For those of you in Southern California the sale is still going on, today's
the last day.

My friend Barbara and I haven't got there for a few years. But we hopped in
the car at 5:30 AM Friday and drove 5 hours to Santa Barbara and shopped
till we dropped. I intended to only get really choice stuff, and I guess I
did. I spent more than I intended to, but heck. When you finally get to
see some nice stuff you gotta grab it, right?

I *think* this was the 1st time Fuchs (rf Orchids) was there. They were the
main draw for me. I bought 2 plants, one of which it'll take years to come
to blooming size, (I told myself *not* to do that anymore, but I couldn't
help it!) and the other was a very nice Vanda with an FCC on it.

But I digress. The sale at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate was very nice.
I got 2 plants there (see photos on apbo) and then walked over to Cal Orchid
and bought more. Tom Perlite has a stall there and he had some nice Disas
and miltonias there, as well as a few great masds. If you ever can get
plants from Tom you should. (Golden Gate Orchids) I purchased from J&L
because they are an east coast vendor and we usually don't see their plants
around here very often. I like to see the plant before buying. I finally
learned that.

A new-to-me feature was that all the other vendors no longer set up on the
lawn at the SBOE. They set up at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. And there
was a plethora of vendors there (like Fuchs and Andy's orchids). My friend
Barbara went nuts buying Chinese cymbidiums. I bought weirdo species, and
we drove back about 3:00 PM arriving home a happy couple of hobbyists!
Friday traffic through the corrridor between Salinas and Gilroy was hell,
but there wasn't any traffic through the Hwy 680 corridor by the time we got
there, so we made some decent time. (home by 8, or was it 9PM?) No cops
either. They were all on the other side of the freeway.

So, all you people who say "oh, it's too far to go!" shaddup, LOL!! You
ain't a hobbyist till you eagerly exchange 10 hours in the car in order to
shop for 3 or 4.

Then on Saturday I tossed out a bunch of rootless plants I've been nursing
along (with no success) in order to make room for these lovelies. See? I'm
learning! Maybe the other plants in my collection will take the hint and
start blooming now that they've seen the size of the garbage can, *G*.

K Barrett

Kathy,

Sounds super-fun, and I hope you had good tunes for the 10 hours of driving!
=)

I really need to spend a weekend in Santa Barbara with the camera and laptop
and get some good pictures.

-Eric

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news
For those of you in Southern California the sale is still going on,
today's
the last day.

My friend Barbara and I haven't got there for a few years. But we hopped
in
the car at 5:30 AM Friday and drove 5 hours to Santa Barbara and shopped
till we dropped. I intended to only get really choice stuff, and I guess
I
did. I spent more than I intended to, but heck. When you finally get to
see some nice stuff you gotta grab it, right?

I *think* this was the 1st time Fuchs (rf Orchids) was there. They were
the
main draw for me. I bought 2 plants, one of which it'll take years to
come
to blooming size, (I told myself *not* to do that anymore, but I couldn't
help it!) and the other was a very nice Vanda with an FCC on it.

But I digress. The sale at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate was very nice.
I got 2 plants there (see photos on apbo) and then walked over to Cal
Orchid
and bought more. Tom Perlite has a stall there and he had some nice Disas
and miltonias there, as well as a few great masds. If you ever can get
plants from Tom you should. (Golden Gate Orchids) I purchased from J&L
because they are an east coast vendor and we usually don't see their
plants
around here very often. I like to see the plant before buying. I finally
learned that.

A new-to-me feature was that all the other vendors no longer set up on the
lawn at the SBOE. They set up at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. And there
was a plethora of vendors there (like Fuchs and Andy's orchids). My
friend
Barbara went nuts buying Chinese cymbidiums. I bought weirdo species, and
we drove back about 3:00 PM arriving home a happy couple of hobbyists!
Friday traffic through the corrridor between Salinas and Gilroy was hell,
but there wasn't any traffic through the Hwy 680 corridor by the time we
got
there, so we made some decent time. (home by 8, or was it 9PM?) No cops
either. They were all on the other side of the freeway.

So, all you people who say "oh, it's too far to go!" shaddup, LOL!! You
ain't a hobbyist till you eagerly exchange 10 hours in the car in order to
shop for 3 or 4.

Then on Saturday I tossed out a bunch of rootless plants I've been nursing
along (with no success) in order to make room for these lovelies. See?
I'm
learning! Maybe the other plants in my collection will take the hint and
start blooming now that they've seen the size of the garbage can, *G*.

K Barrett