Quilt Run Traditions

In the three years we've been making the quilt run, Reyna and I have developed a few traditions. I always drive; she always plans our itinerary and navigates our 12 hour, 390 mile, 8 shop odyssey.
My Orcutt purchases. Love, love, LOVE the Martian print - "Greetings, Earthlings!"

Our first stop is always Old Town Quilts in Orcutt, one of our favorite non-local shops, where we usually always blow our budget. I knew I was in trouble this year when I spent 2/3's of my "budget" in this one shop. 
 My Run fabric purchases.

We always Run on Friday, the first day of the 3-day extravaganza. Except this year I had an non-negotiable obligation on Friday, so we headed north on Saturday instead, hopscotching our way from Orcutt to Santa Maria and Paso Robles before starting south again with the two shops in Atascadero. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I expected on the weekend - a pleasant surprise!
 
We always collect and display the colorful ribbons each shop hands out in the goody bags. After the run, my ribbons go to the little girls for hair ties or to play with.
 My non-fabric purchases.

We always save the three local shops for the day following our day-long trip. This year I persuaded hubby to go with me to Roxanne's in Carpinteria, my last stop, by promising him lunch on  the beach in Mussel Shoals.
 
Such a hardship for both of us!
 
And my favorite tradition of all - we always purchase something in each shop for our buddy who is forced (forced!) to work at our favorite local quilt shop during the Run. Debbie tells us what she'd like, gives us $$ to spend and a bag to bring home her treasures.
 
This year, she wanted colorful batiks, "like a stained glass window", with no blacks or browns.
 
Judging from her reaction, I think we nailed it.