Thursday, Sept. 22 - First Day

I'm officially in Savannah!

My flights went smoothly, and even the shuttle service that I booked on a whim worked out perfectly. The driver warned me about protests across the city today, in response to the Troy Davis story (close to home for Savannah), but I haven't seen anything beyond charming historic homes, Spanish moss, and cobble-stone streets.

My hotel is located in the middle of downtown, a fair distance from the Coastal Georgia Center, where the conference is being held, but could not ask for a more scenic walk. Pulling into the driveway of the hotel, I spotted Paula Dean's restaurant less than a block away! =)

After settling into my room, the rain that began shortly after landing miraculously subsided. I changed into tennis shoes and went for quite a walk around the downtown area on route to registration at the Coastal Center. I crossed through Market Square - strange to recognize several shops and restaurants from my once-a-year All-State Orchestra weekends in Savannah - and walked through several squares (mini-parks).

I ended up looping around a bit (definitely took the scene route), but it helped to map out the layout of the city in my mind, rather than blindly following a GPS. Not that I would have turned down a GPS, but stumbling on a Froyo shop made the extra steps worthwhile... =) At the end of my walk, I crossed the campus of SCAD (Savannah Art of College & Design), and found the conference building at the far end of it. I was relieved to spot the registration table and fellow info specialists walking inside, though it was a treat to see SCAD.

I registered and talked with the volunteers, learned that they're experimenting with QR codes to allow attendees to view the program via smartphones and may not have printed programs at all next year. Then dropped in on the reception (free dinner!). It was more low-key and fewer people than I'd expected, but maybe the majority of attendees are planning to register in the morning. Was still nice to get a better sense of the city and find out exactly where I'm headed tomorrow morning. On my walk back, I stopped by Paula Dean's restaurant and gift shop - desperately in need of a disclaimer warning that the intoxicatingly buttery fried chicken and mac cheese may lead to a food coma.

Long, though very good day - looking forward to really getting into the conference tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that the rain holds out, at least in the morning and evening!