Refresh Quest embarks on an unforgettable road trip adventure traveling across the United States with two friends who share a common interest in a hobby antique and vintage glass toy marble collecting.

Des Moines, IA show is our destination but before we arrive there, we must first travel.

To me, it's a great feeling.

There are still open spaces in the world, and to me that's very refreshing.

We're on the hunt.

We're looking for marbles, stopping off a flea, markets, antique shops.

You never know what you're going to find along the ride.

I bought all the marbles I could find and I just got carried away This is incredible eye popping specimens.

Everywhere you look, it's just like fishing.

When we say we're going marblin' you wake up at the crack of dawn.

The early bird catches the worm.

Climb aboard, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

(Laughing) Because Refresh Quest has gone marblin'.

Refresh Quest is the search for refreshing travel experiences that aim to inspire and uplift the mind, body and human spirit.

With a team of like minded friends.

Refresh Quest invites you along the journey as we explore unique destinations meet inspiring individuals and gain empowering knowledge that will help us to create new realities and refreshing possibilities.

Welcome to Refresh Quest.

The goal is to find a marble like marble that we love, fall in love and add to our collection.

The best place to do that is a marble show, and Des Moine is one of the best in the world.

That's the pot of marbles at the end of the rainbow it looks like to me.

We've got Nevada, Utah Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Where is California?

We don't need California.

That's where we are.

We're out of here.

A cross country road trip starting from the East Bay region of San Francisco, California, traveling to Des Moines, Iowa.

A three day adventure going west to east on the transcontinental freeway, Interstate 80.

Travel partners Sami Arim, Mike Johnson and myself share a common interest in a hobby that excites us to travel this far, antique and vintage glass toy marbles.

These marbles are not your everyday run of the mill marble, whether it be handmade marbles from Lauscha Germany in the 1800s to machine made marbles made here in the United States from the early 1900s.

They are beautiful works of art, ultra rare and can be very valuable to collectors.

We're on our way having more fun than we can stand.

The only thing we can talk about is Mozart and marbles.

Well they both do go hand in hand.

Our final destination is to attend the 2021 Des Moines, Iowa, Marble show, where collectors will come from all over the country to display their very best marbles to buy, sell and trade.

to display their very best marbles to buy, sell and trade.

But this quest is not just about the destination.

Life is a journey, and we were excited to be on it as we traveled and passed through each state's incredible scenic national treasures.

Crossing the border into Reno, Nevada, the first 200 miles of the trip were complete, but now it was time to hunt.

Hey, Marbles right here.

Right there.

Look at that.

Looks like an agate.

Yeah.

Stone marbles.

Yes.

Hunting for marbles is straightforward, but rarely simple.

You find an antique shop, flea market or yard sale and search for marbles.

In big shops like this one, it can be a little overwhelming trying to train your eye to scan over thousands of non marble antiquities.

And not to mention there are others out there hunting the same game like these two scalawags.

So you have to be fast on your toes and quick on the draw to make sure that you find your prize.

But with a little practice, patience and luck, it can pay off.

Sometimes there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Sami what did you get?

I found a sulfide, believe it or not, all the rails.

But until there there's an air bubble trapped in there.

It's a sheep I think.

But I don't find sulfides every day out in the wild.

And when I do, I buy em.

Okay Mike what did you get?

Akro agate it's a beautiful ashtray.

A rectangular short tab from Clarksburg, West Virginia.

And it's certainly a beauty.

Hobbies can be a fun, rewarding and healthy activity.

A great stress reliever giving us an opportunity to take a break from our everyday life and worries, combining that with a cross-country journey with friends like Sami and Mike is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

With 14 years between the each of us, we had plenty to talk about and many stories to share.

There was no topic of conversation off limits, everything from religion to politics and of course, Mozart and marbles.

Traveling this far through so many different environments can often be surprising, unpredictable and sometimes unexpected.

We stopped off in the middle of nowhere to take a bathroom break, and literally the entire ground is covered with giant crickets.

A cricket we've never seen before.

It could be alien.

Maybe they're from Earth, maybe they're not.

Sami what do you think?

I think I think they're aliens.

Definitely, they eat each other.

Check this out.

They are carnivores and you're on the menu.

But very resourceful.

Don't you think, Mike?

Yes, very resourceful.

Absolutely.

It's an eat or get eaten world?

Sami, did you like the crickets?

No.

All right, guys, first stop, to Wendover.

Tonight, we rest and dream of beautiful marbles so we can have the strength to create beautiful memories.

tomorrow.

Michael Duane Johnson marble historian, researcher and collector.

Mike has spent his entire life and career on the central coast of California.

Now retired, he worked as a schoolteacher for the public and prison system.

He taught many subjects, but gravitated fittingly to history.

This is where his true passion lies.

He loves to talk of classical music, great works of literature, and of course, his two children, Miranda and Julian.

But when asked what excites him about the history of marbles, he will marvel over the thought how a penny toy became one of the great collectibles of our time.

It's pretty amazing.

Yeah, this.

This salt is unprocessed, unrefined and it is very strong.

Talked about, you know, people getting sea salt, you know, because it's special.

This is very special as well because it's exactly the same.

