2008 Big Sur Jade Festival Pt. 1

This year's 17th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival was going to be my third consecutive one and I went into it with high hopes of making a breakthrough despite the current economic distress.

Yes, I'm a dreamer alright!

For the first time in the now three years I've been to this festival wildfire played a notable roll. The Chalk Fire started Saturday, September 27th, and continues to burn in the mountains behind where the Jade Festival is being held. It is now mostly quiet but until last weekend when it rained it was moving down the coast and threatened to cause the cancellation or postponement of the Jade Festival.

Given that this is a three day event, today, Thursday, October 9th, was the set-up day.
There was no need to rush as the venue is the Pacific Valley School and we needed to wait until school let out for the Columbus Day weekend.

I headed up there a bit after my business partner Mike Lyons left Atascadero for it as I had more to do to get loaded up and he ought to get there first as the booth is in his name as he is the one who makes our arrangements for it.

I did get up there safe and sound without driving over the side of the cliffs and without having any notable anxiety attacks in spite of the fact I utterly hate the two really high spots on Highway 1 just south and just north of Salmon Creek.

At least during the previous two Jade Festivals I had my iPod actually functioning and was able to listen to my music to distract me in the scary sections of road but not this year unfortunately but on this day I made do without it.

When I did arrive there I was surprised at how many booth spots were still empty from vendors not having arrived yet.

Mike was parked next to our spot but not much was on it yet so I had missed nothing of the set-up which was nice.

Mike and I did set up our tables and my Easy-Up and I placed most of the non-inventory elements of what composes our booth such as display and packaging materials and some not-that-valuable buckets of material like abalone shells and such.

However, we both elected to not bring most of our inventory until tomorrow morning as we felt no reason to needlessly leave our stuff unattended overnight before the show even began.

Both before and after we did our work we visited with our friends amongst the dealers such as Keith Olivas and Ernie DeFever and Jack Daggett and Kirk Brock and Mike Berklio and others.

It was nice to get caught up with friends and find out what was new with them and hear the latest scuttle-butt.

After arriving mid-afternoon I stayed a couple of hours and left before it would get dark on me driving home.

Kimmer

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool Pt. XI

Hey Folks, I'm Back

Well, after getting away from blogging for a bit of late I'm back and don't plan to pause again for the foreseeable future with all that there is to talk about coming up from shows to economic meltdowns to elections to changing of the seasons to October being upon us which is typically the most disastrous month of the year for California along with a host of other things to talk about. 

Be sure to go back and check my blogs about the recent Paso Robles Gem & Mineral Show as well as the Monterey Gem & Mineral Show as well as a recent Useful Tip column. 

Also, you can follow the Big Sur Jade Festival from day to day right here. 

Kimmer News

I've learned that I've been accepted as a new member of the Orcutt Mineral Society so now I'm a member of all three local clubs with the other two being the Santa Lucia Rockhounds and theSan Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club. 

Today, Estelle from the Santa Lucia Rockhounds contacted me and asked me if I'd be willing to take on the role of Vice President of Education for that club to which I said I would but needed to know more about it first before I could firmly commit so I will soon be given relevant literature towards that end. 

I'm already Vice President of the SLO club so my time is already more stretched than ever before so I'm enthusiastic but a tad reluctant about this but am going to keep an open mind for now. 

In that role I have extremely busy of late doing publicity for the upcoming Cayucos Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show which I will not even be in while having to prepare for the Big Sur Jade Festival the week before which I will be in and then prepare right after that for the Placerville show the same weekend as the Cayucos show. 

Add to that the fact I've been working on getting the SLO club's website up and running of late and I'm pretty much maxed out. 

So How About That Weather

Last night (Tuesday night the 7th) I was able to leave the windows open throughout the house for probably the last time until next May or June.

Tonight is a bit iffy about repeating that as I feel a slight chill building. 

Today certainly was rather Indian Summer-ish if not technically thus.  

Last night at the monthly meeting of the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club it was very warm well after dark due to the downslope/offshore winds coming from the northeast over the Santa Lucia Mountains and into San Luis Obispo. The effect was a warm, dry wind leaving the day rather scorching in SLO and very mild and nice after dark. 

Today was another hot day in Atascadero as was yesterday.

