I slept fitfully all night…..at 3.00 am I decided to stay awake and wait for the alarm set for 4.14…..
“Oh darn it, I’ll just get up and shower”
Dressed, with my make up on, and even the scarf wrapped around my neck…. I sat in the chair like a patient in the dentist waiting room
“Gees, now what do I do”, the TV reception was shocking, I always fiddle with the TV sets, but this one was beyond it…
So to pass time, I dusted my cameras until the alarm went off. That gave me the license to leave.
By the time I got my luggage downstairs, caught the shuttle, booked in and waited and waited and waited in security, I just had time to grab a coffee and a ham sandwich before the plane came….
It was beautiful flying out of LA this morning. The color was turquoise and orange…

We flew down over the Mojave desert. The land looked as if it had been thrown splat on the ground by a giant hand.
Two and a half hours and I was in Austin Texas. I had just 25 min to run the entire length of the airport and catch my next flight to Memphis Tennessee.
I drew a letter….can you tell what it is?
Slept a little and listened to my ipod.
In fact, I think she's made some unwise business decisions, I was almost going to offer her some advice. But something held me back.
The plane to Paducah was a puddle jumper….single seats down one side and two on the other.
The hostess was fun, middle age, round and normal, and she called everyone "delicious"
"Do we have a plane full of quilters" she boomed over the microphone. The young African American man smirked….
"go on, own up" I said….!!!
I was in a seat where they had forgotten to put the window in, so I was enclosed… the gal behind me was Edna Everage's cousin…. how lucky we were.
The plane bumped and ground it's way to Paducah, funny, I've never flown sideways before, but we did quite a lot on that flight…. the lady opposite me, shut her eyes and prayed most of the time.
We had to fly around Paducah for about 15/20 mins, a storm hit just as we arrived…. that meant even more bumping and grinding.
I was met by Kenny in his BIG suburban and we chatted all the way to the city. The dogwoods are out, bright pink and white, but all the other trees looked worse for wear. "Did you have a tornado through" I asked him…..
"No, it was the ice storm" he said….. "We had no snow, just Ice, they declared a state of emergency…."
Gees I could see why, every tree is damaged… many just crashed to the ground and Kenny said, "we were without Electricity for 3 weeks"
After booking in, I decided to go for a walk and the following are just a few photos to share….

The sign tells me I'm here.
Paducah, the seat of McCracken county, is on the Ohio River below the mouth of the Tennessee River.
Texture…..
Boxes of handmade buttons outside one of the stores, they were there when I was here last, 4 years ago.
I wonder if they are the same ones.?
Stitchin, Bitchin' and Braless….. not a good look.
Vintage delight
Beautiful skies
Hi Pam!
Thank you so much for posting…it’s like I’m there myself! I wish!
Anyway, I will be relying on your postings to get a feel for the show this year firsthand…and you’ve started just where I would – the shops!
Hope you have a wonderful and safe trip as you go around and thank you again for sharing your adventures online
PS
I hope my quilt is hanging straight!
Esther
Hi Pammy,
Please put me out of my misery. What letter is it?
Carolyn
Hey Pam, It will be great to be able to meet you in person. We leave tomorrow for Paducah. All of your classes were full; will you be at a booth any time so I can stop by and say hi? Also, what brand where those red shoes you wore waiting in the airport- I love them!
(I think it is letter J)
I also believe the letter is J and it looks intriguing. Those puddle jumping aeroplanes are oft times found flying from Melbourne to Adelaide and I’ve had a couple of white knuckle flights in them too!
You make some very observant comments about your people watching antics. Haha.
As for those T-shirts, I think I would buy one of each. They are priceless. I need the one about the fat quarters!
Again your images are great. Looking forward to more news from Paducah. Have fun.
Sorry that should have read Melbourne to Mildura. Wouldn’t find those little planes on the Adelaide – Melb commercial run!
I love reading about your adventures; the last leg of my flights home as a child were sometimes a bit like that.
No idea which letter – could be J, could be T. I like it, though