Paducah here we come

I had a hard time getting to sleep. I kept hovering on the edge. The phone alarm went off at 3:30am. Last night I selected a new ring tone, but the phone forgot and played the old one. I got dressed, drank water, and packed my backpack. I still had a few minutes before 4 and I went to the bedroom for a spare pair of shoes when I heard the sound of an engine idling in the driveway. So I grabbed my sack and purse and ran out to the car. The three ladies said they were early and away we went. There was no traffic on the way to Old Time Pottery. We got there before 4:30, even though the bus was leaving at 5. And it was already half full. Melissa arrived at 4:50 and she sat with me. At 5 someone was still missing and we waited 5 minutes and then left. The bus stopped in Athens to pick up a few more people, and then headed north. I tried to sleep and the bus was dark, but there were conversations going on around me, and I could not make them out. At 6:30 I pulled out my breakfast and ate most of it. The bus had a bathroom, but we stopped at a rest area anyway. Later I took my supplements.

At 9:30 we pulled up to the convention center. I called Toniette to let her know I had arrived and I thought she was going to meet me somewhere. We all stood up to exit and I was practically jumping up and down to get started, but there was what seemed like a long delay in opening the door of the bus.. After we debarked, I went to the bubble building first, thinking to avoid the crowd who would go to the main exhibition hall first. It was relatively uncrowded at first. I stopped at the vendors I remembered from last year that had something I wanted but did not get. I bought the kaleidoscope creator software. And I was going to buy the halfsquare triangle ruler that cost $16 last year (I thought that was too much for a piece of acrylic then). But this year it was $28 and they were sold out. I finished viewing the quilts and vendors in the bubble building. There was a nice display of patriotic quilts and some had pockets where people left cash for soldiers.

Then I went to the main building, but the lower smaller exhibition hall. It was mostly vendors. I may have bought some batiks there. I proceeded to the upper hall which was half vendors and half quilts. I ran into Cass and Deb and Jen. Deb was talkative, and I was impatient to move on. I did not buy anything there. Finally I went to the main hall. I walked up and down the aisles taking pictures. When I finished, it was not yet 1, so I went back, taking my time, viewing the quilts at a leisurely pace. The 4 prizewinners were not impressive in my opinion. But there were breath-taking quilts , and they won nothing.

Then I went outside to sit on the curb and eat my lunch, which consisted of nuts and raw veggies. I thought I packed cheese, but it did not make the trip. There were food vendors set up in the parking lot but I would rather eat my own food. I called Toniette, but there was no answer. A man came and sat near me. After eating his dessert he struck up a conversation. 

(pics and the rest of the story to follow)