Last week was a whirlwind but worth the stress of making sure everyone’s life would be smooth in my absence. I embarked on a road trip with my friend, combined forces and expenses and came home with some great new items, memories and new friends. I don’t care what you sell or specialize in, we are all the same deep down and the cast of characters at the auction will keep me laughing for years.
The first leg- We had concert tickets for a Monday night show. A Philly band we both like, Waxahatchee. The tickets were bought months ago so I ended up getting home very late and doing my two days at work Monday and Tuesday. Home for Tuesday evening but not really as that is when my band rehearsed so I did not get caught up on my sleep. Wednesday morning I had to head back to NJ to leave for the trip but not until I stopped at the upholsterer to pick up the finished X Benches. I buffered in time to that stop and luckily so as he was still finishing them up. I left before 10am and headed straight to my friend. We arrived within minutes of early other and got on the road. We made great time and it was a very scenic trip....New York skyline, the NEW Tappon Zee Bridge, beautiful areas I could never afford to live in and continued through Connecticut and Massachusetts. We arrived in Nashua, NH by evening and had dinner with some friends in the hotel restaurant. It was good to put faces to the stories my friend tells me and everyone was excited about the buying and selling happening all week. I even caught some interest in what I do so conversations were easy and light.
My friend was out shopping the swap meet at 5am Thursday and I was getting up and ready to do my scheduled delivery. Turns out it was a beyond crappy morning with rain and yes even snow. Cold and miserable. My friend had his fill of shopping and decided he would accompany me to the coast and by the way, found an estate sale close by just across the boarder in Massachusetts. We stopped and I snagged some great items including a just listed Calif/Asia rattan lounge chair and a set of Amish Butterprint Cinderella nesting bowls. After trying to buy a set of Jarts and being told they were illegal by the estate sale company, my quick thinking friend spun the request to just buy the plastic fins and nuts. I have a set of wrecked ones so hope to make him a set with the parts. You do know kids split skulls with that famous yard game? 😂 We continued on to Rye, a beautiful coastal town just outside of Portsmouth and delivered the goods. Then had some lunch in a cute little burger joint. Portsmouth is really adorable. We got back to the hotel and then had a super seafood dinner at a local joint with all the characters we were hanging out with. Of course, it was Lobster Roll for me! Friday was more parking lot swap meet action, I was schooled at how to shop for Stanley Chisels, in case I find any while I am picking. Who knew people were so passionate about chisels? The auction started so we hung in there a bit. This is one of the biggest tool auctions in the country so there was definitely many collectors and dealers driving up the prices.