Great Salt Lake one time, all part of this huge area of the great basin.

I don't want to necessarily try it, but you're saying this is like real, true, hard core, unrefined sea salt.

That and what I'm going to do with it.

You watch this.

Don't do that.

Yeah.

Powerful stuff.

Back on the road, guys.

Day two.

On the road again.

On the road again.

Day two.

Everywhere you look, it's a spectacular view, right?

Yeah.

Some of this beautiful stuff is still here.

There's still open spaces in the world.

That's, to me that's very refreshing.

Travel can create unforgettable experiences with long lasting memories, helping shape our personality.

So we were mindful and grateful to take it all in.

Really nice thing to get out of the car and just stop and take a look and smell the roses if there were any around here but the idea is the same.

Just to be able to see something beautiful and and nature, it's calming and it refreshes you all the way to the bone.

Wyoming.

Otherworldly.

Along I-80, you'll find miles of rocks, sand and sagebrush.

Endless stretches of highway with towns, few and far between.

So when we could, we stopped to try our marble luck.

Oh, yeah.

That's kind of nice.

We're on the hunt.

We're looking for marbles, stopping off a flea markets, antique shops, and you never know what you're going to find along the ride.

We're going marble hunting in Laramie, Wyoming.

My name is Vi last name is Moats m-o-a-t-s, my husband and I've been in the antique business about 58 years and we love history.

So we tell everybody that's why we do this.

We're saving history.

It's a great business, wonderful people.

And we thank you for coming.

Back on the road and making good time.

We made sure to stop at the usual but amazing tourist sites along the way, like the 4,500 lb Lincoln Monument that sits on top of a granite pedestal and then rolling over grassy plains, dry prairies and rugged mountains to the tree in the rock that's just between the highway in Buford, Wyoming.

Our last stop and stretch before reaching the border.

Oh, here we go, Nebraska Yay!

Nebraska!

Yay!

We made it!

There's a lot of antelope in this area.

Tonight I'm going to be counting the antelope.

When I. I wonder how they taste?

I heard dear taste very rough.

Yeah.

Anybody you eat, rabbit?

You know, frog is the same?

How about escargot?

That cricket you saw millions of them.

Can you imagine if they taste good?

Will you still eat it?

I draw the line when it comes to bugs.

I draw the line when it comes to bugs.

Thats a great line.

Over 1300 road miles traveled, four states down and two to go.

We were ready to stop, eat and rest.

Big Springs, Nebraska was just the ticket.

Bingo.

Nebraska.

Nebraska.

Oh, look at that.

Isn't that a beautiful one?

That's a good one.

What would that be called?

This is an electric yellow.

Electric yellow.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

That is beautiful.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Isn't that a cool pattern?

Yes.

That's a swell piece of glass.

Oh, this one has orange highlights on yellow and purple.

This is, this color combo is probably the best color combo any marble company ever made.

Oh, yeah.

Purple base, yellow and orange ribbons.

Three full grown men traveling, discussing and playing with marbles in the middle of Nebraska.

Who would have thought?

Children have played with marbles as long as people have been around and now the adults get to jump in and have their turn as well.

Having a hobby like marble collecting can put you in touch with a whole new community of people broadening your social life.

This is how I met Sami Arum.

Sami is a career architect based out of San Francisco, California.

He is a proud husband and father of two children.

He has been collecting marbles ever since he was seven years old and he is still going strong.

When I asked if he would ever stop collecting, Sami just smiled and simply replied, Are you crazy?

Never.

We are in Big Springs, Nebraska, and we're trying to get that early start to hit the road cause we have a long stretch of road ahead of us.

Hello.

Hello.

Hey, good morning guys.

Good morning.

How did you guys sleep?

We did sleep well.

But we are ready to hit the road.

Pretty exciting to be on the road with two guys learning a lot of information about marbles and life.

I'm just soaking it up, learning as much as I can, and enjoying the journey.

And that's what it's about.

Let's go to Iowa.

So what's so fascinating about Lee's place Mike is that here we are in middle of Nebraska.

You look around and it's nothing but miles and miles of farmland and that's it.

But you wouldn't expect to find marbles in a place like this.

Well, it was a surprise to me when I ran into it.

It was to you to.

It sure was.

More marbles than I'd seen well since visiting the Hardy's in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

This guy here I'm sure has more.

Yeah, that's amazing.

Located right off of Interstate 80.

Look out for the circus colored water tower informing you that you have arrived in York, Nebraska.

Just past the wheat field, car wash and tractor supply factory and on your left hand side, you'll find Lee's Legendary Marble Museum.

The Marble Museum is open seven days a week, and on any given Sunday, you just might find Lee himself.

My name is Lee Batterton.

and we're in York, Nebraska.

I had a friend from Omaha come visit me and I said, would you like to see my marbles?

And they did.

You got marbles?

I said, yeah, I took it downstairs and i showed him this room full of marbles.

He said if I had marbles like that, I'd start a museum.

So I did.

Lee, how many marbles do you have in here?

I have roughly a million marbles in here.

Well I was a good shot when I was young, and I ended up with a lot of marbles that I won.

