Road Trip

I don't mind a good road trip, especially if cards are involved.  A few weeks ago, my brother brought up the idea of heading west to check out a couple of shops he frequents, so I took an extra day off from work to make a long Labor Day weekend longer and off we went.  I always find out-of-state card shops appealing, if only because I don't see the same stuff in the same environment over and over.  It's always fun to make random stops along the way too, because you never know what you'll find. 

While driving out, I checked out google maps to see if anything card related hit the radar and sure enough, there was a shop along the way.  Well, it was 15 or 20 miles out of the way, but still kind of along the way since we were still heading west.  The stop turned out to be a productive one for me, because I was able to land a number of great cards.

A few needs for my 1970 set.  Not perfect by any sense, but I'll take them for 50 cents each.

More 50 cent specials.

I wish these were 50 cents each, but I was incredibly happy the shop had a selection of 1986-87 Fleer basketball commons.  These cards are in great condition and now I only need 3 more to finish off this set!  Unfortunately, the other shops we stopped at did not have the remaining cards I needed.  I am resisting the urge to hit ebay, and hope to find the last 3 cards soon.

At another stop, I found a couple of 2020 Prizm football needs.  I'm hoping to finish off this shiny set before the holidays come around.

The famous (infamous?) Ripken card.  I've seen ridiculous prices for this so finding it for less then $25 seems like a steal.  But even that seems ridiculous because there are a ton of these around.  I've had the black box version for awhile, only two more variations to go.

Finally, this clean (no creases) Aparicio rookie was a highlight of my weekend.  Another great addition to my '56 set build.

Overall this was a fun trip, especially because I was able to knock out a few needs.  It seems that lately, I have a tougher time finding cards to knock out set wants at my usual "go-to" places, so changing up the scenery a bit really paid off.  It is also nice to get out and find new shops and make new contacts who can help with your builds.  Maybe with a bit of luck and more road trips like this, I'll be able to hit some of my 2022 resolutions.