Saturday at the Show

The train pulled in right under the Convention Center, and up the escalator we went, where we were greeted by friendly, helpful staff who pointed the way to the building where we picked up our badges. I arrived around 10:45 am.

This is the view we saw of the exhibition floor:


The show floor was well organized and the turnout was impressive. I don't think I've ever been to a show quite this crowded and with such lines of people actually buying large quantities from dealers. I hope that trend continues throughout the show and the dealers find it a profitable venture.

The Kids Zone was wonderful and I'm happy to report that there were a good number of kids enjoying it. It included plenty of free stamps and even a visit from Postman Pat. There were Boy Scouts working on their Stamp Merit badges, and kids just enjoying the many activities.

The society area waw well set up, although not all societies were present on that first day. Dreya joined the Japanese Philatelic Society and I renewed my membership in the Great Britain Collectors Club.

Once we took in the scene, Dreya & I got our walkie-talkies out and split up. Peter & Wynne stayed with me for a while, and we all wandered a bit to see what was there. Wynne was interested in the printing press demonstrations. After a while both Wynne & Peter got bored of stamps and set off into the city to see the Natural History Museum, leaving Dreya & I to more serious stamp shopping.

The exhibits were quite impressive and comprehensive. I didn't see them all as I spent quite a bit of time standing in line at dealer's booths hoping to get a chance to look at their stamps.
I wasn't able to find a great many stamps that were on my want lists, but it was fun nonetheless.
I did get a lot of supplies that I needed. I will show and discuss my purchases on the next post.

Trains in the youth area:

Printing Press demonstration:

suziboyer@gmail.com

Washington 2006: Part 1, getting there

I have survived the trip to DC with my family and returned to give you details. I will publish several posts in order to keep them from getting too long.

We left Friday morning for our Super 8 hotel room in York, PA (which incidentally is the self-styled "Factory Tour Capital of the World"). Not being particularly interested in factory tours, we checked in and then went to the local mall to pick up 4 walkie-talkies so that we could all keep in touch in DC and at the show and had a great dinner at an Olive Garden.

For Saturday we arranged a 5:45 wake-up call, went to have breakfast at the York Central Market which is open very early, and set off down 83 south to Greenbelt Station in Maryland. Greenbelt turned out to be a huge commuter station, bigger than I had expected. From there, we fought with the very confusing ticket machines and managed to coax from them 4 tickets that would cover our fare to and from the Convention Center. The Metro subways run every 10-20 minutes, so we didn't have long to wait for the train. The trains were quick and clean and the trip took 23 minutes.

The Convention Center was MUCH larger than I expected and very impressive. There are some very interesting sculptures on display there.

Washington 2006 final preparations

I am finalizing my preparations to leave on Friday morning. I have printed out the wantlists that people have sent to me, along with maps of DC and of the bourse area, and also a schedule of the show. We expect to be there most of the day Saturday, and then stopping back for a bit on Sunday.

I am hoping to have plenty of pix and information to share with you, but you won't hear from me while I am gone as I don't have a laptop or anything I can use to keep in touch. But I will be sure to post plenty of news from the show.

Currently, I have to get back to packing. I need to finish getting together laundry and ironing shirts before packing them neatly and hoping they stay unwrinkled, LOL.

If anyone has any cool suggestions regarding places to eat (reasonable and family friendly) in the DC area, please let me know. We will be travelling back to York PA to sleep, so anything along the way would be fine also.

Our plans so far are as follows:
We will be staying in York PA. From there, I plan to make the roughly 45 minute drive to the Greenbelt Metro station, where there is plenty of secure parking, and take the Metro subway into the Convention Center station. We will pick up Metro fare cards for use on the train and also for the DC Circulator, which is a wonderful bus service that you can use to get from one tourist area to another.
We are hoping to see, in addition to the Philatelic Exhibition, various museums, Chinatown, and the Cathedral. We may also take the bus to the Waterfront area.

If anybody has any last minute suggestions regarding family stuff to do in DC please feel free to offer your suggestions.
And please, if you will be at the show this Weekend, let me know so we can try to meet up.

Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

Kiloware

I have had many email requests from everyone regarding sources of kiloware. I am constantly searching for sources of kiloware. My most recent acquisition came from a Mission in the UK, and I liked what I received from them. That was the mixture I reviewed here in this blog last month.
The only other kiloware I have purchased in the past few years has come from Ebay, and to be honest I couldn't tell you who it came from. It was a while ago, and it was Canada for myself (definitives and Xmas only) and Japan for Dreya. Overall, these were nice mixes, but the Japan was only 1/4 lb. and I think the Canada was a whole pound. I have noticed that the price of kiloware has gone up quite a bit recently, and it is harder to come by. I would like to find good sources of Canada kiloware and also Australia and New Zealand, which are a good mix that includes both commemorative and definitives. But I would be willing to buy almost any good worldwide mix if it was reasonable priced.
I have intended to keep this blog from being commercial, but would like opinions from all of you on the following:
Do you want me to post on here the contact information from the Mission where I purchased my kiloware?? I don't want to advertise for others on here, so I will ONLY post such information as part of a "review" of someone's products. I prefer to support non-profit organizations, also, such as the Mission I am referring to. I do have permission from the folks there to provide their contact information.

Perhaps we can all put our heads together and gradually come up with a "buyer's guide" to kiloware on here, with others giving their opinions and reviews also? I'd love to hear from anyone who has information to share about good kiloware sources, either post them here or email me.

Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

Washington 2006

I have been very busy, so I am writing to you from my coffee break at the office today. I have been taking of my elderly Grandpa for a bit now, and will have to continue to do so until my Mom returns from vacation on Sunday (just in time for Mother's Day).

I have heard from some of you about when you will be at the show and I'd like to fill you in on my own schedule. The plan is that we will be leaving on Friday, May 26 to get to our hotel and get settled. Depending on how long that takes, we may go to DC that afternoon/evening to pick up our entry badges for the show and to explore and have supper in Chinatown.
I want to be at the show Saturday AM as it opens or as early as I can get everyone up and moving, at any rate. I expect to be there all day Saturday, and maybe part of the day Sunday. We will also be visiting the museums Sunday and Monday.
Anyone who wants to meet up at the show, please let me know. Perhaps we can explore the exhibits together. If you have teenagers who are tagging along, I will have my 14 yo son and 16 yo daughter with me, so they will have company. :o) My son will probably spend more time at the museums with my husband than at the show, however.
I plan on taking plenty of pictures and putting some of the better ones here, as well as any interesting stories about the show or our trip. With the whole family traveling there's sure to be something interesting to tell.....so stay tuned.

I am also working on finalizing my shopping lists for Washing ton 2006, including items that any of you have asked me to find for you.
One item that is on my own shopping list is a UV light, preferably one of the ones that can accommodate both long and short wave bulbs in the same lamp, so that I don't need 2 of them. Can anyone recommend a brand? I know that at least one person told me about a brand some time ago, but I apologize as I can't find your email anymore even though I was sure I saved it.


Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com