When I was out walking the morning of day before yesterday, I was buffeted by one of the strongest offshore winds I have ever experienced in Atascadero. 

This does not bode well for what this Autumn will bring wind wise and by extension, fire wise, to California but it is yet early in the season and much too soon to say what will happen.

The Economy Stupid

It's getting so bad I'm afraid to check the news, especially when I first start the day.

When will this end and will it end well for us?

I sure hope nobody is taking a good ending for granted.

I'm also damned tired of the two parties blaming each other for the mess when there is plenty of blame to go around for everybody from top to bottom and both sides of the politico-cultural divide.

I wish everybody would just shut the heck up and focus on where we go from here. 

I admit that emotionally it feels good at the first impression when one hears that Big Momma Gummint is going to come in and prop up this and prop up that.

However, the more I wrap my head around this the more uneasy I feel about our government getting itself so involved in our economy and by extension becoming so much bigger and so much more a part of our lives. 

Furthermore, we are going into tremendous debt in order to try to achieve instant gratification relative to how long it would take to fix this in a more economically sound fashion.

The problem is that we Americans are a spoiled and petulant and impatient and ADHD-afflicted people and can't stay focused on anything for very long and on a steady pace. 

We want to have our cake and eat it, too. 

We are unwilling to pay significantly more in taxes but are unwilling to face significant austerity measures so the debt piles up and the beat goes on.

We have no self-control as a people and no sense of responsibility so why would our elected representatives do otherwise: they perfectly represent and reflect us. 

The problem in Washington DC is that it is functioning exactly as designed.

Would Both of You Please Tell Us Why You Should Be President?

Is this the most distressing Presidential election cycle you can remember?

I feel awful about our two options or is it just me?

I'm an Independent and don't really agree with either guy terribly much but my gut feels better about McCain than Obama whom I deeply distrust whereas McCain merely fails to inspire me. 

At least McCain has been in the fiery furnace and passed the test but not so with Obama.

Also, Obama nakedly lies and obfuscates and flip-flops much more than McCain.

McCain has had a reformer pedigree since long before Obama-Cum-Lately hit the scene and became the latest Flavor Of The Month. 

I still fail to see how Obama is going to bring change and reform when he himself has participated in and done the very things that are the problem and has selected as his Vice President a man whom one can reasonably consider the consummate Washington INSIDER. 

On the other hand, McCain for all his great service for his country over the course of his life just seems to lack that certain something that distinguishes great leaders.

Also, like Obama, McCain has NO Grand Vision for America and how we proceed from here in realizing that Grand Vision.  "Where there is no vision, the people perish". 

A Fate Accompli?

It has been distressing watching the Fifth-Column/Fourth-Estate in conjunction with the Entertainment-Industrial Complex act like a bunch of blushing and swooning schoolgirls with mad crushes fawning over and falling all over themselves to anoint Obama as some sort of Messianic figure who will come to the Beltway and after healing the waters of the politically-poisoned Potomac River then walk across them and right into the White House wherein a New Millennium will be ushered in wherein all Mankind will beat their swords into plowshares and our sickly economy will be made whole again. 

This week I have come to realize Obama will win the election due to McCain's pathetic weakness as a candidate combined with the free-falling economy and folks needing a scape goat which the Republicans will conveniently serve as for this election.

Combine all that with Media and Pop Cultural Anointment the likes we have not seen since 1992 when Bubba was anointed by the same folks while also using "change" as a mantra.

The inevitable result is that the lemmings are going to elect an even weaker man than Jimmy Carter who turned out to be the very worst President of the second half of the 20th Century. 

Prophetic Palmist

Innumerable times over the years I have driven by the palmist's office here Atascadero as it sits right on the main drag of town and the store always seems to be closed. 

I believe I've figured out why: she can accurately predict when there will be no customers. 

Kimmer

2008 Monterey Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 3

Part One
Part Two

This morning to start the day we checked out of the Travel Lodge after partaking in their "continental breakfast" again.

We then headed across the street to the fairgrounds and parked for the day and went in and did what little set-up was required, to wit, remove the covering put on our booth for the overnight period and turning on the lights and replacing a few gaps where material sold with fresh material.

