January 4th Colonial Heights Card Show: A Return to Form

    I started off the new year heading to one of my local card shows.  Originally, I hadn't really planned on going, but at the behest of a few friends who were attending and Blake setting up shop there, I made the game time decision to go.  The last couple of Colonial Heights shows have been sparsely attended by sellers and buyers so that was why I was going to skip it and just spend a Saturday at home.  I'm glad I went because it exceeded my expectations.

    I didn't end up spending a ton of money (never really do) but I did find some quality.  I can't complain about adding a Stadium Club Chrome Cal Ripken for a buck. No, hats off to you, Cal.

    I've started paying closer hobby attention to buying cards of Japanese players and placing them in a dedicated binder.  Each player will end up having a page or two of cards, though Nomo, Ichiro, Ohtani, and Koji may end up with more than that. These two cards will look great in that album.

    I've sort of stopped buying base cards at shows unless they are in the quarter and dime boxes.  The value just isn't there and they are printed to the moon and back.  Parallels are where its at for me these days.  Red Stadium Club Heston? Check, Ginter Chrome Cowser? Check. Raywave Eflin and Mullins? Check and Check.  A buck a piece? Check.

    Raywave parallels of good young players? Check x4.  I play close attention to Andrew Abbott since he's from Virginia, and played for perennial ACC contender UVA.  Can't beat these for a dollar a piece.

    I did a bit of dime box diving and was able to find a few Orioles I liked but also these rookies from 2022 Topps Heritage High Numbers. They may seem random to you but I can explain.  Winder and Overton are from the Richmond area so you never know who you might run into around town for autograph signings.  Not that I carry these cards around all the time, lol.  Ethan Roberts has ridden the shuttle back and forth between Triple-A Iowa and Chicago the last few years.  He's a big card collector and is pretty active on Whatnot.  He often hangs out in Blake's stream as well as a few others and is an overall cool dude.  When the Cubs came to Baltimore last summer,  Ethan was nice enough to give us tickets to one of the games.  Five of us made the trip up there and we got to sit in the Cubs player's family and friends section.  It was the only place at Camden Yards where I stuck out like a sore thumb since I was wearing all of my Orioles gear.  Here's a view from our seats:

    Unfortunately, right before the game, Ethan was optioned to Triple-A, so we didn't get to see him in person but hopefully when the Cubs play the Nationals this year, we'll be able to meet up.

    Overall, the Colonial Heights show was a return to form. It was great seeing friends again after the holiday season and to look through some cards. I can't wait til the next show.