But first take time to inventory your gear. If you’ve been using the same reel for decades, besides re-lubricating it for the new season, maybe it’s time to find out something about it and everything else that you have in your tacklebox. Some fishing reels, baits, rods, creels, and minnow buckets are quite valuable. Did grandpa give you that reel? Well, it might be a German silver reel worth hundreds of dollars.

Reels are not the only possibility of undiscovered wealth in the tacklebox; fishing lures are very collectible, too. Very old baits with special value attributes can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. And do be careful of what you throw out. Old cardboard, tin, and wooden fishing lure boxes in mint condition can be worth as much if not more than the rare lure itself!

The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia is a fascinating place to bring children to witness the daily chores of early Americans as actors work in-character wearing period costumes in and around authentic period dwellings from Africa, England, Ireland, and Germany. A wide variety of peoples lived and worked in the New World. Many are represented here in such minute detail. Even a finicky aficionado can appreciate this museum.

Just off Interstate 81 headed south, about 2 1/2 hours from the nation’s capital, step back in time to a moment when life was simpler, harsher, and filled with dangers we can only imagine today. Load your brood into a starship and experience life as it was before the rat race. The dogwoods are in full bloom. What more do you need?

RE: Wikipedia: “The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 (the Act), signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006, is a U.S. law that broadens the provisions of previous U.S. law addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, sale or claim (either written or verbal) of any military decorations and medals. It is a federal misdemeanor offense, which carries a punishment of imprisonment for not more than 1 year and/or a fine; the scope previously covered only the Medal of Honor.

The Act was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 19, 2005 by Representative John Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, as H.R. 3352. It was introduced into the Senate by Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, on November 10, 2005 as S. 1998. The Senate version was passed unanimously on September 7, 2006. The Senate version then went to the same House Judiciary Committee that held the House version. The Act briefly stalled, but the House subsequently passed the Senate version, S. 1998, on December 6 2006.

The purpose of the Act is to strengthen the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 704 by broadening its scope and strengthening penalties. Specific new provisions in the Act include: granting more authority to Federal law enforcement officers, extending scope beyond the Medal of Honor, broadening the law to cover false claims whereas previously an overt act had to be committed, covering mailing and shipping of medals, and protecting the reputation and meaning of military heroism medals. Under the act, it is illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade or manufacture “any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces.” In the 18 months after the act was enacted, the Chicago Tribune estimates 20 prosecutions. The number is increasing as awareness about the law spreads.”

But that’s not all the Aquarium has. There’s also “The Karl and Beverly White National Fishing Tackle Museum with over 20,000 pieces valued at more than $4 million. This exhibit makes up the largest and most comprehensive antique fishing tackle collection in the world! Artifacts in this magnificent museum include the first gasoline outboard engine and the very first Skeeter Bass Boat! See it right here in Jenks, America.”

One of the ways we appraisers become well rounded is to travel. Globetrotting exposes the professional valuer to museum exhibits, different cultures, and a myriad of marketplaces. Virtually any travel is better than no travel at all, but the best way that I have found to travel in style is to take a guided tour. And there is none better than Tauck.

Recently I spent the day at Tyson’s Corner in one of the two large indoor shopping malls. The parking garages were full of new American and imported cars of every stripe, and mostly by manufacturers of the better sort. Brilliant petunias streamed downward ten feet from light posts outside and from flower boxes attached to the garages’ multistory guard rails. There was a lot of foot traffic. Macy’s was busy, Banana Republic was a madhouse, and Nordstrom’s shoes department was swamped with buyer’s toting bags from other Nordstrom’s departments and from other high-end shops. I spotted a pair of Allen Edmund’s black dress shoes that I happen to own a pair of; Nordstrom’s pair was $650, about $375 more than what I had paid for mine. Swarms of people were everywhere speaking every conceivable language, wearing clothes from all the inhabited continents, many from the Middle East. Washington, D.C., with all of its embassies, is nearly in walking distance of Tyson’s; perhaps that is why there was such a wide diversity of peoples. Anyway, the short of it is this: there’s nothing wrong with the retail economy in Northern Virginia, based on what I saw Saturday. So if you’re on a dead horse, I suggest you dismount and hitch a ride to where live horses graze in back yards.