Wow! What can I say about this past weekend that hasn't already been said?

Well, for one thing, I am intimately acquainted with Concourse C of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. I bet no one else can say that! (And, I'm pretty sure no one else would want to!) My original flight into Green Bay was cancelled, supposedly due to snow, and the next one wasn't leaving until the middle of the afternoon. I arrived around 5:30 a.m., and there was neither hide nor curly hair of Chauffi, so I had plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny of that lovely airport. I'm only being mildly sarcastic right there. I truly love airports - they can be a great deal of fun - but one or two hours is my limit. Spending what is basically a full workday in one? Gah! Just ... gah!

I did finally make it into Green Bay (as did Chauffi, who apparently had quite a travel adventure as well), with about an hour to spare before the bus left for the sleigh ride/traditional Wisconsin meal. I checked into my room and the Con simultaneously, and ran up to my room to dump off my luggage, don my cold-weather clothes, and freshen up. It was while I was quickly clicking pictures of my gorgeous hotel room that I realized my camera battery was near death, and I didn't have time to fully charge it. Sad, really, because there were dozens of fantastic photo opportunities on the sleigh ride and during dinner, and I only got a scant few.

We drank grog (which I used to break in my super cool pink leather flask!), the Doctor (Which Chauffi declared tasted like Liquid Candy Canes, and he is sooooo right!) and, of course, everybody's best friend Jack; we frolicked in the snow, and petted Sam and Joe (the horses; and yes, I did just suddenly realize that rhymes!); a proposal was made and accepted, and the last swig of Doctor was ceremoniously poured onto the snow by Chauffi in memory of a fellow online diarist who couldn't make the journey to Green Bay, then we headed back to the cabin for dinner, all of us flying high on the pure beauty and joy of the experience

So, what can I say about dinner? Besides, OMG, it was awesome!? Da brats? Sure, I've had brats before, but not brats done right, i.e., boiled in beer, butter and onions, grilled to perfection, then sent back to rest in a lovely beer-butter-onion bath. Cheese curds? Yes, please! And fluff? Load me up, baby, and don't be stingy with dem pretzels! Booyah? Booooooyah! It's more than just an expression of joyous victory, ya'll, it's chicken soup! The best chicken soup in the free world! So, yes. Dinner was exceptionally fantastic, thanks to Weet's delightful and talented MIL June. You rock out loud, June! You really do! Oh! And to Marcus, who made me that delicious Brandy Old Fashioned, you rock, too!

After the sleigh ride, we hit Mikey's Pub for some beverages and Karaoke. This was my first Karaoke experience (In D.C. we ended up with KaraNOke, and I missed the outtings during previous Cons), and all I can say is, WOW! There are some very talented folks in our little online journalling group! (As of this writing, the pictures (which I had to take on a disposable camera due to the dead digital camera batter) aren't back yet, but I'll hopefully have them up by this weekend!)

Saturday was sunny and warm, if you consider the mid-50s to be warm, which actually, I did. After setting up our swag in a small conference room Saint Brendan's graciously provided to us, we piled into a few cars and headed out for High Maintenance Hamburgers, which we discovered are called High Maintenance because they are located at Joe Rouer's Bar, which is very, very far away! The burgers are, however, more than worth it. Lord! Y'all? These burgers? Gah! There are no words to describe how wonderful, juicy, delicious, and totally super awesome these freakin' burgers are! They're simply incredible! And the fried cheese curds and fried onion thingies? Oh, yeah!

After that amazing lunch, I hooked up with the group going to Lambeau Field and then to ShopCo in search of cheesehead hats. As a Packers fan, it was very cool to be standing there looking up at the statium where the boys play! I got some nice shots of the two statues that stand in front of the Atrium - one of Vince Lombardi, the other of Curly Lambeau - and a few outside the stadium. We didn't have time to visit the Packer Hall of Fame or take the tour of Lambeau Field (which, now that I've checked out the schedule we couldn't have done anyway; poop on Delta for not gettin me in to Green Bay at 11:30 Friday morning! I totally could've squeezed a tour in then!), so we took our pictures, ran through the Pro Shop (Dude! You can totally buy Packers carpeting!), then headed out in search for the ShopCo, where we were told we could get cheesehead hats cheaper. (Yes, my mother is officially mortified that I purchased not only a cheesehead hat but also a Brett Farve jersey which I fully intend to wear while watching Packers games this coming season. She has promised to hide out in her room during the games.)

That evening was the trek to the Bad Bar. After returning from Lambeau, I settled in for a nap so I would be well rested for the experience, and woke up at 9:30. Gah! I contemplated getting up and going to the Bad Bar to join in the badness, but I was still a bit groggy from my extended nap, and I had my WeetaSwag wine, and the whirlpool tub was calling my name, so I decided to just stay in. I had a lovely, relaxing evening!

Gah! I was going to try to finish this in one sitting, but that's not going to happen. Part Two will come soon! (and will hopefully bring Karaoke pictures with it!) Cheers!