Vacation LCS visit + Contest

This past Saturday, I returned home from a week-long vacation on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. We stay in a small cottage on the west side of the lake.

Each year, I try and visit All Sports Cards, a nice card shop about 15 minutes away from the cottage we rent. I first went there in 2013 and had a very pleasant experience. I also went last year, so it's becoming a tradition I look forward to during our trip.

I always try and wait until both kids are napping to sneak out, but Joey, my 5-year-old, is pretty much over naps. He was being kind of annoying and stir crazy, so I asked him if he wanted to come with me. He said yes.

Big mistake.

Ok, so spending time with 5-year-old is not a mistake. It's the best. But you know how annoying they can be. I figured he'd give me a few minutes to browse, but he was a pest wandering around and whining to leave. It was annoying, to say the least. I barely got to converse with the shop owner, who I always enjoy talking to. I barely got to look through boxes of singles.

At one point, the shop owner goes to me, "Um, your kid just left." I turned around, and Joey had decided to walk down the stairs toward the front door.

Frustratingly, I quickly grabbed 5 packs of Series 2, as I hadn't busted any yet. I appreciated that they were priced at $2 each, which is what they should be. I feel like hobby shops always jack up the price on packs.

Here are a few of the goods from S2, although nothing special came from the packs. I was bummed he had already sold out of Archives, as I would have loved a few packs of those. I nabbed two Rediscover Topps cards in five packs, which was interesting. The Harper All-Star is pretty cool too.

That brings me to my other purchase, and the CONTEST. In 2013, the shop had grab bags for $1 each. However, they are buy one, get one free, so really they are $.50 each. And I remember them being a lot of fun and wishing I had gotten more. So I plucked down $3 and snagged six grab bags total - buy three, get three free. Each one has about 25 cards, with a few current issues, a few stars, and some older junk wax, as expected. I got some pretty cool cards in the five I opened, including a few '17 Archives singles, which was ironic since that's what I was hoping to bust.

You might notice I only said "the five I opened." I left one sealed. In 2013, I had regretted not buying one to give away on the blog. As tempting as it was, I didn't give in. I saved one grab to give away to YOU.

All you have to do to join is comment below. No pimping (unless you want to), no extra entries. Just a comment will do. I'll select a winner via random.org. I wouldn't expect anything too spectacular, but you never know. In 2013, I got an autograph in one. Hopefully you come away with a cool card or two, and let me know what you end up with.

The giveaway will close at 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, July 9.