot, aka Joe Camel!! A local judge owns him, and wouldn't part with him, not even for $800. It wasn't me that offered him $800, but someone did. I hope we see ole Joe again this year! Happy Junkin!!!