[SMCARA] Frostfest Report

[Clarke, Frederic]

Hi folks,

Sorry to have missed the Saturday breakfast, but I managed to get my flapjacks, in Ruthers Glen VA, on my way to Richmond.

The Frostfest was well attended, with lots of commercial vendors as well as flea market tables.  Dan, KD3CQ, graciously allowed me to park my Collins 32V3 heavy metal AM rig on his table, and it has happily gone to a new home on the Eastern Shore!  A bonus was that the table right behind us was occupied by my friends from NC, John K4OZY and Nick K4NYW, fellow "boatanchor" collectors. Go to Nick's website, www. navy-radio.com, and take a look at his basement.  He is really  into "heavy metal"!

Frostfest offers "early bird" tickets via internet, which gets you into the venue a half hour before the "buy your ticket at the door" crowd.  So, you get there early (along with 200 other hams) and queue up in the cold to get first crack at the "good deals" inside. I tried a different approach this year.  I planned my arrival about 10 minutes before the general admission doors opened (long line), got my early bird ticket  scanned, and breezed right in! What a deal! I'll do that again next year.

Things wound down around 1230 to 1300, so I hit the road home and had a nice Reuben Sandwich at Arby's.  Most hamfest food, with the exception of Dayton (now Xenia), is barely edible. As Crocodile Dundee puts it, " It tastes like sh**, but it will keep you alive!

Manassas and Berryville are on the horizon! And Dayton, of course.

Have fun, every day!

73 de Tom/W4OKW