NECC - Sunday 6/29

Bags packed, kids with my in-laws, alarm set for (SWEET MARTHA!) 4:00 AM. Of course our bedroom clock is 9 minutes fast so we were in the kitchen at 3:54, I’m not sure why we went to the kitchen, neither of us are must-have coffee drinkers in the AM. I think we just wanted to know it wasn’t a joke. We hit the airport at 5:00 after a very pleasant cab ride with a wonderfully polite driver, met another chipper TSA security officer who checked our ID’s and hobbled to the gate.

MSP airport was smooth sailing, my compliments to American Airlines and MSP.

Dallas/Fort Worth was another story. Except for the Dunkin Donuts coffee (it really is good, especially for a first-timer) they almost screwed us over. Gate change one came over the intercom, two doors down, no biggie. Gate change two came without announcement and we had to catch the tram to a different section – slightly more harrowing.

I met Andrew Trotter from Education Week at the gate – it was he who checked with the gate and realized that it had changed – thanks to him. Also thanks for my first networking opportunity.

We had an hour of down time before I went to the ABC’s of Advocacy. Overwhelming on day 1 but everything made sense. We’re going to slowly create a community of action. We from MN were realizing that there is not a strong state level presence to influence policy, so we’re going to create one. HOW? I will not reveal my secrets. I always wanted to be a magician – now I’ll just keep the secrets like one.