US 50 sale update

All you need to go with this
is a red checked cotton bodysuit
and a pair of capri-length skinny jeans,
and you'll have your own Barbie Picnic Set outfit!

Who knew there was such a thing as a Barbie fishing rod?
That was one of my purchases during the US 50 sale.  I know the sale was 6 weeks ago, but I'm finally ready to write my summary.  Shopping was a little different this year, since I cheated and also went to stores, two antique malls and a used bookstore.
On Saturday, May 16, I drove east on US 50, starting in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and then going to Hillsboro, Ohio.  I'd never been on 50 past Clermont County.  Unlike 50 in Indiana, the highway in Ohio is narrow and windy and at times deserted.  There were even flat stretches with no farmhouses and few trees, and I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
I've gone east for the sale only one other time years ago.  One household along the way then had a bunch of early 60s Barbie stuff (it's where I bought the Barbie and Francie Dressing Room Case I wrote about a few weeks ago) and she STILL had Barbie stuff for sale this year.  She's a little pricey, but I did buy the Cruise Stripe dress and shoes.
I spent Saturday night in Hillsboro, 70 miles east of Cincinnati, and Sunday night in Chillicothe, 30 miles past Hillsboro.  From Chillicothe I drove on US 35 northwest to Premier Outlet Mall in Jeffersonville and spent two nights there.  Four days of shopping!
My most unusual purchase?  I went to the Tru-Valu Hardware Store in Hillsboro.  It was there I found the fishing pole.  It was made by a company called Shakespeare (what does Shakespeare have to do with fishing?) and was dated 2013.  It's fuchsia and comes with a lighted reel that flickers.
Here is my list of purchases:

Old:
1.  A 1973 Barbie Sew Magic kit, which I write about yesterday.  http://skippercollector.blogspot.com/2015/06/sew-magic-pretty-and-ugly-at-same-time.html
2.  Rocky Mountain Holiday, a VHS tape of a John Denver special which, unbelievably, I did not own already
3.  Naked Tutti, Jazzie, Christie, Skipper, Barbie and Ken, plus pieces of a few '90s outfits
4.  Primrose Day, a novel by Carolyn Haywood, my favorite childhood author
5.  some other children's books, including Lauren Brooke's first Heartland novel
6.  a pretty sweatshirt that looked wintery, not Christmas-y (Do you know how hard it is to find winter-themed clothing that isn't for the holidays?)
7.  a white long-sleeved Oxford collar blouse (Again, long-sleeved, button-down, 100 percent cotton collared blouses are hard to find since they aren't in style at the moment).
8.  miscellaneous small items

New:
1.  Chillicothe has an Elder-Beerman store!  I didn't know that chain still existed!  I bought myself two pairs of shoes and have been wearing them constantly ever since.
2.  A pair of red Keds like I had as a little girl and a blue tank top at the outlet mall.
3.  The aforementioned fishing pole, plus an item I am saving for my cat for Christmas, at Tru-Valu.   (Sshhhh!  Don't tell her!)

I haven't been to Chillicothe in decades.  The old way to get there was to go up Interstate 71, get off at the Jeffersonville exit, and drive southeast for miles on Highway 35, which was then another lonely two-laner.  Well, Chillicothe has doubled in size, and Highway 35 is now a four-lane, divided straight freeway, and it took about 45 minutes less time to get from one city to the other.