JARSfest in Benson

Today, my dad and I went to the Benson hamfest, also known as JARSfest. Benson is a little over an hour away and we left home just after 8. It had been raining there, but we inadvertantly timed it such that we didn't get wet. If I had known rain were a possibility, then I would have worn different shoes. Given that we've been having a drought lately, it's sometimes easy to forget about precipitation.

In any case, there weren't a lot of tailgaters there, presumably due to the weather, but there were a few. We spent most of our time inside where it was crowded and difficult to get around. I swear that most of the Orange County Radio Amatuers were there, at least the people who go to the OCRA breakfasts regularly. We also probably had a quorum for the Durham FM Association board.

There weren't any major dealers there, so I wasn't tempted to go home with a new handheld radio. I, of course, had to sample the food. I had a very good country ham biscuit and a rice krispy treat. In addition to his meal, my dad bought some connectors. I looked for a cable to connect the headphone jack of my Ipod to the line in jacks of my stereo, but my dad assured me that it the hamfest was geared to the wrong generation for that. I wasn't convinced, but I didn't find one either.


After several hours, we followed DT, JH and P to the Cracker Barrel near Clayton, where I decided to have a second breakfast. An egg and two strips of bacon, with biscuits and cornbread was just perfect. For $3, I'm not sure you can beat it. You can see how carefully my dad avoided the UNC painted rocking chairs on their front porch.