Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show:2010 edition

Not much to report.

Joe and I succeeded in making it to the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show on Thursday. In an uncoordinated fashion we arrived at the center (I from the Aerie and he from Linden, NJ) within 15 minutes of each other and both of us were nearly an hour earlier than the time we said we would meet and 45 minutes before the doors opened. Absolutely no traffic on the road that early in the morning. (That was NOT true as we left a little after 1 PM. Lines of cars stretched out onto I-81 on both the east bound and west bound sides. And that intersection is two miles or so from the Farm Show Complex.)

Our first order of business was to find the Caesar's Lodge booth so Joe could book a trip for this summer. No problem! Caesar's had two booths--one in the outfitters section of the main hall and one in the fishing hall. We happened to enter in the fishing hall and found the booth just about 200 yards from the door. Oliver Brossard was back in charge of the outpost fishing and all the flying while his cousin George remains is in charge of the hunting and main lodge.

Joe booked his trip and then we set off to see what else there might be to see. We walked, and walked and walked some more. Along the way, Joe picked up some 1/4 inch cord, some 6 lb. test fishing line, and a leather wallet. We both bought some leather belts. And that was about it. We looked at lots of ATVs, admired all the horns at the outfitters' booths, inspected and got information about some Treewalker Tree Stands and did lots and lots of walking. We easily could have spent the rest of the afternoon and, perhaps, part of today if we had spent more time talking to outfitters, suppliers of calls, suppliers of archery equipment, etc. or if we had opted to watch any of the shows/demonstrations that were going on, but we both were faced with about 150 mile drives to get home and had nothing in particular we wanted to spend our money on...at the moment. So we headed our separate ways around one in the afternoon.

All I can say is that this is indeed the largest outdoor show on the east coast. The space is simply huge. Four different halls that could have each housed their own shows and, in a sense, did. The main hall held all the hunting supplies and outfitters. Then there was a fishing outfitter and supply hall (including boats and RVs). Another was strictly set up for archery supplies and held a shooting range of 3-D targets ranged up in the seating gallery. Another hall held all the man toys like ATVs, motor cycles, tractors, and such. And there were other halls as well. I even saw one or two full sized, two room log cabins and a two-vehicle garage with a full loft. One thing we didn't see much of was guns. There were only a few booths for manufacturers and gunsmiths/modifiers. I'm sure there must have been more, but then we weren't really looking.

It was difficult maneuvering through the aisles because of the number of people in attendance--on a work day. I don't know what kind of purchasing power the folks coming in to the show carried with them but I'm sure that lots and lots of cash changed hands during the eight days of the show. And looking at the number of pick-up trucks in the parking lots.... I'll definitely be putting this on my calendar for next February. And this time, I believe I'll make a point of seeing some of the shows and having a shopping list. I'll also see about getting into and keeping in shape for all the walking that's involved.

I thought to drive over to Cabela's after the show (it's just 50 miles or so east on I-78) since it would have added just 50 miles to the trip. (The leg back to the Aerie from Cabela's is about the same as from the Aerie to the Farm Show Complex.) But near the end of our walking around the Outdoor Show (and we covered perhaps two-thirds of the show floor space walking several miles in the 3+ hours we were there), my back started to complain and my left hip joined in. Not willing to be 100% stupid I headed directly home.

Two-and-a-half hours in the truck did nothing to improve the back or hip. The wine for dinner helped a little as did the Ibuprofen before hitting the sack early. Slept like a log until the cats started at 6:30 AM.