Lake George Card recap part 2: Accidentally finding a new hobby shop!

If you've been reading this for a while you know I take pictures...of everything. While it's true that I enjoy it, I also have a health-related terrible memory and anything that doesn't get documented gets forgotten, which is why I try to document everything. I recently commented to my family that I didn't have a single photo taken in Vermont- the only state I had been to that didn't have even a single photo taken in. I had only been to Vermont once, in 1997. We went to a mall in Rutland, and that's pretty much all I remember. So, we decided to go to Vermont this trip. While on the way, we were driving along, looking at the things in that area, where we had never been before, as we went a different way in '97.

We happened to spot a new card shop, so we had to stop! I got his business card, but I've misplaced it, already. (it was a week ago today as I type this, and it's already gone...sigh). Luckily, I thought to take a picture of his signs.

Inside the shop, which I don't have photos of, is nice and bright. It's not particularly large, but it's not cramped either. He has more baseball than anything else, which is to be expected, but he had other things too, and I managed to pick up a couple singles, and a couple of packs, as well. The first thing I found is actually headed to another blogger, to see if it can crack his frankenset, but I got these for myself:

From 2017-18 Select, I chose this one because it had a piece of the camo jersey, which is generally only worn two times each season.

The 2012-13 Hoops set is my favorite Panini era set, and Bernard James is a military veteran, can't go wrong there. I have no expectations of ever completing the autograph set, but I've got 5 of them now...294 to go, hah.

I had to get this Christmas card...too cool. The first year of the NBA Christmas Jersey program was just the regular jersey with the snowflake behind the NBA logo. In later years they had fully designed, special one-time Christmas jerseys, but they stopped doing them now, unfortunately. Still, I couldn't let this card stay behind.

I only picked up one hockey single...

It was a little higher than I like to go on a single card- $12, I'm such a cheapskate- but that jersey piece was just too cool. I knew I would regret it if I left it behind, much like the Lundqvist I showed in the previous post, so I just got it.

Mindful of how much money I had already spent on the trip, (if only I had gotten there sooner on the trip, I could have gotten more!) I wrapped it up with four packs, two each of 2019-20 MVP, and 2018-19 Revolution Chinese New Year. After my debacle with the case of them last year, there was no way I was going to even buy a box of them again, but a couple packs, I could do.
The MVP was what I was really interested in, though...my first cards of the new season! Always an occasion to look forward to.

I know that there is a pretty high likelihood that these will be the only packs of these sets I ever open, and I sure did enjoy them. The MVP set features actual photos with some computer generated borders, and the Revolution set is just a player cutout over a totally computer generated backdrop...normally something I hate, but with the technology on these, I actually overlook that.

 My first card of the new season!

 I always pull Morgan Reilly from my first pack of a hockey set. I would say he's in roughly my first pack of 90% of all the sets I've opened packs of. Wonder how long it'll be before his Hurricanes cards start showing up in first packs? Probably UD series 2 from this year, if all goes to form.

 I was lucky enough to pull card #1 from my first pack. Rare, but I like when I can get card #1s.

I like how MVP has a pronunciation guide on the back. Some of the player's names don't match how they are spelled to how they are said, so it is helpful. This name is not, but it's where I learned how to pronounce Dustin Byfuglien's name for example.

MVP is not using a gold/brown theme this year, a new look...I like it. I'm hoping I will be able to get a factory set again this year, they did it for the first time last year, and have already solicited it again for 2019-20.

 Moving to Revolution, here's the first base card I got from the packs. Actually my second card from the set- I got the LeBron because they swapped it in to the team set, which I bought at the NBA store specifically to get that one card. The color panels are team keyed.

 I got only one rookie in my two packs, luckily it's a local team.

Each pack contains a Chinese New Year parallel, which features red foil and a different pattern in the background.

 I saw when I was entering my first pack onto the Trading Card Database that this year there are Chinese New Year parallels, last year when I did the case there was not. I was surprised by that. I was even more surprised when I pulled a Green out of my second pack, and saw that it was serially numbered to 88!

The back of the cards are very pastel. Kind of like an Easter Egg coloring factory blew up on them. Very typical Panini style back. I'm not saying I dislike them, just...interesting color pattern.

I plan to do both sets on A Pack to Be Named Later, if they aren't already done, within the week.

It was a good visit to the shop, I hope he lasts a long time. I am looking forward to going back, and getting more cards. I'll probably go more for packs as I don't have anywhere local to get single hobby packs from anything...but I will surely be checking the single cards as well. I wish that I was closer, because I'd be going a lot more often...but with a three hour drive one way, I won't be able to get there more than one or two times a year, unfortunately.

I should mention that the shop is in Hudson Falls, not Lake George, but everything in that area is referred to as the Lake George trip and has been my entire life.