Friday at ALAAC18

Woo-boy! What a day!

I started the day with Beignets and cafe au lait by the Mississippi River.

Then, I waited for the Let's Ride Tour Shuttle to pick me up for a group tour of The Whitney Plantation. I found out about the plantation in the backmatter of the book Forgotten Bones: uncovering a slave cemetery by Lois Miner Huey. I don't know about you, but I read every page of a book from the front flap through the end pages, including the dedications, acknowledgements and backmatter. When I saw the Whitney Plantation listed, I wondered if I could squeeze this side trip into my packed conference schedule. The only way to do it was by doing it the morning before the opening ceremonies. Luckily, a friend was proactive and found this tour shuttle and put out a query on FB that I happened to see. Thanks Monica!

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend making time to see this plantation. There are plantation tours available all throughout the south, but this is the only museum dedicated solely to the lives of the enslaved and man, it is powerful. I am still processing all that I learned yesterday. Here are some of the many pictures I took:

I received a phone call on the shuttle back to the convention center from my vice principal! Yikes! Turns out I omitted posted grades for two students! Thanks to him for picking that up! I remedied that as soon as I got back and headed over to join the long, long line walking in to hear Michelle Obama!

The energy in the meeting room for the opening session was very high. It got even higher when Trombone Shorty's students took the stage and reached a crescendo when Carla Hayden sat down with Michelle Obama! I adore and admire both of these women and could've sat and listened well into the evening. 

Energizing start to my ALAAC18!