Huge Sales This Week on Hwy. 80

You may have gotten your kicks on Route 66, but if you wanted to go across the country, Route 80 was where it was at.  Once known as the "Broadway Of America", US 80 was the first all-weather, coast-to-coast highway in the United States.

I grew up along Highway 80 in Terrell, Texas.  When I first got my driver's license, I drove down it almost every weekend so I could get to Peaches Records in Town East Mall in Mesquite.  Had my first fender bender on Hwy. 80 outside of Terrell while taking my high school sweetheart out on a date.  I know almost every inch of that road between Mesquite and Wills Point by heart.

Though it once traversed the entire country, Route 80 now extends from Interstate 30 in Dallas to its eastern terminus in Tybee Island, Georgia.  In Louisiana it parallels Interstate 20 for the most part, and travels the length of the entire state.  In Shreveport/Bossier City it's referred to most commonly as Texas Street.

27 years ago, the East Texas Tourism Association began the Hwy. 80 Sale to celebrate the road's heritage and get people off of I-20 to enjoy the many businesses and restaurants along Route 80.  The biannual three-day event is held the third weekend of March and October.  Businesses in 5 states--Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia--voluntarily participate in the sale.  The Sale's Facebook page says that you may go for miles and not see any sales, but there will be hundreds of businesses participating along the route this weekend.

With cooler weather predicted to hold up through the weekend, this is the perfect time for a road trip.  Get out an explore the U.S.A. on Highway 80.