Getting there is half the fun, right? RIGHT!
I never thought I’d get to an SCBWI national conference, but this year I took the plunge with my friend and writing partner, Jennifer.
We departed on a bright sunny and unusually warm day in Ohio, knowing that nor’eastern Nico was predicted to hit that night. After our first sighting of a NYC road sign, we stopped for a celebratory DQ Blizzard. I named mine, Nico. Then I ate it!
We drove just more than halfway to make the next day’s drive easy. As we settled in for the night the snow fairies came, promising a blizzard of their own making.
Luckily, we were prepared with an ice scraper, shovel, boots, and a de-icer.
Patting ourselves on the back we headed out. But our luck was short lived. We ran into a traffic jam sitting behind a long, long, long line of trucks. No one was moving. We crept along two miles of highway before being detoured off the road. Sadly, we weren’t the only ones having a slow start that day. A trucker had careened off the road, closing the highway, and on the exit ramp we saw another unfortunate trucker sidelined. Â 
Two hours later we were enjoying the views of a small riverside town. It was actually quite beautiful in the snow.
Once we got back on the highway and the rest of the trip was easy-breezy. Crossing the Hudson at dusk, I knew we had finally made it! 
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Now, fast forward 24 hours and I’m sitting in a cozy corner of the Ballroom level of the Grand Hyatt in New York City. Jennifer is engrossed in her intensive course she’d signed up for and I’m reflecting on my first day in the big apple. No, I didn’t go see the sights. Instead, I met a cousin I hadn’t seen since I was a very young girl. He brought me family photos and we talked and talked and talked! We spent several hours at one table and then moved into the restaurant for lunch and spent another couple of hours reminiscing and catching up on our new lives. 
So until tomorrow, when I attend my first SCBWI Winter Conference, I know that getting here was half the fun!
Juliana Lee 