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

Eventually, people figured out Nostradamus was a nonsensical windbag ...


This thread is dedicated to my biggest stalker, SilberUrS6!


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.

http://www.anonimg.com/img/81091b355...da367dc3b1.jpg
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.
http://www.anonimg.com/img/f2cea96f9...389b79e62a.jpg

There were a lot of early 70s cars.

This one was asking $140,000!
http://www.anonimg.com/img/82b999dee...ba81c5ae93.jpg

Figured you guys would like this one!
http://www.anonimg.com/img/e56dcd601...94b5b51df8.jpg

Fair condition car asking $18k (listed on Ebay)
http://www.anonimg.com/img/cfccce7fd...e8f153d00a.jpg


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.

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.

http://www.anonimg.com/img/a5bf088f7...0025c62e78.jpg

http://www.anonimg.com/img/5ffc77ad3...d291cca2d0.jpg

http://www.anonimg.com/img/9b58e419e...7108a4b3cc.jpg

There you go, sounds like Porsche ownership isn't for you. Guess you'll be moving on - bye now!

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....

http://www.anonimg.com/img/ec6771fe6...5e356dced4.jpg

http://www.anonimg.com/img/cdd82e700...b542ab620c.jpg

http://www.anonimg.com/img/45644071f...314e73fda2.jpg

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.

http://www.anonimg.com/img/e3237771c...3f016a2374.jpg http://www.anonimg.com/img/318e47912...408c13e9c3.jpg

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

Man, I hope your not Asian!

I see so many bad Asian drivers and geeks/nerds. Don't want to find out the guy with the most post in Pelican with out a Porsche is ASIAN! Yes, I am Asian if you have not figured out by now. Gambling is suspect, but love of Rock music maybe the clue that you are White!

For full disclosure, I like Rock also.

Do us a HUGE favor and take a selfie next to a nice 911 or any Porsche. You mentioned you drove a car. What do you drive?
Fair question to ask. You are going to be remembered in Pelican and Rennlist as THAT GUY with all the post and don' even have Porsche! Almost like saying you are not a Virgin, because you got a lap dance..................

Got to go and have my Ramen now!

It sounds like you got there pretty late. A buddy of mine sold his 993 for top dollar by 10am and I'm sure there were a few nice cars that were sold and gone early. As far as serious buyers in negotiation, people go for a walk or grab a cup of coffee to seal the deal. It's not like watching the auction shows on TV.


Same as above. There are deals to be had on nice stuff, but the place is picked clean of almost anything worthwhile before noon.

Sounds like it. There is enough eye candy to spend an entire day, if you're in to the marque. If I were a newbie, I would walk the lot and look at every car similar to what I was seeking and talk to as many people as possible to learn what I could from the owners. A huge gathering of 3.2 Carreras in one place, with real live people... way better than the Internet.

I've got it. PML is,really Pesto360. He finally got out of prison.

Well slap me hard and call me Rhonda - I did not see this coming.

Good for you PML - Nice pics!

At least you had a great road trip.

Christian

I'm glad you were able to make the trip. Yes, the format is a bit antiquated, but it is nice to find good deals on parts and inspect their condition before buying. However, anymore if you don't get there first thing, you aren't going to find the parts you want.

I'm currently uploading my album from yesterday.

From what I saw, there weren't a ton of cars for sale in the corral. Which is what I remember from the last few tines I made it to Hershey. The value of attending (for a new potential owner) is getting a better feel for the cars, chatting with owners in person, etc.

I didn't buy anything beyond a hat and t shirt, but it was great to catch up with old friends and gawk at other people's cars.

Funny, I saw a Baltic blue car role in late morning then couldn't find the thing in the lot to save my soul.

I got there around 10 or so... did my usual loops, but didn't really stay more than 2 hours or so.

The swap meet looked like all the early birds picked off the good parts (I found nothing I was looking for... but then again, that list is really short.)

The for sale section was a bit skimpy... not too many cars, and the ones that were there had some pretty hefty (and IMO, unrealistic) prices on them.

All in all a good day for me though... similar to PML, I took a few backroads home, and the best part of the day for me was driving my Carrera there and back!!

Looks like a fun day.

Wow, I was one of those vendors, I shared my both with a guy from Baltimore and one from NY....weird comments...we all did very well....it's a Swap Meet not a parade....no need to feel sorry for us vendors...please...

The concours area was just a car show that every PCA region has...we do...it's nothing special...there was a good mix of cars.....understand some people like new Porsches and old, some own both....

The car coral was find, most people seem to be holding on to cars.....only buy I seen was on a 993 Cab....frankly did not expect any good buys.....

PML must live in the middle of nowhere. I've got both a Cabelas "amusement" store and an Indian casino within an hour of me.

LOL, that actually means you're one one living in the middle of nowhere...

Thanks for the pics. and the report PML

My son Ben and I enjoyed meeting and doing business with many of you fellow enthusiasts.

We were disappointed to discover that some of our items were stolen right off of our table.

To the guy that stole them, I hope you realize that you not only stole from me but also from my 18 year old son, who recently had a Heart transplant and he was selling these items as a way of generating revenue as he is still in recovery and not able to work.

I will pray for you.

There is a MetroNY PCA Autocross this weekend the 26th at the Nassau Coliseum. I would encourage local people who are interested in buying a Porsche to go, meet the people, the cars and see what the club is like. These are locals who usually know cars that are for sale, or sometimes have their own for sale.

If nothing else, you'll see the cars in action up close and meet the guys. Good leads on good cars might be generated.

Nick

I have a Cabela's and several casinos close to me and i'm not in the middle of nowhere. I'm just south of Baton Rouge. Our Cabela's in Gonzales interior looks the same as that one you visited. They're probably all near the same.

Considering Baton Rouge is basically the definition of "the middle of nowhere" I'm not sure how to classify Gonzales.

Just south of the middle of nowhere? :)

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4162184,-91.0899873,9z