The day started typically slow for a Sunday morning so nobody punched any panic buttons.
Unfortunately for me, things never really got going to the degree they had the day before which was the reverse for Mike as he did not so great yesterday but cleaned up today.

I had hoped to match yesterday's success today so that I could justify purchasing that Gibeon meteorite the Richter's are selling at their Rocks & Relics booth but no dice.
If I'm to have it God will make everything line up for me.
Certainly nobody has bought it during or since the June Cayucos Show where I first spotted it and fell in love at first sight so maybe there is a chance for me to get it yet.

The Air Force Thunderbirds passed over again today which triggered in me the usual reponse of anxiety and exhilaration.

As the day drew to a close things slowed down prematurely it seemed with only a few small sales for me although Mike was having a great day compared to yesterday for him.

I wasn't the only one having an unsatisfying day as at least one other vendor who shall go unnamed sat glumly in their chairs as I walked up to compare notes: misery loves company!

Despite the slowness of this day for me I was overall extremely pleased with the show, both in my own success but also in Mike's as well as in how the overall show played out and the host Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society did a great job promoting and carrying out the show and we earnestly hope to be invited back next year.

They did their usual breakdown of the show at the end of the weekend with military-like precision and coordination with most of the displays being removed before Mike and I were even done breaking down our own booth and by the time we left there was not much left in the show hall.

We left after dark just like last year and headed home via Fairgrounds Road to Garden Road to Olmstead Road to Highway 68 to US101 and on home with a short break for gas and a bite to eat at a fast food join in Salinas which was interesting after dark.
Fortunately, nothing bad happened there nor at any other point along the home and we got home safely each to our respective abodes.

Part One
Part Two

2008 Monterey Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 2

Part One
Part Three

Having worked late last night preparing our booth we were able to sleep in just a bit.
It was nice having a room across the street from the show so that I simply walked leaving my truck parked at the Travel Lodge.
What little work was left to do to prepare for the show was quickly accomplished and we were ready to go.

For me it was a good thing I was ready at the opening buzzer as my first customer was a hard-bargaining Asian gal from the Chinese Cultural Center in Monterey who dropped a large sum on me purchasing ocean jasper slabs and an egg and a sphere along with some other things.
Normally, I don't mention the race of people unless it is relevant to the story I am relating as is the case here.
She was one of the most abrasive customers I ever dealt with and drove such a bare-knuckle bargainer that I was starting to get put off but each time she nearly nearly caused me to snap at her she seemed to sense it and drew back.
She whittled me down to the bone price-wise but I still turned a modest profit, but I only let her walk out of my booth with the items as I needed the money wanting to start off on a good pace and I was tired of lugging around for well over a year the items she got so I was mildly contented with the outcome.

Had I not needed her money I might have employed a tactic Jack Daggett of Bend, Oregon, once employed at the Tuscon Show where an Asian-American feigning to be an Asian-non-American came up to him and started putting down his material but actually was interested in it but hoped to low-ball him. Jack got really pissed and started moving the price up on the guy to his shock and horror and rattled him and said "you crazy" and left. Later on they kissed and made up and Jack realized the guy was an American and spoke English just fine.

However, what this experience highlighted for me was something I before now had only heard anecdotally from other dealers and that is the cultural difference between Americans and non-Americans, particularly Asians and most particularly East Asians when it comes to negotiating.
What we Americans would consider rude is not only not rude in their culture, but expected.
The problem is that this is America and America is best as a melting pot, not a multi-cultural entity. Multi-culturalism does not work: just look at Islamicization of Europe.

Anywho, that did get me off on the right track which carried success on throughout the day as traffic was fairly evenly busy all day and folks were apt to spend money. It appeared everybody was doing well at the show thus reenforcing the concept of rising tides lift all boats.

I had the privilege of meeting a fine young American soldier named Stephen Covell who is a local guy (grew up in the Monterey area) visiting from his current home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he serves our nation as a medic in the 573rd Cavalry of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Stephen is quite a young man who chose to enter the military and serve his nation for a variety of commendable personal reasons.
He has already served one tour in Iraq and awaits being sent back there or going to Afghanistan in the near future.
I marveled at the degree to which this guy really seemed to have his shit together for one so relatively young and I was quite impressed and heartened to know such young men are still out there despite the general decline of our society and civilization.
Stephen plans not to follow the medical slant of his current career but after the service pursue a career in journalism.
He is also a musician whose work can be experienced on Purevolume.com and Myspace.com.

