It was worth standing outside in the freezing wind!

He’s even holding my Sharpie (a good fangirl always has a Sharpie on her) and he signed my copy of his book. I have a lot more pictures that I’ll post after work, including some humorous ones with Herky. He was quite bemused by the presence of our mascot on a bike.

My mom just sent me these pictures from Bussey. This is right outside our house! An old man somehow lost control and drove right into the telephone pole and now the only thing holding the pole up are all the wires that run to the nearby houses! My mom was told to either leave her house or stay in the back part of it. Not sure how they’re going to fix that. I doubt its going to be quick. Not sure the status of the driver. He’s a local.

(This is our house in the background)

Live via the free wifi in the Eastern Iowa airport, I’m waiting for my 6am flight to Dallas and then on to NOLA! I got most of my pre-trip chores done at my apartment, but this beginnings of a cold or some other illness made it difficult. I managed to get to bed at 10pm, but then I woke up coughing for an hour, followed by waking up for an hour thinking of things I had forgotten to pack. The only thing that merited me getting out of bed to pack it was my Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras guide. My alarm went off way too early at 3:30am. Thank goodness for my crazy loud old-fashioned clangy alarm clock.

The PA system just announced that my flight is looking for a volunteer to switch flights. While I’d love that $200 travel voucher, I want to get to NOLA when Tracy and the Mulvey’s do. Hopefully I won’t get bumped. My previous flight option didn’t have me getting into NOLA until 5pm. 12 hours of traveling? Um, no.

Happily, I was able to check my big bag for free. I could’ve checked 2 bags free since I booked my original ticket so long ago. That will be handy for coming back. 50 pounds of beads checked free? Yes, please.

I want to get there, have some lunch, go to Napoleon House for a Pimm’s Cup, then have some tasty dinner, then call it a night. I need one night of decent sleep. Thankfully there aren’t parades until Thursday.

Many thanks to Sara for getting up super early to bring me to the airport. You rock, Sara!

NOLA, here I come!