RWA13 Atlanta—the first full day

A week or two before the conference, I was chatting with some friends on Facebook. I’d brought my workout gear to the RT convention, but I’d decided to leave the gym shoes at home for RWA. I knew my RWA schedule would start around 8:30 every morning and go all day, so working in a workout would mean giving up precious minutes of sleep. But my friends persuaded me to squeeze the gear into my suitcase, and they said they’d meet me at the gym. (Ahem. I saw only one of them once in the fitness room…but one was injured and perhaps the others were there at different times.)

I’m glad I brought my gear. I managed to get in three workouts and though they were only 30 to 40 minutes long, I felt much better for having sweated a bit. I’m going to add working out to my list of conference survival practices. What else is on the list? Drinking plenty of water. I bring my own water bottle and carry it with me, not only to the gym but to all the conference events. I also try to bring comfortable shoes, but this time I brought heels, too. They weren’t high heels—they were probably only about two inches—but my legs aren’t used to anything but flats, so I discovered some new muscles. And I always bring slides or flip flops to wear around my room.

I also try to watch what I eat when I’m travelling. That was a bit tricky on this trip. Unfortunately, I missed both of the conference luncheons, so I can’t comment on that food. And I’m sure starting out with a migraine didn’t help. But as to the various restaurant food I sampled…as I suspected, I’m not a huge fan of Southern cooking. I don’t generally eat fried foods, and I don’t each much meat. But I eventually found options at the hotel and off site. The other problem with conference eating, at least at RWA, is sometimes it’s difficult to find time in the schedule to grab something. I solve that problem by packing a plastic bottle of almonds, so I always have something healthy at hand.

One of the highlights of the day was the Kensington party. It was so much fun seeing everyone. And they had a fabulous photographer. Here’s one shot, courtesy of  Edward Zelster Photography.

Next to me is Alexandra Nicolajsen, whom I think of as the Kensington digital guru, and next to her is historical fiction writer and pal, Christine Trent.