So I just kept buying them and.

And I just got carried away.

Man, every marble you can possibly imagine.

From German handmade to contemporary marbles.

Incredible.

Over a million marbles at the Marble Museum here at Lee's.

Sami, Mike and myself were like three kids in a candy store.

Except better than candy... marbles.

You have these old board games from the 1920s 1930s akro agate master made marbles and board games and bags with marbles and tons of jars of marbles of every color.

Lee had everything from rare, unique and out of this world.

Just having me and Sami and Mike here exploring this marble kingdom was a real treat.

This is amazing.

Here's a large paper mache what's called a gutta percha.

Probably the largest one they ever made.

Here's the big German swirl made in Germany by hand.

When I first collecting marbles, I just bought all the marbles that I could find and I had no idea that they would have popularity like they do now.

Lee, what's the best part about owning a marble museum?

I get to play with my marbles every day.

It was time to say goodbye to Lee and the Marble Museum, but not before a few parting marbles and artifacts.

(♪) Just a boy on a hill top.

(♪) (♪) Counting sheep to pass time (♪) (♪) Found myself in a quandry (♪) (♪) Face to face with (♪) Another town, another antique shop and another hunt.

What a great excuse to see new places and new faces.

This is a pretty good town.

It's very unique.

And it's quiet.

Everybody get along out here and just know one thing.

If you come out here, we all come together.

Welcome to Walnut, Iowa.

I want to welcome you guys to our little town.

We're a town of about 700 people, but we have 15 antique stores.

My name is Mike Nash and you're at Plum Krazy Antiques, Vintage and More.

Through rain or shine., with our destination now in sight, we were just about home free.

We made it.

We're here.

We're going to find some beautiful marbles.

First day.

Day one.

Day one.

Three amigos day one and we're going to have a lot of fun.

All right.

So we're going to go check out some rooms, see who's here, who's trading, what kind of marbles we can find.

Hopefully, there are some really amazing ones that Sami and Mike have not already taken.

And I know Sami and I know that he probably already got some of the best marbles.

And there's a couple items you need to have when you go around looking for marbles.

One is a really good flashlight.

The other thing, that comes in real handy is a magnifying glass.

You can see these marbles up close and get a really good idea of what you're looking at, see the imperfections, see some of the beautiful detail, the marble to see what you're buying and if it's worth it.

Full grown men playing and looking at marbles.

Can't be that.

How beautiful it is.

Where did you get this?

Just right there.

Hello!

What's going on?

See marble rolling around.

That's gorgeous, extremely rare.

It's good for your mental health, and it's cheaper than a psychiatrist.

The marble party is on.

It was just getting started In order to finish the processing.

It's much like I do the rest of the florals encased in clear.

So what I.

Really like is to collect original box sets of marbles from the 1920s, 30s.

Machine made and hand mades.

There's so many different types of marbles that we're not all fighting for the same one.

They also made children's dishes This is called a gypsy set.

A lot of kids had them back in the 40s during World War Two, when metal was scarce.

Glass is fascinating by nature.

Pick it up.

Look at it from different angles you know, really take it in.

Learn, read, understand and ask questions and do some research.

Buy what you like, buy what you can afford, buy the best quality you can get.

Buy what appeals to you, what you find to be beautiful.

Find your niche.

And go from there.

That's the way it works.

Mike Johnson once told me, if you hold a marble in your hand and it makes you happy, then that is the marble for you.

What did you bring?

Mainly handmades.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

Oh nice.

A couple rare ones.

Handmades, rare.

That's what we like to hear.

We've been collecting marbles for 27 years and yes, we love them.

And the hunt is on whenever we get in, get to the show.

Two floors, 80 rooms loaded with thousands of marbles and marble related items, wonderful friends, camaraderie and fun.

There is a lot to see, learn and experience.

And this is all new to you.

I thought I would take you on a quick little tour and show you around.

Are you ready?

Let's go.

It's a different world.

It really is a different world collecting marbles and everybody's sweet.

Sweet.

Des Moines, Iowa show!

Welcome to the 2021 Des Moines Marble Show.

The friendship is just invaluable.

That's the best of the collection.

It just makes people happy.

Watch it.

Watch when people hold the marble, they'll smile.

Well, actually, it's the family today that makes it all special.

All right, so here we are last day, Saturday.

Now we get to go into the convention center where everyone has laid out all of their best works of glass and marbles.

Everyone can see everything on display.

This is the last opportunity you might want to grab that one marble you've been thinking of.

Now you can get it.

This has been a special, amazing journey from California to Iowa.

And sharing this with Mike and Sami and having the opportunity to explore the United States, meet new friends, and, of course, see beautiful glass works of art.

I can't wait to go home and display some of the items that I bought, showcasing my marbles and building my collection.

Having a hobby, whether it's marble collecting or any other type of collection, gives you the opportunity to dive in and experience a world that you never thought existed.

So until next time, enjoy.

Do you both collect marbles?

Yes.

What's your favorite marble?

A black with purple and some other colors.

What's going on, what did you bring today?

Uh, marbles.

It's just wonderful.

It's like extended family across the country.

For the love of marbles.

I see it all over this hotel.