Our mom had a great time at BlogPaws. Without a doubt, the best part was meeting all the wonderful kitties, dogs, other critters and their parents who are behind the blogs. What a truly amazing and friendly set of people and animals. The days are long and hard, and there wasn't a melt down from the tiniest kitten or largest dog.
Teri and her kitties were the best! Here Brighton is punked out. For the red carpet, Teri looked like a movie star. Too bad the mom's photography was what we expected and the photos didn't come out (it was too dark).
So good! Only the slightest meow of protest.
All the speakers were fantastic, but many subjects were a little over the mom's head, especially the technical ones like SEO. She probably should have paid attention to the level of knowledge it was aimed at, but a little brain stretching once in a while doesn't hurt and she's glad she attended. She would have liked to see fewer sessions geared towards monetizing blogs and more dealing with the day to day problems, like developing your voice, finding inspiration and basics of interesting writing.
Triscuit wakes up from a nap. We can't believe how well behaved she was! She makes all of us look bad.
Triscuit loves to sit on her mom's shoulder.
She's another sweetheart!
They better watch what they say about her in front of us.
Dogs were the dominant animal there, and cats seemed more like an afterthought. The swag bags were stuffed with canine swag, and if there was anything that applied to cats, it was only because it could be used for dogs too. That was really disappointing. There were so many cat people there, we filled tables and tables. Maybe we weren't 50%, but we were more than 35% I believe.
Icon of Kitty Bloggers,
Brian's dad!
You can see the Flat, the Hat, Flat
Cody
and our Flat Carl.
(The mom is sorry, she isn't sure who the plush kitty is.)
They had The Cat Lounge, which was a confusing place. Products were on tables, but there were no representatives to talk to, and no one was sure if the items on display were free samples. Some of the companies with canine products also had feline products, but not all, and the feline samples were much fewer.
That said, would the mom do it again? Absolutely! It was a great experience! She loved meeting all the wonderful people, and the sessions were thought provoking. She can't wait for next year to see all her new friends and meet even more, not to mention the people she looked for but never met.
Charles the Monarch, the lion dog. He is world famous, and has been mistaken for a lion on the loose. The mom talked with his dad to get his story. His daughter attended Old Dominion, whose mascot is a lion. The dad had a brain storm, and rest is hisstory!
Very well behaved, and not too scary for a lion.
So what advice would she give to new attendees? First, don't be intimidated by the thought of being by yourself and alone. There are plenty of others who are alone too. Look around, do you see someone by themselves? Say hello! You have something you both love in common, your pets and your blogs. Talk about them and ask questions about theirs. That's what the mom did, she made new friends and wasn't alone for a minute.
Teri's Pink Catillac.
True to the mom's photography, you can't see the cat!
Secondly, stay at the hotel. 7:30 am to 9 or 10 pm is a REALLY long day, and you are going to do a couple of them. The mom stayed at her dad's, which was on the other side of the river, about 15 or 20 minutes away. Sometimes she wished she had a room to rest in for an hour or so. Because of the long days, it was hard getting up in the morning.
Fluffy Odilia again.
Next year its being held in Las Vegas. Hope to see you there! Stay tuned cause we are going to do a giveaway!
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The mom had forgotten how beautiful the drive down MacArthur Blvd is. It runs along the C&O Canal and the Potomac River on the Maryland side.
These pictures don't do it justice. Its a lovely drive into Georgetown, or over to Tyson's Corner where BlogPaws was held.
Ha, ha! That's our mom!
