I had some issues with my camera and lost my pictures from Connecticut. We didn't have much free time, however I was able to go to a great Cajun dinner at a jazz place called Black-Eyed Sallys, and I was able to meet up with Lee Abdella's brother, future sister-in-law and friend while there. We went to a good mexican restaurant for some food and margaritas before heading to meet out a bunch of their friends at a bar that had a Dave Matthews cover band playing. It's not only Chicago that has the cover bands..only this time, the band sounded EXACTLY like DMB!
Hartford is a very small, but pretty city. I was very surpised as I had no idea what to expect. At the CT Women's Expo, Matt Cedano from Days of Our Lives was there doing a guest appearance. Again, another picture I don't have! For you soap opera fans, he's just a good looking in person.
We had a few days off so we decided to head back to NYC since there wasn't much going on in Hartford. I spent a full day hanging out in Central Park. I did some running around the lake there and walking through the entire park. I wanted to go to the Metropolitan Art Museum but when I got there, I found it was closed being a Monday. I bought a couple framed photos of Central Park I loved it so much. Overall, an enjoyable day!
Tuesday I needed a lazy day and just spent it at the hotel sleeping in late and watching TV. Seeing as though we had to get up at 4am to head to the Today Show the next morning..it was a good call as it was a long day!
We arrived at The Today Show at 5am with our posters and rawhide dog bones. We wanted to try to stick out so we made posters geared toward Al Roker since he's the one who's outside the most. One poster read, "Hey Al, How dense are your bones?" And the other read, "We drove 15,200 miles to meet you." Since we're doing bone density screenings, we thought Al may wonder what we're talking about as well as where we came from that we had to drive 15,200 miles. (That's the total miles driven to date on the tour) Well, it didn't work...we did meet him, however being the day before Sept. 11, he talked to those who had quilts and pictures of lost loved ones...and rightfully so. We were, however, able to get our client's logo on tv since we put the stickers on the back of our signs and when the camera panned us the logo was captured...so they were pleased. I got some calls from friends saying they saw me on tv during the Conan segment. Too fun!
The Today Show was a good one! The guest star outside was Conan O'Brien due to his 10th year anniversary. It was a crazy segment if you didn't catch it on tv that morning. They had a camel, Chippendale dancers, sheep with party hats, a marching band and presents and cake. Here are a few pics:
After the show, I stayed downtown and took the NBC studios tour. We visited Dateline and Saturday Night Live sets which was pretty cool. I was also picked to do the weather segment with a teleprompter and everything. It was interesting to learn facts about many of the shows I watch on NBC.
After that I went to Shea Stadium to catch the Mets vs. Marlins game. They lost...as usual...but it was a good way to spend a sunny afternoon. When I got there, I met a girl named Jordan. We ended up getting tickets together and hung out during the game. Afterwards, we went down to Little Italy for dinner. Once again, an instance where it's been very easy to meet cool people while on the road!
After dinner, Jordan had to take off since she had to catch an early flight the next morning...and I went to a bar in the lower east side which was cool. I made friends with the bartenders and some other people there. Again, great, cool New Yorkers! I ended up going across the street later and seeing a band called The Ritchies play. A very jam-packed but fun day. Had to go out of NYC with a bang!
We then headed back to Connecticut...this time it was to the Fairfield area to work some retail stops. Overall an easy week. We didn't do much as there's not much to do there and we only had 3 days. All I did was work, workout and sleep. My wallet also thanked me for laying low since NYC wiped me out.
We left from NYC and started our journey south to North Carolina. We had to go to Charlotte to work at the Southern Women's Show. From here on out, we are basically going to cities following the SWS. It's a huge 3 or 4 day event with vendors geared towards women's interests. It involves working 10 hour days, giving bone density screenings and educating consumers on the "power of soy". It turns out being long, exhausting days and I found I didn't have much energy after work.
Charlotte is also a very pretty and clean city. It's a bit slower paced that what I'm used to, but it was still enjoyable. We were first worried about Hurricane Isabelle but were assured that it wouldn't be heading inland to Charlotte, so we decided to still attend the convention. It was a big nerve-racking to be there, but besides the day of the storm the weather was beautiful! We did get the energy to head out one night with one of our temp staffs to a lounge and a club. It was a pretty good night...met some guys that used to live in Chicago...but as I said, definitely lower key.
A highlight at the Southern Women's Show was the guest appearance of Charlie from "The Bachelorette". For those of you that don't remember, he was the guy who lost to Ryan for Trista's heart. ha ha Well, I met him and he seemed like a genuine, humble guy. He now works for Extra as an interview host. It was interesting to hear how he got on the show and how his life has changed since. That makes 3 bachelors I've met on the road so far.
I have off until Friday when we head to Greensboro, North Carolina for another Southern Women's Show. I drove down to the border of South Carolina and Georgia today and I am going on a 6-hour whitewater rafting trip tomorrow! Details to come!
Kari
