Let the Learning Begin

So, if you didn't read the post previous to this one - You should.  It gives some background and then the beginning of our trip.  So, we will begin here with Tuesday morning.

I had the alarm set for 5:30am.  Being as it was about 2:30am when I went to sleep, I did not hear the alarm.  But about 7:00am Emilia woke and then woke me.  I immediately showered, dressed, and got ready.  We slept with the 3 of us girls in the room and then Bill and Carlos had an adjoining room to ours.  You would think the beds would have been 2 queen beds per room.  But they were not.  They were 2 full size beds.  Needless to say I got a bed to myself.  Emilia and Mel are pretty small.  They did ok together.  Anyway, after getting ready, I went down for the opening speeches and introduction to the conference.  I didn't get breakfast but that was ok considering it was about 10pm when we had eaten dinner.

This picture is not really a good depiction of what it was like.  I took this before it started.  See that big screen?  Well there was another in front of where I was sitting and then the room filled up with tons of people.  So, after the opening speeches and instructions and stuff we went to our first classes.  The way the conference is set up is that there are roughly 15 classes per 1.15 hour slots.  So from 9:00-10:15am you can choose 1 from about 15 classes to attend.  Then you get a 15 minute break and then go to a class you chose from the next set of 15 and so forth and so on until between 5 & 6:00pm.  Anyway, we were presenting 1st.  So, Bill and I made our way to our first meeting room.  The first presentation we did was one that Bill had been presenting over Webinars for the past couple of months.  So, he was very comfortable and I really was just there for some backup info and to support him or help answer questions.  

Here is Bill as he is presenting.

Our first class was very small with our whole group attending, the guy that was presenting after us was there (waiting for his turn) and then about 2 or 3 people for the actual presentation.  But it was a good start.  In the next few classes word kinda spread about us and we really got to show off some knowledge and network with some people.  We validated that people really were interested in what we were doing - and that is was probably the time slot that wasn't so good (and not our presentation).  But like I explained to Bill, during the first set of classes people are kinda really unsure what to do if they haven't been to a conference before and they need the first class or two to adjust.  

Anyway, we went about our day to different classes.  This is what our schedules looked like with a back page with the additional classes on it.  (Just to give you an idea).

         

Anyway, after all of our classes were done on Tuesday, we went to the lobby for a quick meeting for the certified trainers and presenters.  After that we went in search of a local restaurant with live music.  The shuttle wouldn't take us to the one we had found.  But the lady at the hotel desk gave us a suggestion.  We followed her suggestion and ended up at a restaurant called Cinco's.  Guess what - it was Mexican food.  What!?!?  I can not believe we ate went all the way to Atlanta and ate Mexican food.  Well, let me be the first to tell you that it was NOT real Mexican food.

  

This is a picture of the Salsa.  It didn't taste as bad as it looks but it was not great.  We did however have some great lobster and shrimp queso.  It was SO good.  The fajitas weren't bad but hardly had any meat.  And to top it off, our one requisition for the night was live music.  They have live music every night except Monday and Tuesday.  Since it was Tuesday we were out of luck.  They did have great margaritas (with out the margarita mix) though.  Weird right?  They don't use Margarita mix in them.  Hmmm... anyway, they were good.  So, we called a taxi and went to a bar (for live music) that the waitress suggested with the help of YELP (an Internet based event finder).  Anyway, the cab driver misunderstood what we said and didn't care to tell us.  He ended up dropping us off at the wrong place and was pretty rude about it.  So we stayed.  It was your typical bar - with NO live music - of course.  But we did get into a Jukebox war with some unknown person.  It was fun to try to play the most annoying music we could find.  They were playing some crimpy hair, slouch socks, 80's music and so after we picked like 10 great songs that kept getting interrupted for these, we started picking Spanish and old school rap.  It was fun.  

Anyway, back to the hotel we went.  I showered because we smelt like cigarettes from the bar and then we all went to bed.  (yes, it was still like 1:30 OR 2:00 before we made it into bed)

Wednesday was about the same.  I was in class from 8am until 5:00pm.  It really was kinda like being in school.  

 See, I am a good student.  I even took notes.  Almost a whole legal pad of notes by the time our 3 days were over.  Our presentation was at 1:30 on Wednesday.  It went well, our class was a lot bigger and they asked some great questions.  Bill and I co-presented this one and it went really great.  He and I really do make a good team.  We off set each other nicely.  



