Big let down...... Will miss Chantilly

[painter777]

30 miles from my Daughters condo to the Expo center.... 30 miles .
I'll be 2 weeks+ too late for the show.
On big shows I usually hussle up and down all the aisles to look for the guys dealing what I'm interested in.
Mental note their location, then swiftly head back thru to the dealers I flagged.
If a really Boo Koo large show I may rush 1/2 of it, then circle back for the goods.
I've missed out on some goodies with this method but have also got to some nice ones ahead of guys who've stopped part way thru and shooting the breeze with dealers they know.
I think of the crazed women back in the day going after the Cabbage patch dolls or Arnold in the Xmas movie going after that special toy. A true Frenzy pace. I do carry a over the shoulder US field bag to throw in smalls I buy on my first trip around, when knowing I won't be back by this section, so better grab it now.

I can usually find a dealer (near the entry/exit) that will let me store my purchased from whomever goods with him (but I always offer to run over and bring him his favorite vendors lunch). This keeps me from having to lug everything around with me or having to take loads all the way out to where I've had to park... then get back in.

Then I go back thru to the guys with the misc boxes of parts, tid bits and just little odds and ends... like your junk drawer at home. I've found some great stuff like flip sight bases, just flip leafs, band screws... etc like this.
I don't mind at all digging in to their junk boxes, tool boxes, crates etc. Some of them laugh at me while I pilfer thru the junk/misc containers.
If there are 3 or 4 of us we all make our game plan at breakfast, so we know who's looking for what. If observed while roaming we contact each other as needed. When worn out and feeling like we've seen all we can, we too gather by the vendors with our spoils. Often getting offers from passers by.
I usually sleep well after a 'big show' from being drained... Unless I missed a keeper.
Biggest upset was coming to the 6 or 7th set up and being offered a RMC roughly 1,7mil~
IIRC that was so greasy and grimey, I decided to keep looking, thinking I can stop back by.
Farther away I got the more I thought about it so I was heading back. Couldn't have been 20 minutes I came across 2 guys... 1 guy who had bought it, which again looked to be all as issued RMC was in the process of flipping it to the other guy. As I stood by listening in the 2nd guy bought it for $2400. It was originally offered to me from the dealer for $1150.
WTMR/Welby would have been ashamed of me and I wouldn't have blamed him.
That has to be over 15 years ago now. I know I'll never forget it.

If y'all make it, good luck and enjoy yourselves.
I'll be here baby sitting the dog. Trying to figure out how long to pre-heat the oven for a frozen dinner