Speaking of the military, the Air Force Thunderbirds flew their F-16's over us again today in a rather unnerving fashion as well as some civilian passenger aircraft.
In spite of the unnerving nature of such powerful jets flying so forcefully right over us at such low altitude there is something rather exhilarating about it, too.
One of the planes on one particular fly-over was so low that his backwash stirred up dust and leaves lying on the ground in and around the fairgrounds which caused something to get picked up and blown into my eye.

I learned today that what I thought was a lazurite crystal I am selling may actually be a pseudomorphed Afghanite crystal that is now composed of lapiz lazuli per dealer Claud Huber.
As usual he had an amazing display of beautiful minerals.

The Richter's Rocks & Relics booth was busy all day and all weekend per usual which is no surprise given all the cool stuff for great prices they offer there. They have an amazing Gibeon meteorite I am coveting and hope to buy if I make as much money tomorrow as I did today.
This thing is somehow naturally flat having shattered along some sort of internal crystaline plane.

At the end of a fruitful day we all packed up for the night which didn't require much as this is a very safe venue overnight with Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society officer and show dealer chair Matt Beiwer spending the night in the room with all the booths so we all left feeling secure.

Mike and I decided to have Mexican food for dinner and have it where we had dinner last year with one of his friends the middle night of the show so we drove down to Seaside and looked for that place and found Marisco's Puerto Nuevo which was great once again.

After that we retired to our motel where I blogged and emailed before joining Tequila in bed.

Part One
Part Three

2008 Monterey Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 1

Part Two
Part Three

Last year the Monterey Gem & Mineral Show hosted by the Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society was the most profitable two-day show I have ever done.

Consequently, this year I had high hopes going into it the second time around and that in spite of the current economic distress.

I came into this show very well prepared despite unwittingly leaving a few things at home I would like to have brought with me to sell.

After getting my pickup loaded this morning I met up with Mike Lyons at Staples in North Atascadero to get some more receipt books and then we hit the road following US101 to
Arroyo Seco Road between Greenfield and Soledad and then without a single break followed my old shun-piking route into Monterey via Arroyo Seco Road to Fort Romie Road to Mission Road to River Road to Highway 68 to North Fremont Street in Monterey and on into the Monterey County Fairgrounds a block over from there.

As we neared Highway 68 I could see aircraft doing practice maneuvers at the Salinas Airport but didn't know what it was about or what type of aircraft they were other than they appeared to be older-style aircraft like biplanes and used smoke streamers.

Anywho, the drive only took us about two and half hours and covered about 130+ miles.

We rolled into the fairgrounds and surveyed the situation finding many dealers already well into their set-up but with others not yet on scene. It was nice to see many of our friends there like Bob and Helen Olson of Nature's Collectibles as well as Claude Huber and his wife and of course cranky old Steve Shears and all his wonderful display and storage stuff he sells and last but not least our friends and booth neighbors Bill Head and his wife.

After hooking up with dealer chair Matt Biewer and touching base we proceeded to set up for the show which went very smoothly.

Not long after arriving as I walked my dog Tequila around the fairgrounds I was greated with a shockingly unnerving and unexpected experience, to wit, a duo of mighty F-16 fighters flying in tight formation flew right over the fairgrounds at extremely low altitude.
On this first fly-over while I was there they had their smoke streams going and they were so low the two trails of swirling smoke came down intact right into the fairgrounds proper.
I had forgotten that we were in the flightpath of Monterey Airport and that the Salinas Air Show was this weekend and that the Air Force Thunderbirds were in attendance.
I certainly didn't know they could only use the Monterey Airport as the Salinas Airport runway is too short for them to use.
Anywho, they repeatedly buzzed the fairgrounds in route to the airport where they were doing touch and goes.

I took a break in the work to walk across the street and check into the Travel Lodge.
Last year we stayed at the Motel 6 a block or two down the street as I thought they were the only nearby motel that allowed dogs as Tequila accompanies me to most shows.
Apparently, I was wrong and Travel Lodge is not only dog-friendly but closer to the show and cheaper if you can finagle the "crew rate" which I did with the assistance of the clerk I made the reservations with. They also don't charge you for wifi access the way Motel 6 does.