Wednesday night was a little different.  Emilia and Mel had gone sight seeing all day and Carlos and Bill wanted to go to an NBA Basketball game.  Just so happened that the Atlanta Hawks were playing.  And the Hawks were like on a 17 home game winning streak(or something like that).  So, they went to the game and Emilia and Mel caught up with them there.  I don't really like basketball and knew we probably wouldn't get to sit next with each other (which they didn't) so I stayed back.  Atlanta has this huge Ferris wheel that takes you into the sky and you can see the city.  I had read about it when I was researching things to do in Atlanta (back in August).  So, I really wanted to go.  Just so happened that the conference was taking people on a tour and dinner that night.  So, luckily there was space and I went with them.  After loading onto a bus with a bunch of people I didn't know, I met a girl that was giving us the unofficial tour as the bus drove us to our destination.  Her name is "Shay" (for short).  She is from Roswell, GA.  It was so funny because any time you google something for Roswell, NM - all of the stuff for Roswell, GA comes up.  Well, we just happen to be about 40 miles from Roswell, GA.  Shay is part of the THERAP team and we thought it would be fun to take a "Roswell Girls" picture.

Roswell Girls

When we were doing some research before we came, Emilia's dad had told her to be sure and go down by Ponce De Leon.  And to eat at a place called Mary Mac's Tea Room.  He said they have the best Southern food.    Well, come to find out this restaurant is famous.  It is like a real big deal.   Well, that's exactly where they took us for dinner.  Here is the insert I found on their website: "For over 70 years Mary Mac’s has been setting the standard for Southern cooking in Atlanta. Business people, celebrities, families and world travelers all dine at Mary Mac’s and feel right at home. In fact, in March of 2011 The Georgia House of Representatives created Resolution 477, in which Mary Mac’s was officially declared to be Atlanta’s Dining Room. An honor of which we are very proud, yet extremely humbled, and to which only one restaurant in the world may lay claim."
As the bus drove I noticed we were on Ponce De Leon Street.  Then we pulled up in front of...MARY MAC's TEA ROOM.

Can you believe that?  "Quinky-dink"!  For some reason the sign came out blurry.  But they served us a buffet of Southern Food.  It included Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish, Turkey and Dressing, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread, Fried Green Tomatoes, Greens, Cinnamon Rolls, and Peach Cobbler.  Man, It was so Good.  The fried green tomatoes were good.  This lady from Denver, suggested I eat them with the Louisiana Hot Sauce and yup - it was perfect.  That cobbler was amazing.  

After dinner the buses took one group shopping and the other group to the Ferris Wheel.  This is what I thought I was going to see: 

and from this wheel, I thought I would see:

Well, it wasn't exactly this spectacular.  But here is what it looks like in real life:

 This is the Ferris Wheel - definitely bigger than a regular Ferris wheel.  There are cars on there that fit 6 people and you actually go up pretty high.   The next picture is of the Olympic park.  If you make it bigger you can see the Olympic rings in that square.  Then the third picture is just some of the buildings that were around there.  The traffic in Atlanta is crazy.  There are tons of cars.  So many, that most of the taxis and shuttles all shut down between 3pm and 7pm for rush hour.  It was pretty crazy.  

After the Ferris wheel we went to Atlanta Station.  Atlanta Station Mall is: "An eclectic assortment of more than 50 shops reside in Atlantic Station, featuring a walkable streetscape-style setting with brick paved streets and a Central Park. The compact setting features great boutiques, sidewalk cafes, hip restaurants and TWELVE® Hotel, making it the perfect destination for visitors".  

Sorry, I didn't get any pictures for you.  I kinda just thought is was this huge thing with buildings and shops.  As I write, I just googled it and it is actually a really impressive thing.  We went late at night when almost everything was closed and it was dark so I didn't see much.  And since I hate shopping I didn't shop much.  But it was fun.  Here is the one picture I did take for you there: 

We returned to the hotel and then I hung out in the lounge with my new found THERAP friends.  Everyone I spent the evening with was really nice and they just kinda adopted me into their group.  It was fun.  We laughed and planned trips to Hawaii.  Then off to bed I went (about the usually time, 1:30am-ish). 

(This has turned out pretty long - so stay tuned for Thursday and Fridays adventure - trust me - you are not going to want to miss this!)