Saturday dawned rainy (surprise!) but with a huge sense of relief that our ordeal was nearly over. This is the first time ever that we had packed up registration and the resource booth on Friday evening, so I think we almost felt a little lost with those huge tasks already completed.
To celebrate our relative "freedom," Lari, Tamara, and I agreed to meet Fred and Brian for a "real" breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Wow! We got to eat like normal people - sitting down! First, we had quite a few laughs over the fact that since it was now Saturday, Fred could order all the sausage he wanted. We commented to the server (who would soon regret being assigned to our table) that we had heard that the "Saturday Sausage" was particularly good. Here's a photo of Brian, showing off his "Saturday Sausage."
When I pulled out my glasses to read the menu, I realized that they had broken. I handed them over to Fred and Brian and asked them to work their "technology teacher magic." Suddenly Brian had disappeared with my glasses - apparently to go to his car in the hotel garage. I still don't know what he did down there, but when he came back, the glasses were (mostly) fixed!
Shortly thereafter, we looked to the side and saw Steve Moorhead with his nose pressed to the window. He and Linda TRIED to get seated at another table on the far side of the restaurant, but we embarrassed them into joining us. We all just scooted around and made room. After the server had made all the necessary adjustments in silverware, napkins, and billing arrangements, David Worley walked in and of course we forced him to sit with us as well. The server came back and just started shaking her head.
We had gotten about halfway through our meal when Tamara's cellphone rang. It was about 8:30 and Susan was calling her to say that ONE person was waiting at Reg to buy a ticket. So, Tamara had to abandon her breakfast and rush over to the Convention Center. The server came back and noted she was gone -but we told her we would pick up her bill, so no worries.
Finally, Ron Yuill came strolling in and we quickly tossed him into Tamara's vacated seat. This time the server walked back, noticed Ron, and didn't miss a beat, saying, "you got anybody else wit' choo?" We LOST it and no doubt heads turned in the restaurant.
After breakfast, Brian and I popped in on a TECA competition where I got a few good photos and he became enamored with a certain attractive female professor from Illinois State. (Brian: "Who was THAT?") Then we made our FINAL (Halleluia!) trek over to the Convention Center to attend (Brian) and photograph (me) the Tech Fest.
A bit later I returned to the hotel for some time to start sorting through my zillions of photos. Soon it was time to check out and appear at the Awards Luncheon. The Luncheon is always torturous because it's generally the FINAL hurdle before getting out of Dodge. This year was no exception. At various points, we had to say goodbye to all of our wonderful friends - always tough after being in the trenches with them so many times. There is no way to thank these people who so generously give their time and friendship, especially Ron, Steve, Linda, Fred, Fred, David, Roger, Kay, and no doubt others. Thanks guys!
We left the hotel by about 2:30 and headed over to the airport where we hoped to do a little shopping since we really hadn't found anything decent to bring home prior to that. We had some moderate success but came to the realization that Louisville is really NOT a shopper's paradise.
Once we arrived at our gate, we got the first hint of trouble. Our 5:10 departure was listed as "now 6:00." I think it was the "now" that bothered me the most - as if it may be subject to even further change. My premonition soon came true. We heard over the loudspeaker that our plane was stuck in a blizzard in Kansas City and no one knew when or if it would get out. This also made us worry about Fred, who was supposed to be flying IN to Kansas City. (Fred - if you're reading this - let us know you made it okay!)
We were literally SURROUNDED by ITEA people from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania (oh - and the Corleys who were connecting in Baltimore to Massachusetts). LOTS of unhappy people who had no clue about when we were ever going to get out of there. After a good two or three hours of interminable waiting, they made the announcement that they had "found" a plane for us and that it was on the way from Chicago. Huge cheers erupted.
After all that waiting, things suddenly sprang into fast motion. That plane arrived FAST, deplaned FASTER, and boarded even FASTER than that. We took off at 6:30 - really only an hour and a half late - nothing short of a miracle. They even promised that they would hold the connecting flights at BWI until our plane arrived - good news for plenty of folks - including the Corleys.
We had a safe, fast, FULL, and somewhat bumpy flight home. I had a good time talking to two teachers from Maryland - one of whom traveled with us all the way to the exact same long-term parking lot. He actually teaches in Frederick County, my home town area.
We stumbled off the shuttle bus and into (shocker) rain. Got in the car and somehow managed to make the hour drive home. We were beyond exhausted. It was fun to meet Tamara's husband and especially Sophie, Roscoe, and Icarus who went NUTS when they saw Tamara! So funny.
And THAT ends my tale. Soon I will be posted a link to my "private" Louisville photo gallery on Smugmug. Stay tuned.
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