Here is the breakdown of our trip as best I can recall. Others may chime in at any point....

Evening prior, load Suburban, cross check against packing list....in bed by 9pm...(Me anyways)

0500 morning of, pack 7 days worth of clothes cause you never know....

0600 pull chocks on time, grab a splash of gas at the gas station and we are on our way

Fuel stops in Santa Fe, and Holbrook along with breakfast stop in Raton

Arrive in Phoenix about 1800 (Gained an hour en-route which was nice)

Unpack the important items as it is above 100 degrees and we don't need things melting.

Find a local eatery and consume. Mexican I believe was the dish of choice.

Talked Dekker in as he drove separately. Turn in for the night about 2300-ish

Day1- drive to convention center and circle repeatedly trying to figure out process for unloading and parking. After numerous trips around the block we get it figured out and get things moving. The loading dock is in the bowels of the convention center and as we got there later than the crowds of other vendors our move in and out was considerably quicker. Unload goodies for sale and begin set up takes about 30-45 minutes. No A/C is apparent...we wonder if J&J have bought the convention center....unload set up continues. Sweat is abundant. We were initially to set up with Tank  Rat or as he is now called, Panzer Mold....long story. Lunch consists of a $43 chicken nugget and soda feast from the convention center eatery. Ok it was only $12, but it was more like a kiddie snack than a full fledged lunch. Dekker and I take turns minding the store while the other goes for a round of shopping. Repeat as needed.

Day 2- See Above. Dinner was at the famed Heart Attack Grill and while the burgers were good and the girls cute, it wasn't as fun as we envisioned it would be. :o(

Day 3- Dekker decides to mind the store while Kirk, Me and our Buddy Derek head for Pima air museum for fun in the sun. It's really bright outside when we arrive. As we pull into the parking lot a B-1 is rocketing out of DM head to parts unknown. The sound is amazing. Shortly there after an A-10 is winging over as he sets up for landing....all this and we haven't even parked the damn vehicle yet. We park and head towards the entrance. It's cooler inside than out...like 3 degrees, but hey, we take what we can get. Overall we spent the better part of 2.5 hours at Pima. Mother nature took her toll on us as we couldn't finish the entire walk through. We made it about 90-95% of the way through and the heat made itself known. I was moving considerably slower and only from wing shade to wing shade. I felt like a Thanksgiving day turkey set on high. Derek and I had to head for someplace cool and quick. Kirk followed shortly behind us. Made use of the swamp cooler in the B-17 hangar for a few minutes then headed for the exit and some lunch. Saw some interesting items in the gift shop, but I felt like ass and didn't want to stand in line with 30 other people waiting. The Mach meter will have to wait. We grabbed some lunch and cool drinks before heading back to Phoenix and the geek fest. Stayed at the convention for a few hours before grabbing some dinner at Hooters which was just down the street. Turn in was about 10:30 this evening.

Day 4- Last day of modeling geekness. Made some price markdowns, and moved a lot of product. Both Dekker and I both did well in the sales area. Packed up everything at the end of the day and prepared for dinner and the awards to come that evening. We didn't have to wait for the load out as we had sold enough stuff we made two trips to the burban with a hand dolly and we were ready to roll. Dinner was at Steve's grill. Kinda pricey, but not too bad as far as tastiness goes. Finished up dinner and returned across the street for the awards ceremony. Doors were still locked so we did a little shopping in the gift shop while we waited. Doors finally opened and it was a blitz to find a seat. Luckily we all found some place to sit while they  read the names of the winners off. This went on for the better part of 2+ hours. Winner the last award was called we blitzed again for the door and the model room to claim our prizes, models and then make our way out. We didn't get in until almost 11:30pm. With a 0500 wake up it was going to be a short sleep and then boogie kinda day.

Day 5- 0500 wake up, quick breakfast of banana, OJ, and a cinnamon roll. Once everybody had showered and such, we loaded up and were on the road by 0620. 20 minutes behind, but not a game ender. Had to make a quick return trip as I left my phone charger. Even with this we were still moving north by 0630. The climb out of Phoenix was cool...to the eyes. It was still 90+ degrees outside, but the scenery was amazing. Consumed mass amounts of gas doing so, but that is the nature of the beast. We made considerably more stops along the way as our bodies were trying to purge themselves of all the crappy food we had eaten over the last few days....go figure. That and we needed gas and caffeine to keep going. I iron manned the driving down and back with no real issues....it's only 12 hours. ;o) Coming out of Pueblo we saw something we had never expected to see. The large thunder head that was hanging over the Springs last night was really showing some lightning when we spotted a funnel cloud doing its best to make its way to the ground. At first we didn't believe it, but we kept watching and you could see it moving up and down and side to side.  It finally lost steam and fizzled. Was pretty amazing to see first hand. We reached my house a little over 13 hours later, not counting the hour we lost from the time change. Everything stayed in the truck until this morning.

By our count we had 15 from the springs area and pueblo on hand. Damn good numbers if you ask me. We should really make a concentrated effort to get to Omaha next year as it is so close. Total models on the table this year totaled 1705....way down from previous conventions. Vendor turn out was really poor too as there were lots of empty tables to be seen. 2012 will be in Orlando at Disney World. Definitely not a driving trip. I'm thinking of flying down, grabbing a rental car and hotel, shopping, mailing it home, then flying home. Lord knows I've got time to change my mind.

Our Springs contingent did well at this show with everybody except Dave W. snagging an award. Daves category always has some heavy hitters in it and even though he didn't place, several people took notice of his work as it was one of the better entries on the table. I snagged a 1st and 2nd for my efforts and sold 3 of my 5 Porcupine kits which was encouraging for further production runs. Looking forward to 2011. Who's with me?! ;o)

Matt~

                There is a lot going on in the community these days. So much that it is overwhelming at times. I am doing my best to take it all in and pass it along. At last count there were 13 modeling events/gathering/get togethers taking place in the month of March alone! I have created a calendar of modeling events for the month and will mail you one if you would like it. Just drop me a line and request one. I will send it in PDF format. The north store officially opened on the 1st of March with a nice Grand Opening party that went from 5p-8p and included Pizza from Blackjack, and Coke products. Store owners John and Jake gave away several goodies including shirts, hats and gift cards to those in attendance which by my count was approximately 30, but don't quote me.

 Model Daze is fast approaching on the 1st of April. Registration has already opened for the 6 hour build which takes place on the 3rd, so if you want to participate haul yourself into the Tejon St. store and sign up. Continuing on with Model Daze, the 2 week challenge build will begin at 1pm also on the 3rd. If you are interested in participating, bring your un-started kit to the store on the third to register and begin. You will have 2 weeks to complete and enter the model in the in-case contest. Judging will be by public vote this time around. Thanks to Legacy IPMS for sponsoring this event. Also taking place on the third..(Are you seeing a trend here?...) will be a Make and Take event for the kids. The M-n-T is an opportunity for young kids, usually 12 and below to build a model free of charge and take it home with them or even better, enter it into the in case contest for prizes and awards. We will be supplying the models and materials to complete it, along with an excellent and knowledgeable staff to assist your child if and where needed. Space is limited, but we will do our best to accommodate as many as we can. The recreational and hardcore divisions for the in case model contest have always been highly filled and we would love to see them overflowing again this time. There will also be a place for Display Only entries for those that do not wish to compete and merely show off their handy work.

 If you are in the store this week you will find more information posted about Model Daze. The official posters are going up this week and additional handbills are being printed and dropped at both stores soon.  More info to follow as I get it.

 Thanks, Matt~