Women's Conference in GA. Christian Girls Get Crazy!
As Kerri and I were scheduled to attend our Women in the Church Conference
in Atlanta from Friday though Sunday, Dick and Ron planned to drop us off at
the hotel and then drive home. As luck would have it, there was a wreck on
I 75 and traffic was backed up for miles so Dick decided to exit before our
designated exit. Bad decision. We were trying to get to the Holiday Inn near
the Ga. Congress Center in downtown Atlanta and even with a map we kept
driving around in circles. At one point we could see the hotel but couldn't
find a street that went through to get to it. We stopped and asked several
people, all of whom were from foreign countries and couldn't speak English so
a lot of good that did us. When we were about to give up, we found a man who
spoke English and also knew how to get to our hotel so after an hour of
driving around we pulled up to the Holiday Inn. We knew there were 4,000
women attending the conference but hoped they weren't all staying in our
hotel, but there were so many cars in the front that Dick had to pull into a
lot next door. That was not starting off to be a good weekend so far.
Now you would think that a Holiday Inn would at least be better than the
motel we had just left, but the only differences I could see were that it was
larger and had a restaurant. After waiting in line for 30 minutes to check in,
the clerk gave me a key to a room on the 11th (top) floor and I asked him if
that was the lowest floor we could be on. He replied that we were on the
Priority Level, whatever that meant, but I thought maybe it meant a nicer more
spacious room. Boy was I wrong! Ron helped us carry our luggage to our room
via an elevator that shook and made loud noises. Well, as I've mentioned
before, I hate elevators and so does Kerri so we were definitely nervous on
that ride. We both breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened on our
floor, but we also knew we had to get back down later. We opened the door to
our room expecting something special, and low and behold it was smaller than
our room in Rome and not much nicer. Our friend Ellen was sharing the room so
we did have 2 beds and that was what was meant by Priority Level. Oh, and we
could get a free appetizer in the bar if we bought a drink. Well, my goodness,
we were at a church conference. We couldn't be seen ordering drinks in a bar
so that little perk didn't do us any good. Ellen suggested that maybe late
at night we could go down and she could order a glass of wine, but we never
followed through as we were too tired late at night to do anything except
go to bed. The room was freezing so we tried to adjust the AC but it was a
radiator and the cool/warm control was broken so we just turned it off.
We looked out the window thinking at least we might have a nice view from the
11th floor but all we saw was the parking garage.
Things weren't starting off on a positive note and I might add that I had
tried to make reservations at the Omni which was right across the street from
the conference center but they had no rooms. Our church group had chosen the
Holiday Inn and gotten a block of rooms so we thought we should stay with them.
However the only time we saw any of our group was at breakfast or occasionally
in the lobby. The one night that we were supposed to meet some of them and go
to dinner they forgot to wait for us (were they trying to tell us something?)
so we just ate in the hotel restaurant which wasn't very good.
Since the first meeting was at 6:45 and we had to register we started out
walking about 6:30. Oh I forgot to mention that Kerri walked down 11 floors
and Ellen and I rode the shaky elevator. The walk to the conference was about
5 blocks up hill so we were winded by the time we arrived and as we passed the
Omni and Embassy Suites we were kicking ourselves for not trying to register
there earlier. I won't go into all the conference details, but we had some good
speakers, good music, and some not so good speakers. The problem was that we
had to walk to and from our hotel which was not an easy feat, especially at
night. That part of Atlanta is not known to be the safest place to be. Ellen
and I got out our car keys to use as weapons and our friend Ginger had tear
gas so we felt relatively safe. The first night as we were walking down the
sidewalk we looked up ahead and saw a huge rat run across the street. Kerri
said it was a squirrel but I knew it wasn't. I have a rodent phobia which
ranks up there with my elevator phobia so I was not a happy camper at that
point. We finally made it back to our hotel and Kerri decided she would walk
up 11 flights of stairs but there was no way that Ellen and I could do that
so we prayed and got on the elevator which shook worse than before.
Since we had turned the air off in our room, it was now stuffy so we had to
turn it back on and soon we were freezing again. Then we just put it on fan and
that seemed to work okay. I had brought some bakery goods and Ellen had brought
snacks so we had a midnight snack at 10 and then showered and got ready for to
bed. Ellen and I showered first and were in bed talking when Kerri came in and
asked us if we saw the disgusting stains in the bathroom and we both said no.
She then said she was calling the manager because the bathroom had not been
cleaned. Well, what she was referring to was some kind of stain on the outside
of the toilet and a spot on the wall which looked like blood. I had seen the
stains but just thought they were permanent and a part of the ambience of
the room. So Kerri called the manager and he wanted to send someone up,
but she said it was too late but that we were very displeased with the
condition of our room. An understatement. So he apologized and said we could
all have complimentary breakfasts for the next 2 days. That appeased her
somewhat but I think she hoped for a free night's stay. Didn't happen.
The best thing about our room was that the toiletry products were from the
Bath and Body Shop and smelled wonderful. I could definitely display those
in my guest bedroom.
The next morning Kerri slept in and Ellen and I went down to partake of our
free breakfast buffet which wasn't outstanding, but at least we didn't have to
pay for it. On the way back up to our room the elevator was shaking so bad
that when it stopped on the 10th floor, Ellen and I got out and walked up the
last flight. After Kerri got up and dressed and we started to go back
downstairs, neither elevator was working. We stood there about 10 minutes and
then decided we'd better walk down so we managed to make it down 11 floors.
