Last week (March 22- 25) was the 13th Keystone Conference, held for the first time at the Hilton Harrisburg downtown near the action on Second Street. The Conference outgrew its home of twelve years, the Sheraton, where so many wonderful memories were made.
Thanks again to Krystin King who gave me her spare hotel room, so I could be there for two days instead of just popping in for a few hours. So I drove to Harrisburg from State College, a ninety minute rain soaked drive. My roomie/bestie Linda had to work, so couldn't come. It was just me, my overnight bag, and makeup box. Turns out, one of those wasn't needed.
My first stop was over by the aforementioned Sheraton. Lee nails is right behind it, and they are TG friendly. I wanted a mani-pedi as my nails looked like a train wreck. I spent a pleasant if quiet two hours there- quiet as my tech didn't speak much English and my hearing is bad anyway. She did a fine job though!
I arrived at the Hilton around two pm, and, after spiraling up a claustrophobic parking garage, finally found a spot near the top. Eventually, I found my way to the front desk, where check in was fast and efficient. I was given room 423, which was at the end of a long hallway. As I was to learn, the bank of three elevators were slow and unreliable, one of which got stuck and people had to be rescued through the roof of the car. That didn't inspire confidence.
After picking up my name tag and conference packet, which included a Hershey bar since nearby Hersheys was a conference sponsor, I headed for the ground level where I figured most people would be- after all, that's where the bar was located. In the lobby, I saw one of my Vanity Club (VC) little sisters, Gina, and stopped to say hi to her. I saw her in passing as I was checking in. She said she knew that I'd eventually be at the bar, so she waited to greet me near there. Great- so my reputation as a drunkard still holds over a decade after I stopped heavy drinking. Joy joy.
In any case, I saw my other VC little sister in the bar, Samantha. I sat with her for a while, drinking wine on an empty stomach (I didn't have lunch.) Gina later joined us. I saw Sandy Empanada (Lisa's wife) at the bar, and arraigned to have dinner with her, which, after a nap, I did. Sandy and I caught up on each others' lives in between people coming over to say hi to her- she is still a rock star in the community. She also gave me a very belated Xmas gift: a Michael Kors handbag. Thanks again Sandy!
After dinner, I wasn't feeling well (go figure). I was also very tired so I retired early- in bed by 9:30. So much for seeing everyone after dinner! I saw a few dear friends earlier though.
I didn't sleep well- kept waking up. At one point I gave up and stayed awake. The restaurant was serving breakfast, so I went down to eat. It was a small buffet, but good. After breakfast I bumped into friends, and chatted with them for a bit, then went back to the room for a bit. I had a meeting to attend at 10:30, which lasted until 12:15. I went to the lunch banquet, and found a seat at a table marked "Veterans/First Responders." The tables were labeled by hobbies and other things to encourage conversation. As I'm not "Outdoorsy type" and there were no seats at "Creative endeavors," I asked if "former paramedic" was good enough to sit at their table. At the table was the amazing Joanne Carroll, who is one of the founders of Keystone, as well as writer extraordinaire Bree Fam. As the room was loud, I didn't participate much in conversation (trouble hearing). That's one of the troubles with hearing loss- the feeling of isolation in a crowded room. The food was ok... or so I thought.
Soon after lunch, I went back to the room as I was experiencing, um, lower gastro-intestinal distress, and spent the next eternity waiting for the Imodium to kick in. I was worn out and not feeling the whole "put on makeup and dress up" for the gala that night. I decided to leave early. (So I didn't need to bring my makeup kit, as I didn't use it.) This was a hard decision, as there were friends I hadn't yet seen, and some I hadn't really spoken to (like Alexandra or Christy), and I'd paid for the dinner. However, I knew I'd feel isolated by the din of conversation, and I really didn't want that feeling either. Or another bout in the bathroom.
In the end, my sour digestive system (and laziness) won out, and, after saying goodbye to my dear friend Jenny North (who saw me with my bag), I worked my way back to my car. From there, it was out into the low-cloud rainy afternoon.
Going to State College from Harrisburg involves going through several mountain passes and driving the length of valleys, making rte 322 look like a strange set of stairs. That is, except that last valley: to get into Happy Valley, one must ascend Seven Mountains and go over the top, as there is no pass. That's where the low clouds came into play- the top of the mountain was covered in very thick fog; so thick that I could barely see three car lengths ahead of me, even with fog lights on. It made for a white knuckle few minutes before I descended down the other side into the valley enough to get under those clouds and back into the rain for the last leg of the trip to State College. I arrived back at the apartment before the attendees of keystone sat down to dinner.
I've never missed a Keystone conference, but this was the shortest time I've ever spent at one, thanks to my depression and my digestive tract. I wanted to see friends; I wanted to have fun, but I seemed incapable of doing it. For the most part, I wandered the convention area alone, or stayed in my room feeling sick. I was so glad to see friends when I did, and the time I spent with them was beyond precious.
Hopefully better next year.
Be well.
