On my way to my first stop this morning (Foundation Breakfast), I jumped into an elevator only to end up face-to-face with none other than Barbara Morgan. I made a point of telling her that I work for ITEA and how genuinely appreciative I was of how patient and gracious she has been to the multitude of people who have been demanding so much of her time. She was gracious once again and told me that these teachers really energize her. A good sport.
I continued my morning with a quick stop at the Foundation Breakfast. After checking into when the speaker would start and end, I decided to go over to the CC to try to set up the booth before my volunteers arrived. A "surprise," since I had told them I wouldn't be over until about 9. Once everything was in place, I walked BACK to the hotel to catch the end of Jim LaPorte's speech (he was terrific) and take some photos. Then back again to the CC for the Second General Session.
This session was definitely the highlight of my day. The speaker, Robert Ballard is a reknowned oceanographer who, among other things, "found" the Titanic. This guy was amazing. Super educated, an incredibly gifted speaker, good sense of humor and knew how to relate his field to the lay audience. His information and discoveries about the ocean were truly astounding. I found myself saying, "wow" over and over. Jay Hicken sat directly behind me and I heard him doing the exact same thing. Another homerun speaker.
Today offered lunch in the Exhibit Hall, but not for us. Since the sponsor was paying per plate, Mo asked us not to take advantage. Not a problem. So I ran out and got lunch for myself and then sent Steve, Linda, and Ron to get their free lunches, since they were all registered attendees. At the last minute I had the bright idea to ask Steve to take a few photos while he was at the lunch. I was pretty busy while they were gone, but eventually Steve comes ambling back and I notice he no longer has my camera, despite my REPEATED reminders
not to let anything happen to it. I ask him where it is, and he gasps a little, says he left it on the table, and hustles back toward the Exhibit Hall. I spent the next 10 minutes trying to stave off a heart attack. A while later, Ron comes walking up and I see my camera around his neck. The photo above shows my face, which is still a little in shock after worrying for so long. It turns out that the entire thing was a prank perpetrated by Steve. I told him that he has officially upped the ante of practical jokes.Not much excitement in the afternoon and, as I mentioned, I was really beat and struggling with another bad headache. One highlight would be yet another visit from Barbara Morgan. She stopped by the Booth to talk to none other than Ron. Once the other attendees "smelled" her, they began to gather and I
began to wonder if she would ever get out. Every few minutes, I would be called over to take photos.One thing that made me laugh this afternoon was when Steve leaned over and tapped me and then pointed to Ron, who had apparently dozed off right in the middle of the Booth! Ron claims he was "reading."
A very calm evening - we finally made it back to PF Chiang's and had a great dinner with wonderful food. All the ITEA ladies were there as well as David McGee, Fred Blount, Roger and Kay, and Brian. Fred was so cute, trying to figure out what to eat since he's a "steak and potatoes" Texas-type. Brian helped him choose some Mongolian Beef and Fred LOVED it! He even said he was going to look for a PF Chiang's when he got home because his wife would love it.
On our walk home, Brian suddenly reminded us that he had an early flight, so we all had to say goodbye. As much as we want conference to be OVER every year, it always comes as a bit of shock when we have to say goodbye to such good friends. It just stinks that we have to go through all this work and planning AGAIN just to see them again.
With luck, we will all be home 24 hours from now! Yippee!
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