Dallas or Bust... on a flying Sea Otter?

Yep, Sherman the Sea Otter was my transport to Dallas. A very interesting flight, not the least of which was all the smoke that came pouring out as we arrived at the gate. A lot of very relieved, "Thank God it didn't happen while we were in the air," echoes could be heard throughout the plane. There's a bumper sticker that says "as long as there as still tests, there will still be prayer in school." Maybe we should amend it to include air travel.

At the airport, I ran into an author I know and respect, and we ended up taking a shuttle together. Then, we stopped to pick up more folks, and one of the women was another dear author friend. We arrived at the hotel, and I have to say, I was both humbled and floored by the amount of people who knew me on sight, called me by name, and hugged me with so much warmth and love. Wow. When folks see me at conference, they tend to think I'm an extrovert. I think this is my once a year dose. A much needed dose. And I will still need to go hide in my room once and a while, but it'll be okay. Tomorrow, my roomie has an event to go to, and I have nothing pressing until the evening, so I'm going to sit on my big fat bottom and read a book by the pool. Maybe two. Or three. Or four. Or five. I have seven at the moment, guaranteed to grow by the time I leave.

And... because I have had so much encouragement and am already feeling ready to conquer the world, I may even get that proposal finished. And submitted.

Or I might take a nap.

Once my roomie arrived and we got settled, we met up with some friends and went to dinner. Here's a pic for you:


From left to right, we have: Cheryl Wyatt aka my roomie, Debra Clopton , Me , Julia Justiss, and Lenora Worth .

See ya tomorrow with updates! Or not. Depends on if I nap or not.