ATTENDEE COMMENTS/MEMORIES

Lady Chris's Diary

I've always hated keeping journals. It's too much like homework, but here's what I remember:

Friday morning:
I left while it was still dark outside. I was feeling kind of bummed because I had just ripped my backup contact lens, which meant that I would have to wear my glasses all weekend. Still, watching the Florida sun slowly rise over the horizon as I approached the airport made me remember that glasses or not, I was going to have a great time this weekend.

Airport security was tight, but not unbearable. My license was checked three or four times, but I wasn't frisked (damn and those National Guardsmen were cute too!). The gentleman I sat next too on the plane was also very good looking, but not really interested in conversation. Once the plane landed, we sat in line for a space to park the plane. Our terminal changed about three times, so I knew there was no way Maude would be able to meet me at the gate. I made a mad dash for Baggage Claim and then went in search of the Atlanta Bread Company.

There was Maude, sitting and waiting in her bright pink MB (Myrtle Beach) t-shirt. We waited for about half an hour watching paratroopers patrol the terminal (I'm assuming that they were paratroopers since they wore the maroon beret instead of regular army black or ranger tan or special forces green). There was this one paratrooper that had the body of Buck Wilmington. OY! He must have been 6'5" with shoulders wider than Stone Mountain. Maude and I had to restrain ourselves to keep from doing any suspicious to get his attention LOL!

Shay and Kate picked us up soon after and we decided to get something eat before heading for the hotel. We traveled down one exit and found ourselves at a Blimpie's, where the sandwhich man told us to come back anytime and if Kate came everyday she would get a special discount.

On to the hotel. Cat and Amy did a wonderful job with the decorations. Not only was the main meeting room festive looking, but our individual hotel rooms had decorations and greeting baskets in them! I felt right at home.

Once everyone settled in we all sat around talking about the show and our trips. Finally the sub party started and I built myself a delicious sub with chips. Cat handed out our special gifts. I got a Navy SEALs press kit. OY! I feel faint every time I look at the pictures inside.

After that we watched Ginger's videos. Excellent is the only word to describe them. The JD one was so perfect! I want a copy of all of them. Then we watched Serpents, so Em could see what she had been missing all this time. The group decided to watch Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Awwww, Tony looked so cute in that! He way outshined George whats-his-face.

I don't remember what time I went to sleep, but it was before my roomies, Maude, Gen, and Wynde.

Saturday:
I got up early, long before the wake-up call (I am, unfortunately, a morning person). Got down to Watson's to have breakfast, then back upstairs to get ready for the day.

The cyclorama was fun! Cameras are definitely dangerous in our hands. We posed for pictures downstairs before heading into the show. The introduction movie included the voice of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) narrating re-enactments of the Battle for Atlanta (complete with soldiers in spiffy clean uniforms even though they were trudging through Georgia red clay ). The Cyclorama was amazing and I got a kick out of the fact that they included a replication of Clark Gable in the diorama part of it.

The zoo was fun! The elephants were red from the clay and we got to see Chris and Vin. . .er I mean Vin and Ezra. . .er I mean we got the see the pandas (forgot their real names) as they munched away on their lunch together. One of the zoo interpreters talked to us about the care of the pandas. I was heartened to hear that the zoo has an enrichment team to keep the animals active and healthy. We then watched a very chatty small-clawed otter do tricks for our amusement. There was a magnificent baboon who prefered to show off the better side of his assets. And, last, but certainly not least, there was the King of the Jungle, sleeping contentedly. . .or at least until the Queen showed up and told him to move his lazy butt out of her favorite sleeping spot!

Just before leaving the zoo, I stopped by the Ben and Jerry's ice cream kiosk for a chocolate-chip cook dough ice cream. YUM!

Back at the hotel we all gathered round for a discussion on writing fanfic. I had previously passed out copies of a draft to my Civil War Chris/Sarah love story. Lots of folks gave me great advice on how to continue one from where I had left off! I took lots of notes and I hope to start working on it again real soon. Should have it ready by. . .oh, the next Global Gathering .

Then it was off to the Speghetti Factory! We took a wonderful tour of Atlanta. We got see many exciting side streets before actually arriving at our destination, where Cat stood on the corner to flag us down.

That night at the White Elephant Exchange I stole a copy of MB's movie "Deadfall" from Kimber. What a struggle that was. I had to practically beat the girl senseless to get her to let go of the video! ::giggle, giggle:: I don't think she'll ever forgive me for that!

Sunday:
Again, I got up early and made it downstairs in time to have breakfast before heading out to Stone Mountain. Took a wonderful tour of various Stone Mountain parking lots, before finding the right one! Ran through the rain to make sure we all got on the train before it left the station. What a blast! All of us spent more time taking pictures that paying attention to the mountain. I know our fellow riders were wondering who these crazy females were.

After the train ride, Maude, Ginger, Lisa and I went on the Steamboat. Luckily, by the time we got on it had stopped raining and we really enjoyed the trip. Then it was on to conquer the mountain. Of course, I didn't remember until we were half way to the top that I'm scared of heights LOL! Ginger, Lisa and Maude helped me though. I was able to make it almost all they way to the top with only one slight mishap. I slipped on some stones and crashed to the ground, banging my shin bone in the process. It's a little black and blue, but not that sore.

The view was magnificent! We could see the train traveling around the mountain. Off in the distance was Atlanta! There was so much green from the forest, with hints of gold and red where the leaves were just starting to turn. Hard to imagine men in blue and grey climbing over this mountain, seeing this amazing sight, and then using cannons and guns and swords to kill each other.

Once we got off the mountain, we had our wanted pictures taken. We tried very hard to sqeeze all four of us inside the photo machine, but it just got too much like a Groucho Marx movie, so we separated it out to me and Maude, then Ginger and Lisa. After our pictures were developed I made a grand attempt to feed the ducks, but the stupid ducks wouldn't eat the popcorn I tossed at them! Letting good food go to waste like that! I should've turned them into duck de l'orange and showed them what to do with good food .

We made back to the hotel in time to gussy ourselves up for Agatha's. That was a hoot!!! 2001: A Space Oddity was perfect! Loved Ginger and Cat as the Space Cowgirls! My roomie, Gen, and I wrote out lyrics to the old Coke-a-Cola commercial for our group. I enjoyed my salmon and pasta very much.

The next morning, I slept a little later than usual and did my best to pack without losing anything. I won the Texas basket of goodies and wondered how on earth I was going to ship that home on the plane (wound up packing it in a box with one of my sweatshirts). Then I stuffed myself with pizza before stuffing Cat's car with my luggage. The trip home was uneventful and the only cute thing I saw was a bomb sniffing German Shepherd doing his duty in the terminal lounge.

Big THANK YOU to Amy and Cat for putting this together! I had a wonderful time and I'm looking forward to doing it again in two years!!!

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