Random BlogConClt Pix and Memories

The Franklin Center and Freedomworks teamed up to put on BlogConClt in Charlotte, NC to help bloggers hone their skills and gear up for the 2012 election. The conference took place over the weekend, with the festivities actually beginning Thursday night with a Blog Bash at a local Irish Pub, which unfortunately, I missed because I didn’t get in until Friday.

The conference was very well attended, which you can’t really appreciate from the picture below because bloggers were in and out – often congregating in the hall outside of the conference room.

After the first day of the conference, bloggers were treated to free drinks and h’orderves in the hotel.

Freedomworks’ Matt Kibbe speaks before a captive audience.

Lorie Byrd and Duane Lester, All American Blogger

Stephen Kruiser, Lady Liberty, and Tony Katz

Later on at the Karaoke bar, things got a little crazy…

April Gregory, and Pamela Geller

And later on at the Kruiser Kabana, things got crazier still….

Steven Kruiser and Pam Geller –— IN BED!

Things got a teensy bit loud in there, and the Kanbana was warned several times to keep it down. Finally, management had had enough and things – uh – escalated. Kruiser was evicted from his room.

But because Stephen Kruiser is a lover, not a fighter, he was able to sweet talk his way back into his room.

Kruiser and bloggers outside the hotel, Friday night.

All’s well that ends well!

The (very nice) Security Guy, Stephen Kruiser, MRCTV’s Joe Schoffstall

Tabatha Hale put on an awesome conference as usual. The snack table, Saturday afternoon featured candy-coated apples – delicious!

Instapundit once told Little Miss Attila, “Blogging stars are like bowling stars. Outside our world, no one cares.” Saturday night at the blogger bowling bash, the lines between the two worlds blurred – bloggers were bowlers (and still no one cared.)

The rest of the pix are from my iphone, and it was dark – so not the best quality.

Left to right, Doug Ross, Marathon Pundit, Tony Katz, Kira Davis

Oklahoma blogger, Michael Bates of Batesline beat me by two points in the first game.

Michael Bates and Peter Ingemi, DaTechGuy

Then VodkaPundit, Jerome Hudson, and el Sharko showed up, and it was all over – they’re all bowling sharkos, these guys.

Javier Manjarres aka El Sharko, Steve Green aka VodkaPundit

Alexa Shrugged, Kristen Hawley, Teri Christoph, Kat McKinley aka TexasSparkle

Power Bloggers, John Hawkins, RWN and Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit.

Melody from Perfection Under a Red Umbrella, and Cheryl Prater

The next few pix are very dark – we were outside at Fitzgerald’s following the bowling bash. It was very nice outside, until the wind shifted and it suddenly got cold…

Kruiser Kabana was in the hotel lounge, which they kept open after hours, just for us.

Heading back to our rooms at around 3:00 a.m., DaTechGuy and I took pictures of each other in the elevator:

My plane to Kansas City left at 6:50 Sunday morning, so…..yeah — ouch.

Kudos again to Tabatha Hale for organizing yet another spectacularly successful blog conference. I picked up some great tips from the panels, but the most valuable aspect of it for me was the opportunity to touch bases with all of my precious blog buddies.

One person I always look forward to seeing at these things was sadly missing at BlogConClt…

But he was there in spirit…