The Sixty Third Annual Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Show, Robstown, Texas

It was time for the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society’s Sixty-Third Annual Show. The show and the club’s existence had hung in the balance. We are happy to say that the President, Rick Price and his wife Yvonne along with club volunteeres had done an excellent job in saving the club and setting up the show!. They had even attracted new venders and so this year’s show, had thirty-five booths! One booth had a vender with a mechanical dinosaur that anyone could ride! It was a hit with the kids! The ride had a weight limit of two hundred pounds and even I could meet this, but as my back was giving me fits, I didn’t think It would be a good idea. I tried to get Renita to take a ride on the dinosaur, but she also passed.

The doors opened at ten am and after a slow start the Exhibit Hall, At the Robstown Convention Center, became filled with people. We had donated four pieces of our work as door prizes, (as did many of the other venders). Every hour a number would be drawn, and the lucky winner awarded a prize. Pam and Roy drove over, (Renita’s sister and her husband), and they aided us with our booth, (thanks). In the first wave of people many stopped at our booth and viewed our work before moving on to look at the other tables. All tables must be related to rocks, fossils and minerals. Some said that they would return, something that is often said but seldom happens. This time most did come back! The first day, the crowd was steady, and we had an excellent day! I added to my fun by purchasing a partial scapula from a Colombian Mammoth, (to add to my partial Colombian mammoth skull),and a small display case with two Bison Antiquus teeth, (the prehistoric bison weighed three thousand pounds).

Saturday afternoon we were filmed by the Channel Three, an ABC Affiliate in Corpus Christi, and were part of their broadcast!, The day ended at six pm and we drove back to our rv park. Unfortunately, the new harbor bridge was closed, (accident or high winds), and so we had to detour through Mustang Island and Port Aransas. That added another hour to our drive home! A cold front passed through on day two and brought much needed rain. As this part of Texas is a in a severe drought, (stage three restrictions), you never complain about free water. It ended by noon and the crowd slowly grew. It wasn’t as busy as day one but we still had a good day. This is the Twelfth Year we have sold at the show, and as usual we had many returning customers/friends stop by! We set a record in sales for our Texas Shows! Regardless, the shows are always fun! Thanks to all who volunteered to work on the show! Clear skies