And On This Trip He Sets A Goal of 10,000 Words in Five Hours....ChooChoo! #NWPAM14 #NCTE14 Bound

One of the greatest perks of living on the coastline of the northeast, is that when conferences are in the area, I don't have to hike to an airport, sit in an uncomfortable seat, and contend with too tight of a space to think and write. I can take Amtrak and, fortunate for me, it becomes my moving office. I'm convinced Suzanne Collins must have had several of her ideas sparked for the Hunger Games taking Amtrak from Connecticut to DC. Flying through the districts, I can't help but think, "What an odd little coincidence. What a varied little nation this U.S. of A. actually is."

Either way, today the trip begins.

I leave at 10 and arrive by 4. I have a giant suitcase of materials packed (seven presentations in four days) and am lugging more by train than I usually do by plane. And I can plug in. I'm four days overdue on a book chapter, so I want to concentrate on it for five hours. The teachers traveling with me need to know that Crandall is off limits until we pull into Union Station in DC (no matter how excited they are to go to their first NCTE conference).

Write, Crandall! Write! Choo Choo! Focus!

I don't think Amtrak trains say "choo choo," but still. I don't think Crandall says, "Focus!" much either.

I got home last night at 11 pm from teaching graduate classes and quickly began to pack. The house was freezing when I arrived and Chitunga said, "I turned off the heat. I am trying to save you money."  He was dressed in full winter attire and my fur hat. I said, "Dude, it's expensive in Connecticut, but I'm okay with keeping the heat on when it is 25 degrees outside."

But now it is time to have my heart warmed by all those I admire at the National Writing Project and with the National Council of Teachers of English. Four days of literacy bliss. And he's off!