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09/04/2002 Entry: "Last Friday's audio roadtrip"

So Jim and I took and old sckool audio road trip last Friday. Back in the day, when hi-fi was new to both of us, we would take a day, drive to a big city (usually Portland, but occasionaly Bangor, and more occasionaly New Hamster or Mass), and check out the audio shops along the way. And when I was restoring the Gretsches, Jim did some woodwork on them for me. I asked if I could repay him somehow, and he said 'Yeah, take a hifi trip with me.' So we did.

We left Rockland at 8am. I picked up some plain chocolate donuts from Willow Street bakeshop, and we were off. First stop: a clothing store in Portland. I bought a hat for my zoot suit, and a purple tie with martini glasses on it. Jim bought nothing. Then we went to a record store. We looked through the stacks, and found a few ok things, but nothing much really. When we were about to leave, the shop keeper said "Were you looking for something in particular?" So I gave him my list: Dexter Gordon's "Go"; Sonny Rollins' "Saxaphone Colossus"; "Songs for Swingin' Lovers" by Sinatra; "Pop Pop" by Rickie Lee Jones; anything by Miles on Prestige; and Chet Baker's "Chet." Well, he had "Go" and "Colossus" out back. Sinatra was hidden under the bins. He didn't have Miles, or Chet, but he could order them for $10 each. The only thing he couldn't get was "Pop Pop," but that is an out of print import, so I didn't hold out much hope. So I bought "Go" and "Swingin' Lovers." I passed on "Colossus." I ordered "Chet," as well as Miles' "Cookin'," "Relaxin'," "Workin'," and "Steamin'." And while I was buying, I also picked up Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, and Springtein's "Nebraska" still sealed.

Jim bought 1 album.

Next was a kitchen supply store. Jim has started making sandwiches for his sister's shop. He picked up a bunch of stuff here. I bought nothing.

Next up: The Drum Shop. I had gone with the idea of purchasing a Zildjian K Custom Dry ride. But I already have 4 rides. (Still not enough, though.) So I asked if they had any used china cymbals. They had a Zildjian A Custom Swish for $100. I snagged it. Jim? Nothing here.

Lunch. The Macaroni Grill. I had some kind of pasta with chicken and pancetta that I love, and Jim had Canelloni. Yummy, as always.

Next stop? Tweeter. The only "hi-fi" stop of the day. Neither of us bought anything. After that, it was a quick trip to the Bible Bookstore and Sams Club. (I needed to pick up some things for Sue.) Then, to Target.

I was looking for some cool storage ideas at Target. There low-end furniture stuff is really pretty good, and the selection is good too. I found some modular units that I thought Sue and I could use as nightstands. So I picked up two 2-drawer units, and two 2-shelf units. That means each of us would have a nightstand with 2 drawers and 2 shelfs. Next, the mall.

What was at the mall? Nothing really. Oh wait, there was a Cambridge Audio, so we made more than one hi-fi stop. There was some Orange Chicken eaten at Panda Express. There was a copy of "Pop Pop" on CD. There still was no sandwich spreader.

Then, the day was done. I got home around 10, and set to work building the nightstands for sue. I was done around 12:30 or so.