Back from Baltimore

I returned from the SLA annual conference in Baltimore about an hour ago and since it's fairly obvious because I'm back online so quickly, yes, the computer was the second thing I turned on after getting in the door. (The first was the light.)

The conference was wonderful, with some very informative presentations put on by the News Division. As always, it's a lot to absorb though and I'm going to wait until the weekend when I'm a bit more coherent to post details.

I had a great time hanging out and talking with Amanda, Megan, Sara, Emily, j, Betsy and all my news librarian colleagues. There was one news librarian who wasn't able to be at the conference because of family obligations. I truly missed seeing him, as did his colleagues. (If he reads this, I think he'll know I'm talking about him. :)

Baltimore was nice as well. It was fairly easy to get around, particularly down to my favorite location, the harbor. I had dinner there one evening and the weather could not have been more perfect.

The National Aqaurium, where the News Division's banquet was held, was really fun. Dinner was in the underwater dining room, where we got an opportunity to see the six dolphins who make their home there. The dolphins weren't cooperating though. Their trainer was giving them balls and other toys to play with, hoping it would encourage them to swim within the front tank, which is what those of us in the dining room are able to see. But despite the encouragement, the dolphins took their toys and went out of eyesight to have fun in the back tank. I didn't mind though, we got a few glimpses of them -- they are very beautiful, graceful animals.

As for the travel, a few bumps along the way and I thought my bad luck was continuing when my flight out of Baltimore was delayed a half hour, but I managed to make my connection on time and return to my apartment about the time I was expecting.

That said, I'm exhausted and heading to bed. Conferences are wonderful, but they do a good job of wearing me out -- it's so hard getting old.