Doin' Dayton 2014

Dayton Hamvention 2014

This year was finally the year that I made the Dayton Hamvention. It was made special as it combined a family trip with a family reunion of sorts. Our long time Hamily (hams that are family) Sean, KL1SF and his wife Mindy, KL1MF met us at Dayton. We had not seen them for a few years so this made Dayton even more special.

My wife (KL8SU) and I left MA the Wednesday before the Hamvention as I had reservations for Contest University on Thursday morning. Sean and Mindy were due to arrive in Dayton on Thursday afternoon. The plan was going to be, the guys would do the Hamvention and the girls would do...well, what girls do when their ham husbands do radio stuff.  And that is exactly how it played out. I had surprised Sean with tickets to Saturday nights Contest Dinner. We would then wake up on Sunday morning, have a nice breakfast together and head our separate ways. Sean and Mindy were winding down on their vacation and ours was just getting started.

After Dayton, my wife and I headed to central Ohio and spend a few days with the kids and grand kids. From there, we headed to Northern Ohio to our old stomping grounds near Lake Erie to see a few more of our friends and family before heading back to MA over the Memorial holiday weekend. 

Dayton Hamvention led to some personal sensory overload but it was exciting to finally put faces to many a callsign I had worked over the years. In my next few blog entries, I will highlight most of my activities at Dayton. The weather could not have been better (we did get a little rain and hail) but no complaints from this ham. I did make a few purchases but I did not over overindulge so it was a financially successful trip as well. Unlike Sean, I was not limited to carry on so that is what I'm most proud of. I could have fit plenty in the back of the family car. 

As life gets back to normal and our daily grind is about to begin yet again, Dayton turned out to be the medicine that I needed. Spending a large part of my life living in the Buckeye state, it's hard to believe this was my very first time at Dayton. Better late than never, right? I'm sure it won't be my last trip but it was certainly fun seeing all the ham vehicles driving around Dayton. From hairdo's to vehicles, there were plenty of antennas roaming Dayton Ohio for the Hamvention weekend.