The Mother-Load...

August 3rd is a big day for me (in my mind). On this date in 1989, Bill proposed to me before we took a family trip to Myrtle Beach. On this date in 1992, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I gave Bill a card, on the beach, with a message that said we were pregnant with our first baby. And today, August 3rd, 2017 starts...the Route 127 Longest Yard Sale! WOOOOHOOO For my friends reading this and have no idea what that is, it is the MOTHER-LOAD OF YARD SALES!!! The crème de la crème, the most anticipated of all yard sales, the unofficial call to the end of the summer season of treasure hunting. It is a four day event that runs 690 miles, through 6 states!!! (From Michigan to Alabama including Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia) These are my people out there! Searching for furniture, knick knacks, antiques, decorations, you name it, it's out there to be found. There is one downfall to this besides bad weather if it presents itself...and that's the traffic. Rt. 127 is almost in my back yard. When we first moved to Kentucky, I had never heard of this sale and didn't really participate, but each year I would hear something about it until finally we decided to take a look-see. I never realized how far this sale extended! But what I did learn was it is in your best interest to know the date of the sale so you know when to avoid Rt. 127! It's a zoo! You will see so many different license plates of cars from all over the US. Trucks and trucks and U-hauls and more trucks! It's amazing. I, personally have never driven the entire route of the sale, but maybe someday we can do it :). What I like, in this area, is the fact that many neighborhoods take advantage of the crowds and host their own sale. Many are neighborhoods that are off the beaten path of the initial 127 sale. It's a good thing for me because I know the back roads to get to these neighborhoods without traveling the main route. And, not everyone on the main route wants to veer off the main route...win win for me! I will say, I didn't go out today; it just felt too hot! My weather radar states it's 90 degrees but feels like 99 with the humidity...no, I'll pass. I'm waiting until tomorrow morning and hoping the rain will push through early or pass us all together. In the mean time, I am staying put in the air conditioner! I will update you with the treasures I'm sure to find, in a future post.

Also around the area, is something I learned about just this year. Sometimes I think I live under a rock, excuse the pun, you'll see why in a minute. Last week while I was at work, the girls and I were having a discussion with our boss. She was telling us how she and her daughter found these cute little painted rocks and how they hid them for others to find. I had only just learned about this little "scavenger hunt" about two months or so ago and we were giggling because my boss hid the rocks outside our shop and we were watching these ladies walk around the parking lot. I thought at first that this hunt was for kids, but evidently it's for everyone and that includes me!

On Tuesday morning I decided to go for my morning walk at an incredible little nearby park. I was elated to pull into the park and not see anyone around. I mean, the last thing you want to do when you are about to sweat is see lots of people! So, I got out of the car, inhaled the fresh cool air and began my walk on the nicely paved wood bordered path. I was just amazed at the cool temp and the smell of the air! Some trees had even started to lose their leaves and some even had leaves changing colors. Could it be that autumn is almost here. It was like I could "hear" the winds saying, 'not much longer, hang in there'.

I had my ear phones with me and ready to use them, but the sounds of all the birds and the breeze in the trees made me feel like I wasn't exercising at all. It was so peaceful and wonderful! And just as I was getting settled in with a nice steady pace, something caught my eye up ahead. There was a bench that sits off the path about 10 feet, only I just passed a bench. Bill and I have walked this path before and I don't remember there being two benches so close to each other so I looked over again and noticed something else. There was something sitting on the bench. I looked around and of course there was no one anywhere in the area so I slowly made my way over to the bench. As I got closer I soon realized it was....a rock...a very pretty painted rock. And I got all excited! I just found a ROCK! lol

I almost felt 10 years old again! There was no other message, no other rock, no other human around. And look at the bench; isn't that the cutest bench? "Treasure trees!" Just me, a bench, trees, and a rock! I then turned the rock over and saw that the artist painted the words NKY HIDDEN ROCKS and drew the Facebook symbol on it. This is the same scavenger hunt my boss was just telling us about! So, with headphones around my neck and rock in hand, I finished the best walk I've ever had with the biggest smile on my face.

When I got home, I immediately got on Facebook and joined the Hidden Rock page. I posted a picture and commented that I found a rock. Moments later, a young lady posted, "Yay!, We hid that last night!" And her last name...Peace. Isn't that so awesome?

The object of the hunt is to paint a rock and hide it (and oh my gosh you should see all the different designs and themes!). You can leave clues on the Facebook page by taking pictures of the area it can be found. People have hidden them in parks, schools, businesses, truck stops, drive thru windows lol, but not inside a business, just outside. You don't have to leave a clue if you don't want, like mine...I just happen to be walking and there it was! And, you don't have to re-hide it. You can choose to keep it, but you're asked to create a new one and hide it. I have chosen to keep mine. The other day we had a pretty good rain storm come through and it knocked down some of our zinnias in our front yard. We were hoping the zinnias would stand back up, but it didn't look promising. So Bill decided to cut them Monday night, the night before I found the rock. He put them in a little purple vase for me so I could have them while they are still pretty...here they are...right next to my rock :)

Isn't that crazy? Same colors and all :) I just love life's little synchronisities! Well, I hope you have the Mother-load of all weekends and find yourself out there in this fun and wild world finding a treasure or two! Leave a comment if you find something! I'd love to know :) Or leave a comment just saying Hi :)

#garagesale #Longestyardsale #walk #autumn #hiddenrock #zinnias