This York was the first where I spent the whole week in York, Monday through Saturday. Here are my observations and experiences:
Monday -- Stopped at Tommy Gilbert's Hobby Shop in Gettysburg on the way in. Not much O gauge there, but did have a good amount of scenery, paint, and scratch-building supplies. Only made it to the Wyndham and Four Points Bandit Meets and the Purple Hall Pre Show. There were only a handful of outdoor vendors at the Wyndham, but there were a good number of people inside (it seemed busier than April). The Four Points was not busy (about the same as always). The Purple Hall was a lot busier and had more vendors than in April.
Tuesday -- This was the busiest day at the Bandit Meets. More outdoor vendors at the Wyndham, the fire hall seemed busy, the Four Points seemed to have a little more activity than Monday, and Purple Hall had a good amount of activity. After the Bandits, we took a little trip to Gettysburg to visit Carver's Toy Trains on the West side of town. This is a cool shop and is packed with lots of trains, accessories and toys, new and old. It looks small from the outside, but seems a lot bigger once inside (must be a TARDIS ). Afterwards we went to the EDTCA Welcoming Party in the Orange Hall lobby. This is a great time, and the food is good (the $10 admission gets you basically an all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet with soft drinks, and the ticket gets you one free adult beverage with it being a cash bar after that). There was a little drama resulting from an attempt to squash some rumors, but I will leave the details up to the TCA to make public. Got to socialize a bit, then we headed off to Pap's Modular Railroad -- a private modular setup at a park about 5 miles from the fairgrounds. Their railroad is setup primarily for kids to enjoy, and they host evenings where kids get to run the trains -- a great way to promote the hobby!
Wednesday -- Hit the Bandits and Pre Show again. Fewer outdoor vendors at the Wyndham than Tuesday, but there were a good number of people walking around. Vendors were already starting to pack up mid-morning. Same with the Pre Show -- many vendors were packing up to either leave or move into another hall, but there were still a good number of shoppers. After the Bandits, we went to the Strasburg Train Shop for their sidewalk sale, and on the way back to York, we stopped by the Lower Susquehanna Valley Railroad Club for their open house (always a good time and highly recommended).
Thursday -- Blue Hall was very busy. I never got away from my tables (I usually at least get to do a run around Blue Hall) until the hall closed, then did a quick run through Orange before heading off to dinner at a new restaurant that was recommended to us.
Friday -- Blue Hall was busy again, but I did manage to make a quick run through all the member halls and arrived back in Blue just after the power went out. The emergency lighting in the hall was enough to keep people shopping (although there were some that jumped ship). Did another run through Orange after the member halls closed before heading off to dinner.
Saturday -- Seemed like more people were in attendance for a Saturday. I sold 2-3 times what I normally do for a Saturday. We must be getting good at packing up as we had the trailer loaded up and locked in little under an hour after closing. Then we headed off for our late lunch / early dinner before our gang split up to head home.
Each night (except Saturday) after the food and festivities, we set up in a hotel lobby where some of us were staying to enjoy some adult beverages and continue the socializing.
I had a great and memorable time, as did the rest of our gang in the alcove area of Blue Hall, and I got to meet and chat with a number of Forum people in person, some for the first time.
I even had a couple of amusing incidents. The first took place along the road between Orange and Blue Halls where I had stopped to chat with Erol G.("LocoLawyer") when a woman pulled up to us and asked which building had the oysters... we had no idea where she got the idea, unless she was looking for the York Fish & Oyster Co. just past the fairgrounds where N. Highland St. meets W. Market St. The second happened in Blue Hall -- I had just made a sale and thanked the buyer when his phone's Siri immediately chimed in to reply "You're welcome." He was as surprised as I was and said, "Wow, they really are listening to us!"
Andy