Report from my day at Hershey...(with pics)

[PushingMyLuck]

Friday night I attended an event that ran very late.
I didn't get home until 4am, but decided I would do this Hershey thing. I set my alarm for 7:30am, figuring that was the minimum sleep I'd need to function for the next day.
I didn't want to miss seeing some decent cars in the corral.

3.5 hours later, I awoke, and didn't even bother with a shower. It didn't feel like a new day, but an extension of one long adventure that started Friday night.

I spent many hours in the car and enjoyed the solitary time. I caught up on some podcasts or just enjoyed the silence.

The weather was very nice. Sunny in the low 60s. This event would suck in the rain or cold.


I first when to the the corral. The vibe was that of a tourist museum rather than people wheeling and dealing.
If fact, I really didn't see anyone who appeared to be a serious buyer in negotiation. Instead, it seemed like a bunch of tourists saying "Neato!"

I took this picture just for Silber, b/c I know he'll troll this thread, and insist I am making all this up.


There were a lot of early 70s cars.

This one was asking $140,000!


Figured you guys would like this one!


Fair condition car asking $18k (listed on Ebay)



I then went and got food to eat, as planned.

I checked out the concours section next.
There were hardly any 3.2s.
There were a ton of those bulbous 928 Risky Business cars.
Lots of modern cars that just looked like a dealership parking lot.

Last, I headed to the swap meet portion. This one made no sense to me. I actually felt bad for these vendors. The parts for sale seemed so random and unlikely to ever find a buyer. I assume most of this stuff gets carted home. That's an expensive trip with a lot of overhead. A swap meet format made sense prior to the internet, but I would never try to sell things at a swap meet in 2014. List your entire inventory online! If someone wants it, they'll find you.

There really wasn't much to do after doing a loop or two.
As I predicted, I spent about an hour at the event.

The real fun started after I left....

[PushingMyLuck]

On the drive home, I saw a gigantic Cabela's store. It was so big, that I took the exit and decided to go in. Wow, what a sight. This place is like the Sturgis of outdoor activity. I even started shopping for used guns. There was a massive taxidermy display. We're talking elephants, bears, and elk. It was great to see teenagers shopping for fishing gear and guns, instead of just playing on their iPhones.







I left Cabela's and hit the highway. At this point, I'm running on 3 hours of sleep, and starting to crash hard.
But, I was passing the town in that Billy Joel song!
I decided to detour take some photos of some run down industrial towns.
I took the exit and started driving down some back roads....







The next thing I see is a large casino. I am in Bethlehem.
I burned a lot of gas today just to walk around a parking lot for an hour.
I decided I'd play some poker to recoup my expenses. (PML is a many of many talents)
The casino was busy, and I really felt bad for all these people.
After about an hour, I had covered the day's expenses and enough left over for a free PPI.



After this, I got a drink at the bar and chatted with some women who were in town to see a concert.

It was unique day, and I'm almost glad you guys guilted me into going.... But, I was done.

I got to my car, and turned up the radio. No more podcasts.
There were loads of classic rock stations in PA, and I cranked up "Gimme Shelter"....
Needed some adrenaline to get me home.

Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away

[onlycafe]

sounds like a pretty decent day.

[mossguy]

A very nice thread, photos, and write-up! Thanks for the posts.
Was the Cabela's in Hamburg, PA?

[mreid]

You forgot the chorus, "Raaaaaaaape, Muuuuuurdeeeeer".

Anyway, glad you went. Too bad that early car was a targa. I used to work in Bethlehem. There were big plans to revitalize the town. A Smithsonian museum, town center with skating rink, theater, etc. Seems they settled for a casino...wow.

I happen to agree with you about the swap meet, however, when you have a car you realize that the ability to inspect a used part pays for itself. Also, meeting fellow enthusiasts, being able to haggle for that great deal (believe me you get much better results haggling in person than you will ever get over the Internet), and compare to pick up the best is well worth it.

I also give you credit for hanging in here through all the crap you have taken, even though some of it was earned.

[widgeon13]

Glad I didn't go, thanks for the update.

[WPOZZZ]

Got any chocolate?

[dennis in se pa]

The draw for me, if it does not rain, is how many Porsches you find in one spot. Only ever saw more at a Porsche function at Daytona. Overwhelming.