Bound by desire...

Reading back through my RT posts, I realized I never talked about the food at the Hilton. I've told you their service was great, even if they couldn't figure out the Internet problem. And the beds! Holy moley...wish I could take one of those beds home with me!

But their food? What we had wasn't awful, but it was rather plain. And not nearly enough of it. At the convention we're given one large luncheon a day and the rest is made up of mixers where food and drink is readily available. At the nighttime parties there are usually nosh-type food. The breakfast mixers weren't bad, with plenty of coffee for those who drink it, but rarely juice. And usually only one type of danish. I know that's partly the decision of the sponsor so let me tell you now...the 10 of us who are members of the Fantasy Club are planning to sponsor a breakfast next year...and we'll have juice and muffins and cinnamon rolls...and lots and lots of coffee!

So I get to the airport yesterday, go through security (the security guard got a good chuckle over my shirt. Yes, I was wearing my "Got Sex?" T-shirt. On the back it says "We do. Ellora's Cave Publishing"), and make my way to my gate. I'm taking what I expect will be a puddle jumper from Daytona to Atlanta and then home from there.

Cheyenne McCray is already waiting at the gate. So is Jory Strong. Shortly Lynn La Fleur joins us as well as Cricket Starr, Mardi Ballou and Mackenzie McKade. I think there were more, but I can't remember (I was working on only about 4 hrs sleep). If you were there, let me know and I'll add you in! And if I have you as being on that plane and you weren't...well, it's amazing what a little sleep deprivation will do to you!

A few minutes later, the EC staff shows up...Cindy and Brian and Jeania and Kelly. And all the cover models...CJ and Rodney and all the rest. All on one plane to Atlanta! As we started to board someone said, "This plane better not go down! Erotic romance will never be the same!" LOL

Now, you would think a plane filled with these party animals would be lively and loud. Had it been 8:00 at night that probably would be true. But I think every one of us fell asleep as the plane flew us to our next destination. We parted ways in Atlanta, each going off to different gates and different parts of the country. Next year -- Houston!

I had over two hours till my next flight, so decided to walk the tunnel rather than take the subway. Besides, I only had to go from Gate E to C this time. C24 -- which is down in a hole, and looks it. The seats were all cracked, boards were over the video terminals that told what flights were coming and going. There was one toilet shared by men and women. I took some comfort from the sign that said the entire C wing was undergoing an upgrade.

It gets close to the time I know we should begin boarding and the announcement comes over the loudspeaker, "We are now boarding for Ottawa, Canada. Please have your passports ready."

One problem: I'm not going to Ottawa. I have a passport, but not with me. Because I'm going to Rochester, NY, not Canada.

So I go up to the desk and inquire politely if the gate for my flight has been changed (it hadn't when I went down into the hole two hours earlier, but there was no working video monitor down there). I was supposed to be at Gate 36 now.

I hauled it down to the other gate and got there just two minutes before they began boarding. Talk about a close call! The flight home was fine until just before landing. There was a storm over Rochester, with 20-30 mile an hour winds. We came in over the Lilac Festival and it was very cool to see Highland Park from the air with all the lilacs in bloom. Looked like a Monet painting with dollops of purple and white and lavender on the hillside.

So the landing was a bit bumpy, but certainly not anything to worry about. My family took me out to Friday's for supper (love that Jack Daniel's shrimp!) and then home. And bed!

Now it's back to writing for a living...need to put my feet back on the ground, both literally and figuratively...and get those stories done!

Play safe,
Diana