My thoughts on the National

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to peruse the Baltimore Convention Center for two days, and experience the sensory overload (at least for me) that is the National.  Before I get into all of that, I must say two things about the people of the state of Maryland.

1. They probably are the friendliest group of people I've encountered in any state that I've visited so far.
2. They do not know how to drive on Interstates.  (come on people...5 MPH below the speed limit in the left hand lane....)

Aside from all the great fun I had wandering from table to table and looking at some great memorabilia, I had plenty of great conversations with both dealers and collectors alike about the show, how well organized and laid out the convention center was, and the amount of money that was changing hands.

It's also sad when you see one transaction that involved more money than I spent in the two days there.  Yep, the last table I visited today I watched a gentleman purchase two cards for $350.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that the amount of money that was exchanged was a lot, it's just sad that I wasn't part of it (lol).

Of course, there were some things that were a little tough to swallow as well.  Two days admission and parking had me in for $80 combined before I even looked at a single card.  Not much I can do about either of those factors though.

I could go on and on, but I'm sure that would bore most of you to tears, since you've probably read many other posts on other blogs about their experiences.  I will say that I picked up quite a few cards at some really great prices, and dug through a lot of boxes during my time there (a couple that were even priced better than a dime box).

I saw quite a few cards that reminded me of other bloggers as well, especially this one:

Come on, for 33 cents you didn't expect me to leave it there....did you??

I have lots more to show you over the next few days...hopefully you don't fall asleep.

Thanks for reading, Robert