Nashville highlights

I took six students to the national high school journalism convention in Nashville, Tenn., over the Veterans Day weekend. As usual it was a blend of unexpected kinks in travel plans, fantastic learning seminars and speakers, and exposure to interesting and new cultural experiences.

The best laid plans: In order to save a bit of money and to arrive in time for the opening keynote presentation, I arranged a 6:30 a.m. departure from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, meaning we would need to arrive by 5 a.m. That meant leaving Wenatchee by roughly 2:15 a.m. I knew I could not ask a parent to drive us, but luckily one parent said we could borrow the Suburban vehicle. So, Wednesday night I went to bed at 8 p.m., woke at 1 a.m., loaded the kids at 2 and we were off. No traffic, weather or security troubles.

The only trouble was with our plane once we were aboard. Apparently the pilots were late because of a late pickup. They also had a delay in their pre-flight paperwork and then the air-conditioning system needed a servicing. So we sat at on the plane as the pilots completed their pre-flight checks, informed us that the plane was being repaired and that we would be underway soon.

Minutes passed. My mood, normally one that would have been intensifying in stress, was calm. I knew we had a layover in Atlanta of just 50 minutes, so any delay of more than a few minutes would mean the connection would already be boarding, and we would have to hurry. The Seattle plane left almost an hour late, and still I was calm because the amount of flight time the pilot indicated would still allow us to arrive in Atlanta with just a few minutes to spare – I hoped.

As soon as the plane landed, we grabbed our gear and aggressively moved toward the front exit from Row 35. We hurried from one terminal and concourse to the next, rushing through crowds of slow walkers, pull-along bags and custodial workers as we dashed down the escalators, ran along moving sidewalks and implored the automated train to drive faster. We arrived just a minute too late. The plane was gone.

A couple bright points were that our luggage would not have made the plane even if we had, so that would have been a complication to deal with in Nashville, and we did get seats on another flight just an hour later (even though our friends from another school had to wait even longer for a replacement connection). And we arrived in Nashville in one piece, having had a slight delay that just made us hurry a bit more but did not eliminate any of our planned activities.

Saturday night’s celebratory dinner brought another set of complications to our travel plans. We decided to eat at a local restaurant legend, the Wildhorse Saloon. I knew the restaurant did not take reservations, so I planned to arrive by 6:30 p.m., early enough to avoid a long wait on a busy night. The students had also decided they wanted to travel in style – by limousine. So I arranged a limo instead of a taxi, which turned out to be just slightly more expensive.

The awards ceremony ended late, so we had to hurry back to our hotel and return to the convention hotel. As we came to the designated pickup spot, I saw a limo and looked for the valet captain to make sure it was ours. Just then the limo pulled away. Several conversations with hotel staff led me to discover that it had been our limo and that the driver had picked up the wrong group – another group headed toward the Wildhorse. We arranged a new pickup and went downtown.

By that time, about 7:15 p.m., the Wildhorse was jumpin’. Packed. Three-hour wait. So we started walking around the neighborhood looking for a place that could accommodate a group of seven with minimal wait. Problem was that most of the places open were bars.

Finally, after at least a half dozen inquiries and walking in a loop of about eight blocks, we spied a small restaurant on a corner, Rippy’s. It wasn’t full, but it was definitely a bar. Apparently in Tennessee, minors are allowed in bars until about 10 p.m., as long as they are not served alcohol. I scrambled to put a table together, and we sat down to some authentic barbecue and live country music. Everyone in our group seemed happy to experience some authentic Nashville life, and despite the tobacco smoke wafting around the room, they were warm and full. The joint was fun.

Sunday’s travel seemed to go well because the closing ceremony ended early and we arrived at the airport early by a couple hours. We had a leisurely lunch, walked around, chatted. I had a splendid 30-minute relaxation massage. The flight to Atlanta was uneventful and brief.

After our hourlong layover, we boarded the flight to Seattle. We taxied and taxied and taxied. Then the pilot announced there would be a delay as a problem had been discovered. And we had to return to the gate to have it investigated by the maintenance workers. A few minutes later, he announced that a bearing needed replacement and if available it would be at least 60 to 90 minutes of repair time. Meanwhile, we heard reports by cellphone back home that the mountain highway through Snoqualmie Pass would have nasty weather and driving conditions. It was a one-two punch for my well-planned itinerary.

We did get in the air with a shorter delay than expected, but the weather in Washington still looked bad. One of the students had called or sent a text message to a friend back home. Turns out that friend, also a member of our yearbook staff, called her father, who was staying at the family’s condo in a suburb east of Seattle. I checked my voicemail, and the dad had called offering to help in any way possible, and we made arrangements to stay the night there. Looks like it would be a big slumber party and no school on Monday.

Update: We did stay the night, and it was very pleasant and orderly. At about 9 a.m., we’re on our way.

Learning and friends: Meanwhile, the extra day will allow some additional reflection about the learning that took place at the Nashville convention. The keynote speakers, Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, and Fred Clarke of the International Red Cross, were amazing. Clark shared his 50 writing tools, and I had a nice chat with him after his keynote as he signed my newly purchased copy of his book. I’m a real fan of his writing instruction. Clarke spoke about the collateral damage of conflict and shared his humanitarian work through photography. He presented information about conflicts I did not even know existed, and his photos made clear the point of his work.

In all, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel was a beautiful venue to host our convention, we had a good time, and we learned a lot. For several students it was a chance to recharge the batteries, while for others it was an inspiration to improve skills. I got to know each of my students better, and I look forward to returning this week (whenever we do) to put the new knowledge and experience to work.

-- Composed in the airspace over the Midwest (posted from Issaquah. Wash.)