ATTENDEE COMMENTS/MEMORIES

Maude's Diary

I had tagged along with Amy and Cat during Labor Day, 2000. I knew that we would be in for a really grand gathering. And so it came to pass.

After several mishaps this year with trying to meet people at airports, I was very happy to see Lady Chris, my roommie from Posse 2000, walking to the Atlanta Bread Company as scheduled. We caught up, while waiting for Kelly and Shay. They had graciously volunteered to pick us up.

Holly was passing by when we arrived at the hotel. She identified us immediately as fellow pards and escorted us to the room. I was so pleased to see all the welcoming touches, such as the decorations and the gift bags. I met my other 2 roommates, Gen and Wynde, and bought 2 fanzines. The meeting room was filled with all kinds of food. Talk about a kid in a candy store. I gained 5 pounds. The scrumptious breakfast buffets I ate every morning didn't help the weight situation either.

I had forgotten how to do the key chains, although I had done one last year. After some instructions, I made a very nice one, and it was fun. We got individual gifts. I opened my package and low and behold, an authentic autographed picture of MB. Be still my heart! Wait, I have to go take another look at it................OK, I'm back. I'm going to frame and hang it. I was the only one of the group who does not write fanfiction. It was very interesting for me to hear during the story development discussion of how you come up with ideas. We watched Serpents as Emily had not seen this episode yet. I can't believe how patient and polite she is. If I hadn't seen an episode, I would have demanded to see it as soon as I walked in the door. I loved Ginger's music video and I am so glad I got a copy of it.

It was certainly different seeing the Cyclorama again with this wild bunch. :-) We really perked those people up. At the zoo, we split up and I roamed around with Holly, Shay and Debbie. The zoo had very pretty grounds and the weather was pleasant for strolling.

Later, another interesting discussion about h/c. I certainly know about this topic from a reader's point of view. As I wasn't able to do my "assignment", Nee volunteered to do two stories. Looks like Shay is almost ready with my story - yay! Even though I had been eating all day, I managed to eat a delicious dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I liked the idea of riding in different cars to be able to meet different people. However, Ginger and I ended up in the same car every time. So we became really good riding buddies. I arrived late for the White Elephant game, which was good thing since I went almost last, and knew exactly what I wanted. I took the T2 Special Edition away from Judi. AFTER I took it away, I got an attack of conscience, but Judi seemed to be OK with my actions. With the 7 (appropriate number) tapes Amy made for me, what a MB fast was in store for me.

Eat at the German Bakery, or climb Stone Mountain? That was my pondering Sunday morning. When Cat mentioned that she wasn't sure they would go to the restaurant, I asked the group if anyone wanted to climb. Ginger eagerly agreed, and later Lady Chris and Lisa were enticed.

The rainy weather as we arrived at Stone Mountain discouraged me about our ability to climb later. The train ride was a riot, much laughter abounded. In order to get it to stop raining, I bought a really expensive umbrella. Sure enough, the winds blew, the clouds parted, and out came the sun! The Magnificent Climbers first went on a very lovely boat ride on the lake. Then the trek up the mountain began. It was 1.4 miles up to the top. LC was a real trouper, still recovering from an operation and not too fond of heights. Along the trail we were treated to beautiful scenes of lakes, forests, and the Atlanta Skyline. At a level close to the top, the path become very steep. Lisa and LC waited while Ginger and I went to the very top. More picturesque views. I attempted to video Ginger. But never having used a video camera, I'm sure Ginger will have to do a lot of editing. I cant' wait to see the final version of Ginger's trip video. Going down was a lot faster. What an enjoyable experience. Oh yeah, on the way back, Ginger tried to video a hunk riding a bike, but we eventually lost him. We must have scared him off.

When we returned to the meeting room, I misunderstood the time we had to leave for Agatha's. 15 minutes before departure, I found out and made a change in record time. Ah, Agatha's. I was looking forward to attending with this group since Amy, Cat & I had gone last year. It didn't disappoint and was hysterical. And we had our very own acting stars, the Space Cowgirls. I wish we had a theater like that in Miami.

Another interesting discussion later on feedback. But I had drunk some wine at Agatha's, which made me very sleepy. I tried fighting it, but eventually succumbed, so I couldn't stay for the whole thing. I hate missing anything.

For Monday, pizza and the Pilot. What more could a pard want? We had to then say our good-byes :-( Cat drove LC, Wynde, and me to the airport. We were all at different concourses so we had to split up.

If girls just want to have fun, we certainly did. I ever don't remember laughing so much. You all are such a great group. Cat and Amy, THANK YOU!

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