On a side-note: the person who checked me in was this rotund gay guy who was shall we say, quite gay, fussy and prissy and lispy and all.

A bit later Mike and I took a break from our set-up to go get some dinner.
After walking around a little bit on North Fremont Street we settled with a wonderful family Italian joint named Caruso's Corner Restaurant which has apparently been around since 1953.
The service was excellent (very personal service with family atmosphere) and the food was to kill for (they have wonderful chicken parmigiana).

Whilst we were perusing the menu right after we first got there I received a call from an unfamiliar phone number so I stepped outside and answered it and it turned out to the gay guy at the Travel Lodge front desk who checked me in.
It was hard to hear him given the street traffic next to me but he seemed to say in a very curt and prissy manner that I was to come down to the front desk immediately and it sounded like he told me he'd need to take my card which he said was no good.
Perhaps I heard the wording wrong but I'm not so sure about that.
I new I was close to being over the limit on that card not to mention a few days late with the latest payment which was due earlier in the week.
However, no biggie, all he needed was for me to give him a different card which is perhaps what he said but that is not how my ears heard it.
Consequently, I was both a bit rattled but also pissed off so I got Mike and we left the restaurant before we'd even ordered and walked down the street to the Travel Lodge.
There was a line at the front desk so I patiently stood in line while coldly eyeing the gay guy with a "don't **** with me" demeanor.
When I finally got to the front of the line there was one more person behind me and I let her and her significant other go ahead of me with an explanation that sounded as ominous as the gay guy's remarks to me a short time earlier.
When finally I stepped up to the desk I politely and calmly told him I had trouble hearing him on the phone and said "now carefully repeat every word you said to me" to which he breezily responded the card I gave him was not accepted and he'd need another one which Mike quickly provided and that was that.
Maybe I heard him wrong the first time, but I'm not so sure.
I think he got uppity with me and my demeanor pushed him back in his place which is to treat the customer with respect and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Finally we headed back to the restaurant and ordered our food and proceeded to enjoy our salads when lo and behold my cell phone rang again.
My first thought was "oh no, not again" but it turned out to be an Atascadero number I recognized as familiar but could not place so I answered it and it turned out to be my friend Alice Porter.
She didn't realize I was out of town and in the middle of a meal and I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I let her talk my ear off for a little bit and then let her know my situation when she asked where I was to which she apologetically let me go.
The purpose of the call was to see if I knew if the Santa Lucia Rockhounds had seen Ernie and Alice's underwater slides of the jade hunting they did decades ago.
My belief is they did already show those the last time they did a presentation there last year.
The Porter's memories are going away quickly which is sad to watch.
They've also had a number of bad falls lately which concerns me.
After hanging up I returned to our booth and found dinner waiting and jumped right in.

After a delicious meal we returned to working on our set-up at our booth and pretty much finished the job leaving very little to do in the morning.
This was a nice change of pace as most of my shows this year I left quite a bit to do on Saturday morning before the start of the shows which adds a lot of stress.

After watching some television and getting caught up on emails and Yahoo Group management I turned in for the night at an unusually reasonable for me and slept very well.

Part Two
Part Three

2008 Paso Robles Rock, Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 3

Part One
Part Two

Since we were entirely set up for this show by this morning and this was a Sunday morning we slept in until about 7:30ish and then got up and had breakfast and headed for this year's Paso Robles Rock, Gem & Mineral Show.
We arrived in time to find things pretty quiet and despite getting there about 15 minutes before the show began at 10 a.m. we were ready to roll when the show opened for the day.
There was a surprising amount of activity early on albeit still fairly quiet compared to yesterday morning at the same time. Over the course of the day Mike would do quite well in contrast to yesterday and we would about equal yesterday which means this year we did great and beat last year's total.

I picked up a gorgeous specimen of Elmwood Spalerite for a very reasonable price from Tom DeMaris which I will turn around and offer for sale at a significant profit at my shows and on Ebay.

