DAY TWO OF THE 2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE (MONDAY)

Sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to this.  Life happens.  But let me continue to tell you about my week.

The conference began at 2:00 p.m. on Monday.  But they wanted us there to check in around noon.  Joe and I both slept well and got up around 8:00.  By the time we showered, dressed and repacked the car, it was a little before 10:00 a.m.  So we had plenty of time to find a restaurant for breakfast and get to the campground which was only 5 miles away.

We love Friendly's and all of ours had closed.  We knew there was a Friendly's nearby, so headed over there.  It was so difficult to get there.  I was driving and it was the first time I had driven the SUV so I was a bit nervous.  It's one thing to drive your own car, but driving a rental and not knowing where I was going was a little disconcerting.  But we found the place and it was closed.  Oh no!  We sat in the parking lot and had our phones out looking for someplace else to eat.  After going through a long list of choices, we decided to just head for Pinebook because there is a nice diner right near there that is on the same road.

So that's what we did.  We parked in the lot and started to get out.  A guy who worked there came over and told us and a couple of other customers that the diner was closed for maintenance and wouldn't be open until the next day.  What?  Now what do we do?  He told Joe and another guy how to get to another nearby diner.  When Joe got back into the car, he looked it up on his phone, got directions and we headed over there.

It wasn't too far and not too hard to get to.  It was called the Arlington Diner.

Joe ordered a western omelet and I asked for two eggs over medium.  It came with home fries and toast.  I knew there would be butter involved somewhere, so I took my medicine before I ate.

This is my plate.  I forgot to take a picture before I ate.

And this is Joe's breakfast.

Because it was so late, and we knew they weren't giving us lunch, we ate well to hold us over until dinner.  The food was OK.  Typical diner food.  When we were finished, we headed over to Pinebook.

We were in the same building as last year.  I used the ramp to get into the building.  It runs along the side and is quite long.  It leads to a door at the back of the building.  When we got inside, we found our room was at the front of the building and I had to walk that entire length again.  I didn't think I was going to make it.  When I have to walk a distance, I get out of breath and start having pains in my chest.  Yes, I am working with my cardiologist on this.  I ended up doing the 12 steps at the front of the building for the rest of the stay there.

We had a really nice room.  Joe had to get to the Fellowship Hall, so he took the car and left.  Yes, it's a ways to go between buildings.  The room is at the back of the property and the hall is at the front.  About a quarter mile between them.  I started settling in and turned on the meetings to watch live stream.  They always start off with singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" and this year was no exception.  

I laid down on the bed to elevate my legs and went right to sleep.  I slept about an hour.  Joe and I were keeping in touch with each other by texting on our phones and he left me a message that he was coming to get me to take me to dinner, so I got up and got myself ready.

We ended up sitting with six of our friends and had such a good time.  The dinner was chicken parmesan over a bed of penne.  It was delicious.  I had a special no dairy meal so technically I guess it wasn't chicken PARMESAN for me.  But it was good.  My friend Sharon sat next to me.  She had a gluten free meal.  We got the same pasta so I guess mine was also gluten free.  Fine with me.

After we ate, we headed back to Fellowship Hall.  I sat with Sharon, Elaine, Vicki and Stephanie in the back of the room.  It was fun to see my friends that I see only once a year.  The church Vicki and Elaine attend was the one being accepted into full membership that night.

Here is Elaine's husband, Mike, who is an Elder at the church.

And Vicki's husband, Brad, who is the Pastor.

When the meeting was over, there was a reception for them with cake and coffee.  Joe and I didn't stay for it, though.  We just got in the car and went back to our room.  It didn't take us long to fall asleep that night.  But my legs were hurting me so badly that I didn't sleep well and was up and down all night.

That's the end of day two.  On to day three next time.  Hopefully tomorrow.  See you then.