I know, I owe you the rest of the story. Maybe I can get it done in this post. We’ll see.

The wakeup call came right on time – it was a live person! I almost hung up the phone until I hear her worried voice repeating my name over and over asking if I was okay. Thanked her, got up and began my day.

The sessions were quite good. I wish I could share the information with you – will be doing so with my coworkers. The speaker was knowledgeable – YOUNG – and cares deeply about the subject matter. That always helps. I made it through to lunch time – we were given maps of nearby eateries with southern flavor. I skipped all those and walked UPHILL (about 45 degree angle!) to the next block and had a sub  way  sandwich. Nice thing about it being UPHILL going – it was downhill coming back. Yay.

Hot and humid in TN – temps were much nicer than Vegas last month – but, did I mention HUMID? Oy! Dripping mooses are not a pretty sight. :moose:

Stopped by my room to freshen up before the afternoon sessions and found that I would not have maid service for the day because “you just checked in today.” erm, yeah, 3:30 this morning! Very nice person from housekeeping was checking the rooms. We made sure I had enough towels for the following morning – and coffee, too. (aside – they had the cutest little one cup coffee maker! Dripped directly into the mug – very cute, I say.)

I left the afternoon sessions during demonstrations of gadgets after I had looked at the ones I was interested in – grabbed a couple of bottles of water and some fruit and went directly to my room. No supper – just brushed my teeth and collapsed. (aside again – the ONE thing I wanted so badly to do during that very long stay in Chicago’s O’Hare was to brush my teeth – and everything was in the checked luggage!!! ARGH! My teeth were grody!)

I woke up about 9 and caught the local news and collapsed again. Up bright and early at 6 the following morning – feeling MUCH better.

The second day I didn’t go out for lunch. I just grabbed more water and fruit and went to my room to start packing for a very early departure the next morning. Discovered a message from the travel guy and returned his call. He had written to XYZ airlines and complained for me to them. He’d let me know how that worked out. (more on that later)

I asked him if he could get me onto another airline or send me through a different hub. Of course he could . . . did I want to pay an additional $600 or so? Erm, no – a hundred maybe, but not six of them. Sigh. Keep me on the flights. (grrrrrrr)

Afternoon sessions were great – we did some interaction/role play/problem solving. That is always educational.

Several of the attendees said they were meeting in the lobby at 7 to go to dinner and anyone was invited to come along. So, I thought, why not? Freshened up and went downstairs. Chatted with some folks who were not part of that group and waited some more. Along came a nice young man from our group who said he was waiting for those folks, too, so we chatted for awhile. Finally someone from his office came along and the three of us decided to go to dinner together. You see, as she was leaving at 5:45 to go shopping for her partner – she saw that group leaving for dinner!!! Turkeys!

We went to a great little place – South Street – they roll the windows up like garage doors, so you are sitting next to an open window with lots of evening breeze. And, oh, my the food! She and I had “pulled pork” which came on a bed of corn cakes. I had a side of baked beans. The table shared a side of cole slaw which was interesting – not sweet – peppery. We had a great time talking and getting to know each other a bit.

Our taxi driver was lost on the way over to the restaurant – he called someone and spoke to them in Somali (according to one of my dinner companions) asking for directions while he took us on a tour of the red light district! Cost us over $12 to get there. We had a more knowledgeable taxi driver on the way back – it only cost us $9!

Said my goodbyes and headed straight to bed – left a wakeup call for 3 and tried to figure out the hotel cd-radio-alarm to go off at 3:30. Of course, as is usual, I only slept in spurts the rest of the night. But the wakeup call came through and I was up and moving in plenty of time.

Went downstairs to check out – no, I didn’t have a slip placed under my door – sorry to hear your computers are down undergoing routine maintenance – I am leaving when the shuttle for the airport gets here.

At this point a very nice man spoke up and said he was going to the airport – taking someone from HIS conference as soon as she came downstairs – I was welcome to ride along. Okay – I’m this tough alaskan moosie – I can take care of myself, right? Nah, I didn’t blink twice. I said yes. Saved me between $14 and $22 – and as a result saved the funding agency that same amount of money. I asked for his business card so I can send him a thank you note for his kindness.

Got checked in – I actually already had my boarding passes (printed out at the concierge desk the night before) but needed to check my luggage. Made it through TSA just fine and found the gate – where I begged to go on standby to Chicago as I only had a 50 minute window to get from one terminal to another to catch a flight that was would be boarding before my puddle jumper even landed.

Accomplished!! And found that the flight attendant I had made friends with coming into Nashville was now my flight attendant. Double yay! We had a nice chat during the flight. And, when we landed I gave her a hug and my phone number (for whenever she is crazy enough to come to Alaska) and she pointed down the steps and said “he’s here for you.” She had radioed ahead and arranged for a gate assist so i would make it to my flight. “I don’t want what happened to you before to happen again.” she said. Awwww!!! Thanks, Pam. You’r a doll.

Wait – the assist was a wheelchair! How embarrassing – okay, not. I climbed aboard and he hustled me off through all the secret passages and elevators and such and we arrived at the gate in enough time I could use the facilities, buy some juice to take my morning meds, and settle in to chat with some folks coming up here for a cruise back out. Pam was wearing wings and a halo that day.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful – save the fact that hubby wanted to drive further away from Anchorage to spend the night with some of his friends in Eagle River. All I wanted to do was get home. So I grabbed the keys and started driving. Made it to about 50 miles away from home and pulled over to give him the wheel because I was starting to nod off.

Made it home safely.

There you have it – I am glad to be home. I do not intend to climb aboard a plane until March of 2008 when the Girl goes to DC. That may change, but as of now, my hooves are firmly planted upon good old Alaskan soil.

You all come on up for a visit with ME, okay? But if you do – email me first so I can let you know who NOT to fly with, okay?

:moose: