Finally caught back up here at home after the trip...
Really had a great time at FrostFest despite missing so many of the crew. Having Caitlin along for her first 'fest helped a lot - she kept me on my toes and was endlessly entertaining.
Enjoyed seeing Joe, Martha, Nick/'NYW & JP/'OZY, WX1O/Bruce, Bill/'WTK, Carl/'KPD, Fran/'SCC and others. Met Stephanie WX3K this year, also Brad/K4RT and Carl's brother Harry/WE1X.
Caitlin scored the first deal: a 'Free to a Good Home' miniature Sony TV complete with original tags and both aerials, also in working condition. Later she was give a NIW (New In Wrapper) EGC transistor by Ray/KA3EKH. She showed if off proudly at the event and was quite pleased to tell her mom all about it when we got home.
Didn't sell and had planned to buy nothing again but decided to hit the ATM just in case. Was glad I did since the tube guy was closing out his stock of NIB Eimac 4-250As for $50 each!! Bought two pairs, one yellow box and one JAN. Only had enough with me for one set but some encouragement from a friend with me (and a no interest loan) secured a second set. You just never know what you'll find! Did call the seller this morning and purchased his remaining pairs of date-matched tubes, he still has some singles for Hamcation. They are apparently ex-NATO stock.
Saw a lot of decent stuff for sale with very good prices, and the usual few items with ebay prices that went home with the sellers. Was a little surprised to see more tables of unrelated junk this year. Along with the salsa, jewelry, and bonsai trees were tables of socks, shoes, herbs, scented oils, Elvis paintings and other unrelated crap. This is usually an indication of the beginning of the end when you see it. Maybe it's just their way of filling all the tables?
Enjoyed a nice lunch with Martha and Joe afterward (thank you!) then headed back up the road to home. Caitlin was asleep 2 minutes after we hit I-95, her little legs had to be tired.
Overall a great way to spend the day. A nice, sunny day for traveling with chilly temps, but not as cold as predicted. Thanks to everyone for the good times, generosity, and nice remarks about my daughter. She sure is a sweetheart.
Caitlin has that collector look in her eyes Todd! I can see her years later shinning up those old wooden radio's
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Fun time for sure and it was good spending some time with you and Caitlin. Met a lot of the other AMers for the first time and that's always good.
Next fester for us is our #1 favorite Near-Fest followed by the Manassas VA fester.
Joe-W3GMS
