My First GOLD SHOW


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My wife and I attended our first gold show at Pomona this past Saturday. The first thing that we did was to go to the GPAA booth and join up. GPAA staff was very friendly and helpful. We then found the Temecula and Hesperia club booths, both affiliates of the GPAA. The Hesperia bunch were raffling off a nuggett and also selling T-Shirts, "Grandpa's little Prospector". Naturally, my wife had to buy 4 of these shirts. The Hesperia group was very colorful in their orange T-Shirts. The Temecula "wild bunch" were all decked out in 49er costumes and added greatly to the tone of the show....a very friendly group.

We were specifically looking for a drywasher and were able to see and do a side-by-side comparison of Keene's, Gold Buddy, and the "new" product from Royal manufacturing. The latter was most impressive! Unfortunately, neither Royal nor Gold Buddy had 12V models. I was hoping to see the Thompson 12V and some wooden bellows/puffers at the show but these were literally "no-shows".

We had also been hoping to attend a workshop, seminar, or other training on claims...types, how to find, how to file, how to purchase. Perhaps they'll have one or two sessions at the Las Vegas show.

One thing which I thought for sure would have been on the agenda and was not was presentations by the various detector manufacturers dealing with their equipment and working projects. A question-and-answer session with each may have proven both interesting and informative.

Refreshments were available via a snackbar on one side and a beer/wine bar on the other. There were ample restrooms available.

The only negative comment that I can make is that handicap parking was none-existant...attendants were putting preferred ticket holders into the area supposedly set aside for handicap parking. As a result, a number of people in wheelchairs, walkers, and canes had to struggle for some distance. This MUST be corrected.

All-in-all, we had a great time! I would recommend the show to anyone interested in this hobby/business. In fact, I am taking my brother-in-law and 2 son-in-laws to the Las Vegas show in April.

See you there!

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