Travel log - Adventures in NashVegas

It was another day down at the Cattle Industry's Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show. It was a day that was packed full of adventure - and even a ghetto appearance.

My day started with a ride on a cart around the Trade Show floor trying to find somebody that could fix my internet connection. Andy showed up at the booth to fix my tech woes. I'm glad Andy is good at his job, and even more glad I didn't have to see him again. Problem one - solved and it wasn't even 9 a.m. yet.

Problem two, was a little more difficult. I was let into the trade show without a hitch because I had the proper credentials. The person who was supposed to be doing radio from the Journal booth was not going to be getting in per the gatekeeper. I tried really hard to sweet talk them, but they wouldn't budge.

"I've got a cowboy on his way, and he'll need to be let in to do a radio interview this morning, but he doesn't have an exhibitor sticker," I told the guy.

"I can't let him in," he said.

"I need him in the booth for media," I repeated.

"I can't let him in," he said again. "I'm not supposed to let anybody in."

"How do you want me to do the radio show, without a host?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I can't let him in," he reminded me.

I understand that he was doing his job, but this wasn't a situation where I was sneaking somebody random into the booth. This was a legitimate media event. As you see by the photo - we got him in thanks to Holly's connections and somebody slipping him (and Holly - who they also wouldn't let in) through the back door. Problem two - solved.

The third problem was a lack of producers for video testimonials. It was more our problem because we completely underestimated the amount of time certain things were going to take. We had places to be and that seemed to interfere with our ability to roam around and get some cattle guys on the record talking about 2012 and the challenges that the beef industry will be faced with.

You know that saying that it's all about who you know, and not what you know? I milked it today.

The lovely and talented Julie is employed by the Ohio Cattleman's Association. And, lucky for me I consider her a friend - and sister (Sigma Alpha). Julie lined up a quick interview with the OCA president, who talked about challenges in the beef industry in Ohio and across the country. Thanks Julie!

Sidenote: Julie was the author of one of my favorite blogs - My Suitcase Life. 

Once the convention part of our day was over it was time to grab dinner.

Eight Journal peeps decided to venture out toward downtown. We decided to take only one car, so we packed into the minivan like sardines.  We were actually clown car hostages. Eight Journal employees smashed into a minivan with Illinois plates cruising Nashville looking for food? Now, what could possibly go wrong?

We had a place picked out, put it into the GPS after verifying the address and we were off.  The hostess at the restaurant gave us a zip code that wasn't exactly accurate so we ended up in a residential area that may, or may not have been a ghetto. Let's just say you don't see very many fantasy shops in the nice parts of town.

I should point out that one our sales guy doing the driving is notorious for his driving, and that's not exactly a good thing. Have I ever mentioned that I tend to get car sick when I'm starving? Luckily I was able to convince myself not to "Call O'Rourke" as our native New Yorker says.

What should have taken about 10 minutes turned into a 40 minute detour that took us to the wrong 111 Broadway.

Once we regrouped and figured out where we were going it was all uphill and we did make it to the restaurant in one piece to enjoy a fabulous dinner. I was even more stoked when the hockey game was playing on the televisions - however, we were seated where I couldn't see one single TV. Ten televisions all broadcasting the Predators game and I couldn't see a single one.

Once we got back to the car and got back to the hotel we were unloading when the driver says, "hey what's this piece of paper?"

Yep, a parking ticket.