Jonesborough Flea Market

One of the best people-​watching experiences that can be had on the continent this side of Las Vegas! It’s a crap shoot here but Sundays in the summer it is about 10 acres of haggling, shopping, and selling for everything from organic heirloom vegetables and baby lambs to an incomplete set of mag wheels for your 1978 Camaro Rally Sport or an antique pinball machine. You never know exactly what you’ll get but it’s a safe bet you will be entertained, charmed right out of your socks by the southern hospitality on display, and likely find a few great deals or that old bbq smoker that went missing under suspicious circumstances last season. I’m giving an average 3 star rating, but the flea market ranges wildly from week to week and your mileage may vary. If you need homemade sweet pickles, local honey, fresh produce or some tiny animals to start your farm and ranch outfit, you can do it all here. You might be able to score a whole pallet of Cool Ranch Doritos that expired last week for a song or run into your neighbors cleaning out their old barn full of treasures. Work clothes, cast iron cookware, genuine antiques and lots of junk, most of it heavily discounted. Parking is plentiful, but disorganized the way only white rural America can do it. It isn’t very handicap friendly, but I took my sister who was still gimpy from foot surgeries and she did ok except for a couple misstepsand stumbles on the gravel paths. It’s a huge red barn building with some long metal open-​ended sheds to keep the sun and rain off of the few people and vendors lucky enough to be smack in the center. Wifey and I scored a deal on some K Cups so good we had to come back and do it again. I was talking with a neighbor recently and we both make it a point to visit the old farmer guy who usually has some baby pigs and other farm babies and lots of pickled food. He’s a character and fun to watch doing his thang. The whole Flea Market is worth checking out.