In terms of time line, this post is going to fast forward again to tonight after I got back from the game. I sat down at the hotel with one of the guys I met last year at the National, we saw each other Wednesday on the way out and talked, but didn't finally connect in the show until today and planned a meet up tonight. It just reminded me that I'm not doing a very good job of getting to know some of the other collectors as well as I should, not because I'm not interested but more because sometimes I'm not that outgoing. However, I really enjoy meeting with him tonight and talking cards, and jobs, and families and life and all kinds of things. And ultimately getting a nice sized trade done was just the icing on the cake. Anyway, I walked away with these.
[
]
[
]
[
]
Not a bad day, right? Well, let's rewind back to about 1:30pm this afternoon, when my WHOLE SHOW got made. Remember, I was just wandering aimlessly around, no direction, just zig-zagging my way across the floor. I turned the corner at a booth, and lo and behold...THERE IT WAS! Literally the ONE CARD that was at the VERY TOP of my want list. The National is the only place I would ever see this card, other than online auctions. I won't bore you with details, but it took about 45 minutes to close the deal, but I'm the proud new owner of this. Walter Johnson is my absolute favorite of the original Hall of Famers, and this my absolute favorite card of his. That's right, the T204 Ramly.
[
]
Short day the show for me today, but I bagged my whale this trip. My only other National experience that even compares to this is when I picked up an Abraham Lincoln autograph. If today isn't the best, it's runner up only to that, but I think it's probably 1A and 1B for me. I absolutely LOVE the Ramly design, I've wanted this card for two years now and finally was in position to get it done.
Tomorrow will be my final day here, but who knows what might be in store? I've had my eye on a couple other things, here's hoping to some good fortune tomorrow and a couple dealers who are truly ready to make a deal? We shall see.