Yesterday we picked up from Tom and his wife a couple of T-shirts commemorating the fires up their way in Trinity County this past Summer that they picked up for us at our request when we last talked to them at the Nipomo Show last Summer.
That marks the second time this year they have remembered to bring something to a show months after I requested it at a previous show. As you may or may not recall they brought that Canyon Diablo Meteorite to the Nipomo Show in August that I had placed a hold on at the April Bakersfield Show. With all they have to think about I'm duly impressed!

Later in the day I managed to track down Wes Lingerfelt to give him my membership application and dues to the Orcutt Mineral Society.

Yesterday, the Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Club's Matt Biewer who is the dealer chair of this coming weekend's Monterey Show dropped in to visit yesterday while the Antelope Valley Gem & Mineral Club's Vivian who is the dealer chair of their April show dropped by for a visit today.

We received Santa Lucia Rockhound's President Gene and his wonderful wife Barbara Bilyeu at our booth this weekend (albeit at different times) which was really nice.

Two years ago Gene purchased a thick, large slab of silver-laced onyx from Mule Canyon in the Calico Mountains (old collection stuff I got years earlier from Tom DeMaris).
A year ago Gene purchased from me a nice-sized chunk of Mexican amethyst which he polished with his wet grinder and now sits in his home.
I had hoped this year he'd grab something else but alas he didn't which really hurt me. ;-p
Actually, he got something from us following the Nipomo Show and Barbara gave us a handsome purchase so they have actually been very faithful supporters of our business over the the past few years of this fledgling enterprise for which we are extremely grateful.

Santa Lucia Rockhounds club member Dennis Vance dropped by to visit us and talk meteorites for a short time. He had originally been slated to sell his meteorites in our booth but had to back out as he is preparing for some upcoming craft fares. This is now the third consecutive year he has visited our booth at this show.

We also had the privilege of being visited by another esteemed member of the Santa Lucia Rockhounds, to wit Jr. Director Ralph Lawless for whom I'd been holding some choice obsidian pieces since getting back from our Alturas trip last Summer.
As those of you following this blog may remember I picked up some choice pieces from Frank Newman at the rock shop at the CA-OR border.
Anywho, Ralph gratefully accepted them and purchased a few others which I offered him for free but he insisted on paying for them.

Throughout the weekend there was this black kid of about age twelve or so hanging around the show who I believe was there last year, too, who clearly lives in the neighborhood.
Anywho, later in the day he came and hang out with us after earlier in the day or yesterday receiving some freebies from us. He even purchased an inexpensive stone with what meager monies he possessed.
He turned out to be one cool little kid and even helped us break down our booth at the end of the day. We repaid him for his labor in stones. I'm sure we broke a child labor law somewhere. ;-p
We came to find out his name is Ronnae and he lives a few blocks away and had to leave us to go home at a certain point but he promised to try to make it back next year although he doesn't think he'll be living in the same part of town.
My heart goes out to the kid and I hope is life works out despite the broken home he comes from which we learned of from talking to him.
I have hope for him as he showed a good deal of character to us.

I tried to get an earlier jump breaking things down and getting them back to my storage unit this year. I loaded up all the lapidary rough first and got down to my storage unit only to discover they close earlier this year than last so I still just missed the cut-off which was frustrating but then drove home and dumped everything in front of my house and drove back up to Paso.

While doing all of that I received a phone call from an unfamiliar phone number and answered it.

Apparently, I had agreed to pick up the contents of the display case the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club used for their display at the show but I had forgotten and the Paso people were waiting for that stuff to be removed from their case so I agreed to get up there ASAP.
By the time I did they had already boxed it and left it at your booth.
Not realizing they had done that I went into the Pioneer Museum to remove said items and found it done so I took the opportunity to belatedly sign up for the cool members-only field trip up to a ranch at the top of the summit of Highway 46 to hunt biconoids early next month.

To my surprise we were able to squeeze everything into our pickup and thus avoid having to make a third trip between Atascadero and Paso late in the day.
.

