New Orleans: Arrival, Expo & #RnRTweetup
/Did you all know I was excited to head to New Orleans? You may remember this post about it - check it out if you don't.
I arrived to the airport early since I was heading solo and I am a worrier. Plus I like a pre-flight beer at Boston Beer Works.
If you don't recall, I was heading down to New Orleans on Jet Blue. Thanks frequent flyer miles. When I rolled up to the Gate, my name was being called over the loudspeaker. Oh man that is never a good sign - is that I said to all the people around me.
BUT IT WAS AWESOME!! It is the 10th anniversary of Jet Blue being in Boston and I was the 10th person to check into my flight so I won...
... 10,000 Jet Blue Miles and a $10 Dunkin' Donuts gift card.
Aaaaahhhh-may-zing way to kick off the weekend.
The flight itself was uneventful - little napping, little TV, little people watching. The usual.
I arrived in New Orleans and took a cab to my friend's place. I would be staying with Kenlie from All The Weigh for the weekend.
We checked out the amazing view from her rooftop and I had to dip my toes in her pool. I didn't care that it was chilly ... it was warmer than Boston so I had to do it. :P
We headed out to grab dinner at a cute little sushi place before checking out Bourbon Street. It was my first time to New Orleans so it seemed like a "must do." It was definitely a sight to be seen.
After a long day of work, traveling and adult beverages, it was a deep sleep. Plus Kenlie's couch was super comfy.
I sprang out of bed off the couch Saturday because it was finally #RnRTweetup time.
I was excited to finally meet these lovely bloggers in person.
Kenlie was nice enough to drop me off at the Expo. Little did I know the convention center was MASSIVE. I entered at Hall A and the RnR Expo was at Hall J. I was shockingly running late, which is rare for me.
I made a quick stop at Starbucks to grab a coffee. :( It was no Dunks.
But I hustled down the covention center and made it to the Expo with about 15 minutes to spare.
I headed over to the Stage area. Ahh I would be up there talking and hopefully people would be there enjoying it.
Oh and our names were even on the poster.
I was geekin' out!
There were the ladies! I have been chatting with these ladies online for years and it was finally time to meet them in person.
From left to right: Me (Duh!), Sarah from Mom Running On Empty, Mindy from Road Runner Girl & Abby from Back At Square Zero!!
We all hopped on stage and got the party started!
It was a BLAST! The time flew by and I was happy to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. :)
Here are some amazing shots captured by Ashley from Rock 'n' Roll.
Not the most flattering photo of me, but I am probably talking about my love of Race Bling! ;)
What do bloggers do when they get together at a tweet up? This picture sums it up perfectly! :P
I can't express how awesome it was to meet such amazing women at one time. I was overwhelmed with love and happiness. It was a magical morning.
A big thank you to Rock 'n' Roll for letting Abby, Sarah, Mindy and I have such a once in a lifetime experience. How about we make it more than once in a lifetime? Huh Huh? Tweet me Rock 'n' Roll. ;)
I want to thank some amazing folks for attending the tweet up.
My friend and Team Chocolate Milk teammate Angela from We Beat Fat
Tanee from From Fat To Fit Chick
Leah from Glitter On The Go
And others who I didn't nab a pic with.
Just as the #RnRTweetup ended, my girl Christine (aka Dubyawife) arrived. :) We have hung out at the past two Fitbloggin' conferences and she drove an hour from Baton Rouge, LA to hang out. I was PSYCHED to see her.
After giving tons of hugs to the girls, Christine and I headed to pick up by bib. 'Cuz ya know I was in New Orleans to run. I forgot. :P
As soon as I had the swag, we headed to the Got Chocolate Milk booth so I could grab my wristband for the VIP tent (sweet perk), snap a pic with the chocolate mustache and see some teammates.
Even Christine got in on the fun!
And then I ran into some of my amazing Team Chocolate Milk running mates.
Aren't they handsome fellas? :)
After chit chatting with the guys, it was time to head to my second must-see booth at the Expo: Sparkly Soul.
I was wicked excited to see Pamela. She and her sister run Sparkly Soul and are great great people.
Who here went to the booth and said "Weight Off My Shoulders sent me" and got a free headband. I would love to see you showing off the sparkle. I thank the ladies for giving me that opportunity and the 10% off everyone else received. :)
I love representing good and authentic companies.
Christine and I took a little spin around the Expo before heading out to grab lunch. We ate at Ernst Cafe, where we received a free beer thanks to checking in on Foursquare! Yay social media! :)
After a great time catching up, it was time for Christine to head home and me to head back to Kenlie's for a quick recharge.
I re-bonded with Kenlie's couch before heading out to meet up with my girl Dacia from My Roots To Grow.
Dacia, her boyfriend and I had a great time walking around the city, trying Crescent City brewery, dinner at Gordon Biersch and just catching up. It was a nice relaxing pre-race evening. The pizza at Gordon Biersch was delicious. The crust was just the way I liked it.
We parted ways and I headed back to Kenlie's to get some sleep.
It wasn't until this point that I realized I was in Central Time Zone not the Eastern. Yeah I am not swift on the uptake. :P
But with a 5am wakeup call, I was ready to crash before 9pm ... and I did.
Not before laying out Flat Dani of course.
And if you didn't realize before, Kenlie's couch was comfy so it was "Hey I should get more ...Zzzzzzzz"
Hello 5am!
Tune in next time to hear how the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon turns out...
