Come Hell or High Water…

Well, the high water definitely came, but it didn’t stop me from driving up to Nashville for The Pioneer Woman book signing at Davis Kidd Booksellers. I met her! I saw her! I had my photo taken with her! She is real!

PW addresses the crowd upon arrival

I left work early on Tuesday (around noon) and ran a few errands in town before heading home to relax for a whole hour. I didn’t want The Tide to think I had forgotten about her so I had to go by and spend a little time with her before I left. My college roommate, Melissa (who now lives in Nashville), had left a message on my “Anyone Want to Go to Nashville” post and I emailed her before I left work about meeting up. She called me about an hour before I left town and said she would like to go with me, but I would have to pick her up from work and drop her off back home. I said no problem. I was happy to have someone to talk to while I was hanging out waiting for The Pioneer Woman to arrive.

Melissa and I  before the signing

I left Huntsville about 2:00, after stopping by Star Market to pick up some sunflower seeds. I have an unnatural love for sunflower seeds. Every time I cover a sporting event for The Huntsville Times, I have sunflower seeds in hand. It’s rare that I’m without them. Plus, when you have a long solo drive in a torrential downpour in front of you, well, it helps to have something to do to keep you awake and shelling and eating sunflower seeds is an easy way to keep yourself occupied.

A crowd of folks at the bookstore

So, like I said, I left Huntsville about 2:00. The rain wasn’t too bad in Alabama when I left town. It started getting really bad just before I got to Franklin, TN, which was the same time my dad called my cell. We chatted for a bit and he asked me again who it was I was going to see. I said, “The Pioneer Woman!” He said, oh, yeah. He knows about her too, you see! Anyone who knows me knows I love The Pioneer Woman! If it weren’t for her delicious recipes, Tony and I would be eating the same things all the time.

Melissa waiting in line

I arrived at Melissa’s place of employment a little after 4:00. She came out to the car and we headed over to The Mall at Green Hills, which is where the bookstore is. We had decided to eat dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Can you believe I had never eaten at one before? It was good, but, sadly, I didn’t even have a piece of cheesecake! I meant to buy a piece before we left the mall for the night, but it slipped my mind in all the excitement! So, we ate dinner and caught up on old times and new times. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Melissa and it was so nice to see her. We basically picked up right where we left off, laughing and having a good time!

Me waiting in line

We went to the bookstore after dinner so that Melissa could buy a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks – can you believe she didn’t already have a copy?! Since we still had an hour and a half to spare, we went over to Williams-Sonoma so that Melissa could buy the Chop and Measure. (By the way, I don’t have one of these, but they are awesome and would make a lovely Christmas gift).

The tickets - goup 6!

After our venture to Williams-Sonoma, we went back to the bookstore. We found a seat on a bench close to where The Pioneer Woman would be signing books. It was still an hour before the signing. So, we were able to sit and chat and catch up some more. I was even able to give Melissa a Jim Brickman demonstration, which she enjoyed immensely. After a while, the gals at the bookstore told the people sitting on the front of the bench that they needed to move so the area could be kept clear for when The Pioneer Woman arrived. Since we were sitting on the side, I asked, “Can we stay where we are? We are old and fat.” To which the reply from the gal was, “you’re not old.” “Oh ok, just fat I guess.” “Not, not fat either,” she said, and yes, we were able to keep our seats. So, we remained seated for a while until they started calling group numbers and forming the line.

The famous PW!

Now, thanks to Jackie’s sister, (also named Melissa, we’ll call her Melissa G. today) we were in group 6. I emailed Melissa G the week of Thanksgiving and asked her to pick up a couple of tickets for me. Thank goodness I had the mindset to do that because by the time the signing started, the store was handing out tickets for group 20! There were 25 people per group which meant that there were approximately 125 people in front of us. So, an extra special thanks to Melissa G for picking up the tickets and mailing them to me, otherwise, I might still be in line!

I think these folks gave PW their cell to talk to someone. I would have done that for Erika, but she never has her cell on! Remember that, Erika!

The store had groups 1-10 line up and it was total chaos! There were so many people in line and milling about. Finally, a little after 7:00, The Pioneer Woman came in to applause from the crowd. Now, this part was a little disappointing to me. If you know me, you know I sometimes, ok often, like to be crazy. And I was planning on screaming really loud and clapping like a maniac when she came in, but I never saw her come in and by the time she was speaking in the microphone, I had missed my opportunity. The Pioneer Woman addressed the crowd for a few minutes. Someone asked her where Marlboro Man was – I’m guessing this is the most asked question? – and then she began the book signing.

PW is having a good time!

At first the line creeped along; but eventually began to pick up speed. Melissa and I chatted with a pregnant gal in line behind us. I didn’t get her name, but I think she reads every blog in the blogosphere! She knew about every blog known to mankind – except for The Chronicles of Nat – go figure!

When we got closer to the signing table, I snapped a few photos; and then before we knew it, it was almost our time! Melissa went up first.

Melissa and PW

Then it was my turn! It was like meeting a celebrity! I was so excited! The lovely Erika had given me a letter to pass along to The Pioneer Woman and I gave it to her and told her that Erika couldn’t make it but wanted me to pass along the letter.

I'm having a laugh with PW! This was right after I gave her Erika's letter.

We chatted for a bit more about where she was off too next and maybe another subject. It all happened so quickly! I was there at the table with her for maybe all of two minutes; but it was the memory of a lifetime! But I met her! She is real! (Tony always says she probably isn’t real). She was just as beautiful in person as she is on her web site and the cover of her cookbook. And she was so polite as well. I’m sure she stayed and signed every book and greeted every person.

Watching PW sign my books - I look like a dork with my umbrella!

The Pioneer Woman had her sister, Betsy and her friend Hyacinth with her as well. They handed out the t-shirts and also signed the cookbooks by their photos. There were only medium and large t-shirts. So, I got a large, knowing it wouldn't fit; and unfortunately it is too small. The fitted shirts and I do not get along well; but it is a nice souvenir. After we were finished with the signing, it was 8:45, which wasn’t too bad considering how many people were there. I’m sure there were people who were in line for four hours or more (thanks again to Melissa G!). The bookstore was expecting 400 people, but I think they were surprised when it turned out to be much more than that.

Hyacinth and Betsy!

We left the bookstore and headed south. I dropped Melissa off at her home in Franklin and headed back to Huntsville. It was a little after 9:00 when I got on the interstate in Franklin. Erika had called me; so, I returned her call and relayed the evening’s events as quickly as I could. When there were no lights on the interstate, I ended the call so I could concentrate on the road.

It was like a monsoon outside! I mean the rain was really coming down. Never more in my life had I wished my car was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. After all, Chitty could turn into a boat or a plane and I was pretty sure I would need a boat to get home. There were times when I could barely see the car in front of me it was raining so hard. I got off the interstate in Ardmore and when I reached the center of the city, it was literally under water. The roads were closed and I got scared that I wouldn’t make it home. A man that worked for the city of Ardmore told me a detour to take and I was eventually on the road back to Huntsville. I made it home at about 11:15, very thankful to have had a safe journey and of course, for having met The Pioneer Woman.

P.S. A special thanks to the guy at Davis-Kidd who took the photos of me and The Pioneer Woman. He took pictures for everyone in line and I’m sure he got tired of it, but he was a trooper. You rock, dude!