Craft Show Weekend

I was super excited to go to the craft show this past weekend in Orangeburg.  We went for the first time last year and came away from it then, excited to come back again as we had a great time and had a good profit.  The gal that runs the show is super nice and takes care of all her vendors very well.  She's good at what she does!  She's much better than I am with grumpy vendors wanting every inch of booth space they paid for...

The road trip on Friday morning was very pleasant....we started early and enjoyed the ride as the sun came up.  I tried to take pictures of the cotton fields we drove past and the bundles of cotton packed up and ready to send to the factories, but the motorhome was moving too fast for me to get good pictures.  No way, was I going to ask my husband to stop so I could take a picture of a cotton bale...he wouldn't go for that!  I'm thinking of investing in a new camera anyway, because I rely on it so heavily and this one just isn't meeting my needs in certain areas.

We parked the Bounder

and stopped for breakfast at one of our favorite spots.

It was warm and cozy and the cook and servers were super friendly!

We hit the road again for the last little leg of the trip which was about 6 miles.

Once we arrived, we started the set-up which usually takes us 1-½ to 2 hours to get it all perfected and ready for the crowd.  After that, Bill went down and hooked up the camper.  He called me to say that he was going to stay outside for a bit and "cash in" on a little bonus he saw next to the campsite....hmmm, I wondered...what could be more rewarding than selling a bunch of marshmallow shooters?

Turns out, the fairgrounds, where the show is located, is covered in pecan trees and we were welcomed to take as many of them as we could carry.  Bill filled a 5 gallon bucket and a few grocery bags full!  What a booty we got to take home with us!

We always enjoy meeting the other vendors and this show was no exception!

On Friday night, as all the other vendors were complaining about having to drive all the way home, we just closed down our shop, and walked down the hill to our cozy little camper, where we donned our comfy clothes and settled down to a homemade meal of lasagna (actually a Bertolli frozen meal) and salad.  We watched a little TV but soon realized we were more tired than we thought we'd be from just sittng around most of the day and ended up in bed shortly after 9:00!!  A good rest and a hearty homemade breakfast and we were ready for day 2.

All in all, we didn't do quite as well as the previous year with profit...well, I should say I didn't do as well, because my husband knocked my socks off in sales!  We like to "compete" in a sense, comparing who sold more than the other.  He sold 3 chairs and plenty of his other little products!  I only sold one quillow and a few other little things.  I guess what put me in a sour mood thru most of the show was that I had worked my buns off making all those little things that sold wonderfully last year at this show and then didn't sell a single one this year!  BUT, I remembered what was important and it's not the money....we had a wonderful time together, meeting people, selling our wares and having a mini camping adventure.

But the best part of the whole trip is this:  every year for Christmas, Bill's grandmother (94 years young) gives us a margarine tub full of shelled pecans that she picked from her yard, and this year, we're going to give her one!