Conference Eve update

All went well yesterday and last night, though (of course) we were not without some moments of drama and hilarity.

Cathy and I arrived at the Marriott and began checking in which is when we discovered that whomever had arranged the booking for the hotel rooms had me down for just one night -- I thought Cathy's eyes were going to fall out of her head. However, things were righted swiftly and we whisked our bags up to our room and then set out in search of a late lunch... only to find that the restaurant we wanted to eat in was closed for lunch and directing us to the food court. The food court looked a bit bleak and Cathy was NOT in the mood to look further so, with a bit of grumbling, we placed an order for some sandwiches and sat down. The grumbling continued until my number was called and I returned with a very attractive (and tasty) meal at which point things started looking up. Then Cathy nearly had a cardiac event when she perceived that the woman in front of her in line had taken the "Last French Fries" -- I offered to share my fries but decided after getting the look of death to shut up and eat. All was set right when Cathy's number was called and she found her FFs in the bag with her burger. We ate, our blood sugar levels surged, all was right with the world, and so we split up to go unpack.

Jenn Nelson arrived and called to let me know she'd made it, and we all agreed to meet at 6:30 to head over to the 2nd hotel for the reception. And then I heard a crash and realized it was thundering around a torrential downpour. No biggie, as I was ironing... until I heard my phone chime and looked to see a text message from Jenn. Turns out it was raining in her room as well -- the downpour was splashing onto her balcony and then INTO her room. The maintenance guys she summoned told her they'd get a wet vac; Jenn however, preferred to switch rooms and was moved.

At 6:30 we meet in the lobby and traipse over to the Gaylord Palms for the reception where we are greeted with... carnival food...? Now, I watch No Reservations and Bizarre Foods, so I am all about trying new things, as is Jenn. Plus, I know that it's at least some kind of familiar food and not iguana fajitas or cobra hearts or even durian fruit. Cathy, however, is much less adventurous, as we know, and actually rather dislikes "gimmicky" foods, so we proceed with caution which quickly turns to gusto. Jenn and I try our first corndogs, ever, and then discuss funnel cake (neither of us has tried it) over the be-sticked meat, some hush puppies, and a little mac-n-cheese. We find a table, and nosh, but Cathy cannot be persuaded to try the corndog, tho she also has never had one. We move on to some sloppy joes, but skip the nacho bar, and somehow I end up with 3 Hostess Fruit Pies and a bag of cotton candy in my bag, which I haul back to the table while gnawing without shame on a candy apple coated with red dye #3.

By 8:30 pm, we decide to head back to the hotel and skip the Guitar Hero contest that is taking place on a 50-foot screen at the other end of the pavilion -- tomorrow, after all, is another day. So I hand over the pies that are not mine and we all say good night.