When we got to the lobby, someone said that both elevators were broken and
being repaired. They said we could have used the service elevator. Well how
were we to know that??? So we just figured that God took care of us earlier and
didn't let it stop with us in it. That afternoon we met the 3 ladies who were
trapped in it for 15 minutes before help arrived. They said it dropped and
then stopped between floors and they had to help pry the doors open for the men
to get them out. Well I know I probably would have fainted or had a heart attack
before 15 minutes passed and Ellen would have been on her own to get us out.
The amazing thing to me was that those 3 women were getting back on it. Ellen
and I took the service elevator
Then it was back to the "Ritz". Dick and Ron had found a wonderful family
bakery and bought pastries so they came to our "suite" and we indulged ourselves
and talked about the evening's success. Kerri and Ron left and in preparing for
bed I removed the bedspread and wished I hadn't when I saw the blanket. It's
hard to describe except to say that I wouldn't dare let any part of it touch
any part of my body. At least the sheets looked clean and I prayed that they
were. I didn't look for bedbugs; ignorance is bliss. Neither Dick nor I slept
very well because of the radiator AC which made a lot of noise and I don't
think we could relax enough to sleep. I got up early the next morning and
walked down to the lobby to check out the free breakfast. There were bagels,
white bread slices, cereal, and make your own waffles so I decided to make a
waffle. What a mistake as it was tasteless so I threw it away and ate a piece
of toast. Fortunately back in the room, there was a leftover donut from the
bakery so I added those calories to the toast.
Since we had a break in the schedule, we decided to do a little shopping at
Dillards which was about a mile from where we were staying. We asked the desk
clerk for directions, but when we tried to follow them we got lost and just like
the day before drove around in circles forever trying to get to Dillards.
Once again I asked some non speaking English foreigners who were no help,
but we finally found someone who gave us clear directions. I told Ellen we were
being punished for leaving the conference a little early, but it wouldn't be a
successful trip without at least a short shopping trip. Kerri and I managed to
find some bargains while Ellen sat down and tried to read the map so we could
find our way back to hotel. By that time it was after noon and we were hungry
so we decided to go back to the CNN Center and go to the food court. Big
mistake! Little did we know that all the 4,000 women from the conference would
be in line at the few fast food restaurants? Since we were starving and had no
other options we stood in line for about 45 minutes, got our sandwiches,
and took them outside where we sat on the curb and devoured them.
We just made it back to the conference in time to hear Joni Erickson Tada,
the main speaker, that we all wanted to hear. She was wonderful as always and
so inspiring. Kerri bought one of her books and stood in line to have her sign
it, which she did with her mouth. Amazing woman.
The rest of the afternoon and evening were uneventful except that when we
came back from our shopping excursion we decided to park at the conference
center so we could drive home at night instead of walking down the rat infested
dangerous streets. When we got back to the hotel, the parking garage was full
and the attendance didn't know what to do. Ellen showed him our pass and said
there was no excuse for us not having a place to park no matter what time we
got there. I guess he must have felt bad because he let us park right in front
of the hotel in one of the 15 minute registration spaces. That was great for
loading up the car the next morning.
Since Ginger's roommate had left early we invited her up to our room to
share our refreshments. The elevators were working again so Ellen, Ginger,
and I decided to be courageous, but Kerri opted to walk. She was certainly
getting her exercise and could probably have a few extra slices of bread for
her point count. Ellen and I showered (separately) while Kerri and Ginger
talked and then we all talked for quite a while as we drank cokes and ate
cookies. Sisters always like to share impressions and opinions and we had quite
a few. Of course, Kerri kept praying for us as I tried to explain that sisters
don't gossip; we just share and support. Not sure she understood, but she had
more material for her act.
The next morning our room bill was under the door and when I looked at it I
saw that we had been charged for 2 breakfast buffets. Kerri just she would
handle it and called down and they said they would change the bill and just to
tell the waitress that our meals were complimentary. How nice to have an
aggressive daughter. Kerri decided to join us for the free breakfast buffet
and actually rode the one elevator that was working. It still made noises so
she walked back up. We packed our bags and made 2 trips down to the car and
then waited for the airport shuttle to pick up Kerri. She had booked it for 10
but it never arrived. The desk clerk called and said it was on the way,
but we watched as it just drove right by the hotel. Well she had a 12 noon
flight so she decided that she'd better take a taxi so I forked over the $30
that we had saved from the buffet to pay for the taxi. At least we came out
even. We all hugged and I held back my tears as she drove away. It's always
hard to say goodbye to your babies when they live so far away.
Ellen, Ginger, and I drove home and we were all happy to be out of Atlanta
and back in the country. We always enjoy being together but we had not been
thrilled with our accommodations, especially the elevators and uncontrollable
AC. But I knew I would have material for my next book so that's always a
positive.
Kerri later in the afternoon called to say that Joni had been on her flight
going back to Los Angeles and since they were both in first class, Kerri got
to meet her and have a nice conversation. She (Kerri) was thrilled and
hopefully Joni was too. After all, Kerri is a STAR