Part One
Part Two

2008 Paso Robles Rock, Gem & Mineral Show Pt. 2

Part One
Part Three

On this morning we had to get up early as in 6:30ish early.
We had much to do before we would actually be ready for the show.
Yesterday we got most of the material that would comprise our booth transferred from my storage unit as well as my home in Atascadero to Pioneer Park in Paso Robles where the show venue is located.
Yesterday I made two runs and this morning we'd need to drop by my storage unit to pick up one final load on the way up to Paso Robles which we did.
We arrived at our booth early in the 8 a.m. hour and got right to work transforming a pile of boxes and crates into the decent-looking display seen below.

Although we were not entirely ready at 10 a.m. when the show started and were surprised by how many people arrived in the first half hour I doubt we lost much money as folks seemed to be walking around looking at what was available first before shopping and we did do some decent sales during that period. Nonetheless, we were fully ready to roll by no later than 11 a.m.

This show is the one show I bring all my lapidary rough, hence the three trips up to Paso Robles with material for the show. Although K&K Earthwerks does have some slabs and other rough from areas outside the Central Coast we mostly have petrified whale bone and beach agates and stream and ocean tumbled jasper and jasper-agate and jasper-quartz and brecciated jasper and a wee bit of orbicular jasper all from San Simeon Creek and Inlet. We also carry a good bit of petrified myrtle wood from Bandon, OR, as well as even more obsidian from Lake and Modoc Counties in Northern California. In the future we hope to expand beyond that into other material.


This day went pretty well business-wise leaving us extremely satisfied in contrast with last year's show which was dismal on Saturday and even worse on Sunday.
Each show is different and one never knows what to expect. We do know the Santa Lucia Rockhounds did a great job of promoting this show but then we also know the Orcutt Mineral Society did a great job of promoting the Nipomo Show which was a stinker for us this year like the Paso Show was last year for us.

Anywho, we did great this day doing about as well if not better than Saturday two years ago but this time I was entirely read for this show unlike then when I was on standby as a last minute replacement and got the call on set-up day and scrambled to be ready and really wasn't.
The feeling of being overwhelmed and under prepared has haunted me since and drives me to be always ready.

We were delighted to see so many familiar faces at our booth including a wonderful surprise, Bob Hurless, former President of the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club dropped by and gave me a big hug. He has been busy in Idaho all Summer and looks better than ever.
Sandie and he are back for the season while they weather out the Winter here on the Central Coast.

We saw a lot of repeat customers from both this show in the past as well as other shows elsewhere like the Cayucos Show and the Nipomo Show. It is these people who are our lifeblood and we appreciate both their friendship as well as their business.

We also saw a lot of club members be it the club hosting this show, to wit the Santa Lucia Rockhounds, as well as the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club as well as the Orcutt Mineral Society as well as Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral Society. These people not only make good friends but they are reliable if not more discriminating customers as well as excellent sources for the latest local rockhounding information.

Lastly, it was nice to see the many fellow dealers/vendors there, many of whom are our friends.
Keith Olivas was there along with his cool wife as was Gary and Janice as well as Tom DeMaris and his wife as was Manny and his wife and Susan Chaison-Walblom and her husband and last but not least, Dale "the more you buy the more you save" Harwood with all his minerals.
Sammy and his wife didn't make the trip for Henderson, Nevada, this year which bummed me and I miss Mr and Mrs. Covert from over in the Valley and hope they are doing okay as I have not seen them the past couple of years at this show.

Speaking of dealers, Andy you-know-who showed up which meant more interesting incidents and stories of which I will mention none this time around other than to say I heard some interesting new stories of past incidents and one knew but small thing was spoken by him to one of the other vendors at the barbecue tonight.
I won't mention the details of anything but that which I personally observe or experience so my lips are mum but tonight's comment was mildly interesting given his history with whom he spoke it and the other stuff I heard about regarding incidents prior to this show were extremely interesting as well.

Speaking of barbecues, the Santa Lucia Rockhounds feted us with an awesome barbecue done up Santa Maria-style with all the fixings. The company was also good as we sat with Wes Lingerfelt and his wife as well as with Mike Doherty of the Paso club who is the Chair of this show.
We discussed among other things, the origins of Deedeeite a.k.a. Avila Rhyolite (which I will soon be blogging about) as well as Wes' fascinating career in the Military-Industrial Complex.

Following that barbecue we headed back to Atascadero where we picked up some yogurt at Yogurt Creations in the Adobe Plaza and then headed home and crashed.

Part One
Part Three