A rather disappointing day, but at least the sun shone brightly

Well, the day started out with great promise.  The Husband and I drove the new Prius to Rosslyn, across the Potomac from DC for a Postcard and Paper Show.  For postcard collectors and collectors of ephemera, these are fun events and items are generally priced reasonably. 

But when we got there, it was a Post Card and Photography Show.  Problem with these is that the postcards tend to be more, and the photographs - things which ten years ago cost a pittance - have skyrocketed out of sight, price wise.

We saw lots of interesting things, but everything was priced beyond our means, or the dealers said "Ohio? No, this is a MidAtlantic..."

It's been years since we've been to these shows and people tend to cluster up in front of the long, deep boxes that hold the cards.  This means two things - you can't get to what you are looking for because some idiot has placed their briefcase or shopping bags on top of the boxes you want to look for, or if you ask them to move you either get a grunt or a "I'll be done in a minute," which is rude.  The older men love using an elbow to get you out of the way, the younger people will shove you aside while you are waiting.

Anyhow, I came away with nothing.  I even looked for nursing home postcards for Baikenage Overkill, but alas, none were to be found.

And when we went into the photography room, I felt very lost, because it's a different "thing".  The pictures are always overpriced, and they aren't sorted well.  Moreover, the early photos, like the cased daguerreotypes and tintypes have been bought one place and shipped to another so many times that no one is sure where they originated from.  So it's not about who the people are, but about collecting pictures of boys with dogs, or women with a hairstyle or daguerreotypes with a certain type of case. But who the people are has been lost, and that to me is a shame.

Then it was off to Vienna, Virginia for lunch at the regions only Donatos Pizza, which we found had put out of business.  Strange - its still live on the company website, but it is closed.  So we ate at Wendy's next door, and that was a downer. 

Wendy's in Maryland, DC and northern Virginia are mirthless places, sad, barren and dreadfully old.  At one point Corporate was trying to sue the franchise owner into compliance.  Lunch today wasn't about local cuisine, it was about food on the go.

Finally, after a stop at the SUPER Bed Bath and Beyond at Tyson's Corner, we headed home, but the Toyota's navigation system kept trying to force us from Maryland 29 (Coleville Road/Columbia Pike) onto 95N.  It kept warning us about terrible hold-ups and slow traffic on 29, so we switched to 95.  THAT was a mistake.  It dumped us into downtown Baltimore where traffic restrictions had everything shut down for a St. Patrick's Day race.

But, on the plus side, we got to spend the day together, and the sun was out, so it was a better day than it could have been.  And truth be told, the last thing we need is more crap.

But I am bummed about Donatos.