Just got back from the NAWCC Midwest Regional up in Milwaukee (Cheeseland!)... Well, actually, I've been back home for about an hour. Had to sort through what I bought... You know... Had a great trip up and back although there is a White Cadillac Escalade somewhere in my wake who isn't real happy that he couldn't keep up with me in my V-6 Explorer...

Anyway...

Got up there about 2:30, got registered and managed to sit down for about 5 minutes before they opened the doors for the Mart... As usual and typical, the staff neglected to turn on the A/C inside the mart, and it was BROILING in there (about 88F outside and probably just as warm inside... But despite all of that I managed to visit all of the booths in one shot before retreating outside the sales room where the A/C was on. ( fortunately a staff person was adjusting the thermostat as I sat at a table near the mart doors saving me the trouble of setting the blasted thing to "heavy stun").

For the most part it was ok pickings for a Chronograph fellow like me. A couple of dealers with some really interesting things, a couple with a scattering of interesting things, a couple of dealers with onceys and twocey's of interesting pieces... And a whole bunch of dealers with a smattering of stuff that is way Way WAY beyond anything I have the remotest interest in.

There were some interesting Omega Speedmasters there, Was mulling over a Speedmaster Mark III Silver dial that was a little chewyier than I typically go for but I passed on it. There was only one Heuer of any note. It was a Micro-Rotor Autavia, and the bezel was severely faded, but it wasn't a GMT or a more unusual bezel so there might be some hope for the eventual owner being able to track down a replacement (A GMT is nigh impossible, BTW)...

I bought a Bezel that will end up on a Eterna V.72 Chronograph I have, a couple of caseback wrenches (one for my desk, and one to replace the lousy one I have in my backup travel toolset (See Link below), Two Watches, and more stuff from Ron Sabo/International Watchman than I want to admit or will likely ever use.

The two watches? 1) An SS Orfina Porsche Design Lemania 5100 movement on an absolutly ghastly green leather strap with funky deployant (more later), and 2) (a real departure for me) an O&W 24-Hour Dial time only "Early Bird" on a plain black leather strap...

The PD is already on a nice Ron Sabo/International Watchmen $8 SS straight-end Oyster Bracelet with fliplock and looks really nice. I've put the Early Bird on a Navy/Gray striped NATO strap for now. It's so wierd seeing the second hand going around the dial all of the time (a novelty!)...

I have to be on the road by 7am tomorrow (less than 7 hours from now. I have traveled 300 miles in the last 12 hours and done a NAWCC Regional. Tomorrow I will be in Indianapolis for the day (Approximately 200-220 miles each way, plus another huge convention for one of my other hobbies), unless someone shanghi's me and I stay over night, not likely but possible...

Thus there will not be any pictures tonight, or likely tomorrow night, but Sunday might be a possibility. I hope you all understand...

As it stands, by the "letter of the post" neither of these watches I purchased today are entirely original... I'm certain that the PD came on a bracelet, and this is certainly not the strap that was shipped with the Early-Bird... But I'm confident that people here aren't going to be that big of sticklers about bracelet's/Straps.

Anyway, met up with fellow Heuer, Omega, Porsche Design, Longines, Zodiac, (what else did he have?) Junghans, etc. collector Albert Zibell, we had a 10-12 watch "Show and Tell" for each other before we retreated to a nearby resturant "The Smokehouse" for a Steak Dinner... A great day all in all!

Thanks for reading this far. Hopefully, I've been reasonably coheirent, grammatical, etc. It has been a long day.

Pictures will follow in a day or two...

-- Chuck