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Saturday, November 8, 2014

Southern Hospitality at BarkWorld: Day 3

We skipped breakfast on this day, opting instead to sleep in. Since lunch was served early at the conference it wasn't like we were going to starve.

Lunch turned out to be BBQ. I'm not a huge BBQ fan, but I live in KC, so I know BBQ. We could choose from pulled chicken or pulled pork (I opted for chicken) and there were traditional BBQ sides: potato salad, cole slaw, and mac & cheese. The chicken was really good; I was impressed. The slaw was good, nothing spectacular. The potato salad was definitely not my thing. Frankly, if it's not Mom's, it's not my thing.

We were eating in the main conference room that also served as the dining area. Lunch was scheduled from 11:30 to 12:30, so we had plenty of time to eat...or so we thought. BarkWorld had scheduled a session in that room to start at noon. Can you say awkward? We're all chowing down, chatting away, and they start a session! We finished our meal quickly and left.

The only session I attended the whole weekend was an Author's Panel. I was hoping to see my friend Joanne from The Tiniest Tiger speak on this panel, but she ended up not being on the panel. It was still an informative session and I was glad I attended. It was a rough start though. The session was held in the same conference room I described above. Hotel staff had not bussed or cleaned off many of the tables and it was kind of gross. It was also late to start, which was frustrating.

After the session ended, I had a little time before the awards ceremony to wrap up the conference. I chatted with a few people before going back into the main conference room. Not many people showed up and there weren't very many prizes given away. There was really no big prize either. The good news was that I won a leash from K9 Carry All and a cool gift basket from Jones Natural Chews. Yaz is going to have treats for the rest of the year!


Connie and I then went to dinner at the mall with a few other cat ladies. We chose California Pizza Kitchen and it was great! I ordered what I think is probably the best margarita I've ever tried. After dinner we stopped by the Cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes for dessert. That place may have been the highlight of the weekend!



We went back to our room and waited for Lisa and Debbie to get done with the banquet they were attending. Once they got back to their room, Connie and I joined them to hang out while they packed and spend one last evening with Waffles.


The next morning it was time to go home. The four of us rode to the airport together. After dropping off Lisa and Debbie, Connie and I returned the rental then checked our bags. We had plenty of time to kill, so we decided to eat. We came across an IHOP Express where I had lunch and Connie had breakfast.

We made our way to our gates when we were done. We hung out until it was time for us to board (our flights were only 5 minutes apart). Saying goodbye is always bittersweet. I was excited to get home to see my hubby and kitties, but a weekend with friends was ending.

It was definitely worth going to Atlanta. I was so very impressed with the people there. Everyone was so nice! People think we're nice here in the midwest, but let me tell you, we don't come close to the southern hospitality I found in Georgia. It's a place I wouldn't hesitate to visit again.

That being said, I doubt I attend a BarkWorld conference again. It lacked organization and the sessions were not interesting to me at all. I was disappointed since my understanding is that it had been a great conference in the past. I'm planning to attend BlogPaws next year in Nashville. It will be wonderful to see my blogging pals again!

6 comments:

  1. My human is looking forward to seeing you in Nashville! She got a lot done with the Cat Writers side of BarkWorld... and honestly, she hopes that Cat Writers does not team up with BarkWorld again. It goes way better when our organization is on its own.

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  2. The mom agrees that was one of the best margaritas she's ever had. She said it was fun hanging out with you and all the other cat ladies at BW. And she's looking forward to doing it all again in Nashville. :)

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  3. We can't wait to see you in Nashville!!! Two words: ROAD TRIP! Love your write up and assessment of the conference. I'd have to agree... the highlight was seeing friends and bloggers. This definitely made the trip a worthwhile excursion. The conference itself was a disappointment. I'm actually one of the people who talked up the conference... in previous years I found it to be very worthwhile.

    'til Nashville!
    ~Glogirly & Waffles

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  4. Sounds like you all had a good time even though the conference wasn't the best! I hope next year the CWA one will be closer. I've been on a conference break for this year, after going to them so many years in a row. You get burnt out!

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  5. what, no discussion of the whale?

    since I was with you for most of the weekend, I really have nothing to add but I agree with everything you wrote and it was great to spend time with you :)

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  6. HAHHHHAAAAA, whales on the road STAY on the road.
    ANd yes, BW wasn't impressive at all. It really kind of dragged the CWA down, sadly....

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