I've been a member of EPIC (Electronic Publishing Internet Connection) for several years and love the organization. When I heard the yearly convention was going to be held in Vancouver, WA - almost in my back yard, I decided I had to go. I made all the arrangements, kissed my husband and dogs goodbye, grabbed my suitcase and took off.
Understand that I live in a very small town on the Southern Oregon Coast. We do have an airport but there isn't much traffic in and out so I knew I'd be flying in a small plane. What I didn't realize was just how small. I checked in, went through security and walked out onto the tarmac to find. A Cessna. Yes, a nine-passenger, one propeller Cessna. The plane supposedly holds nine passengers but they'd better be REALLY good friends. Our flight was almost full - seven passengers. I crawled on first (you do not stand up in a Cessna) and sat behind the pilots. One was 12, the other 14. Okay, I'm exaggerating but they were pretty young. The flight was nice! Big windows, not to bouncy and only an hour long. We landed and then had to walk a few miles to the terminal.
The convention itself was wonderful. I met a lot of neat people,there was actually another Carlene there. I don't think that's ever happened before.I enjoyed the seminars, the food was to die for and the wine plentiful. Sounds darn near perfect, right? Well, it would have been except for my room. I specifically requested a QUIET room. I'm one of those people that if a squirrel farts in the woods, I hear it and wake up. The room seemed very nice. It was large, clean and not too noisy. When I went to bed that first night, I was so tired I was sure I could sleep. Well, no. The constant hum of traffic noise keep me awake. I tossed, I turned, I put a pillow over my head. Nope, no sleep. Finally at 0200, I called the front desk and requested another room. I pulled some slacks and a sweater on over my nightshirt and when two hotel employees arrived, I went with them to inspect another room. It was much quieter, so we schelped back to room number one, grabbed all my stuff and I moved. I did notice both men eyeing me wearily and couldn't figure out why, until I took off my sweater in front of the mirror. There smack on the front of my chest was the official seal of the L.A.Coroner's office! I'd forgotten I was wearing my favorite nightshirt that I'd gotten from the L.A. Coroner's gift shop! It's black and has a neat outline of a dead body in white on the back too! Hey, I'm a writer, I'm expected to be weird.
Besides eating, drinking and yakking, I learned a lot. Delicious food, great people and good wine - what more could a woman want? Too soon it was time to leave. I took the hotel shuttle to the Portland airport and spent time going through security. Believe me it took a LOT longer than the home airport!
The Cessna home was only half-full, only five on this trip. It was cloudy and windy and I was a bit afraid it might be bumpy in the air. Now mind you, I'm not afraid of flying - I'm afraid of crashing. Once again that little plane preformed magnificently. Once we got to cruising altitude, the pilot turned right and headed for the ocean. We flew along the coast for about an hour before landing. What a sight! It was sunny and the plane's windows are large. I noticed both pilots searching out of their windows, looking up and down, back and forth at the ocean. I searched but didn't see anything. When we landed, I asked junior the co-pilot what they were looking for. He told me they had both seen whales spouting! I said, "I wish you would have told me! I'd love to have seen whales." He smirked and said the PA system wasn't working. Kids.
Now I'm back to my normal life. I have several projects I'm working on so stay tuned. I published two mystery novels in the past month, numbers 10 & 11, and am working on the sequel to one. You can find a list of all my published work here and on www.amazon.com. If you do read one or more of my books, would you do me a favor? Give me a review on Amazon. Couldn't hurt - might help.
Stay tuned for more adventures from Carlene on the Southern Oregon Coast.
