Deals every mile of the highway

A Brunswick couple attended a yard sale recently where someone bought an 1800s map of Los Angeles reportedly worth $25,000 for just $8, according to the Brunswick residents, Hunter and Jessie Heffner.

The annual four-day World's Longest Yard Sale starts on the first Thursday in August and stretches along 654 miles of U.S. 127, the Heffners said.

The yard sale, headquartered in Jamestown, Tenn., runs from West Unity, Ohio, to Gadsden, Ala., the Heffners said.

They drove their pickup truck to Crossville, Tenn., on Aug. 5, Hunter Heffner said. The sale started Aug. 6.

All the hotels and motels in Crossville were booked except one, he said. He paid $209 for a room in the last remaining hotel with vacancies.

That took a chunk out of their budget, Heffner said. The most they spent for a room the rest of their trip was $95, he said. They spent $800 at the yard sale on items including antique books, Native American jewelry, and a collection of movie posters.

Families sold antiques and other items from their yards in every town they drove through, Heffner said. Thousands of professionals set up flea markets on three-acre lots along U.S. 127.

One of the best stretches was in Kentucky, Jessie Heffner said. In a church outside Frankfort, Ky., they found a box full of sports cards.

The cards are in mint condition, Hunter Heffner said. He paid $18 for 3,000 of them. A friend offered him $500 for the collection without even looking at it, he said.

Heffner said he kept the cards. He has five children and it might be something valuable to give to them.

"I never collected cards until I got that box," he said. "Darrell Green from the Redskins was the first card I saw. I'm a Redskins fan. That was enough for me."

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