Greetings from Atlanta

April 15th is usually known as Tax Day in the United States but it also marked the opening on the 2009 World Festival in Atlanta. We arrived early Wednesday morning. The taxi driver on the way from Hartsfield airport told us he had been told to expect 60,000. As we got out of the taxi and looked at the World Congress Center, we wondered how they would be able to fit 60,000 in the center.

When we arrived, the place was empty. The robots were tucked away in their cabanas. Since we didn't know where the conference was, the robots were no help.

We were looking for someone to tell us if the lack of people had something to do with the economy. We finally came across a man who looked a little down on his luck so we decided to ask him.
"Where is everyone?"
He was reluctant to answer. No wonder he was sitting on a park bench.

We finally found someone who could help us. It's the information guy from FIRST! We were glad to see him and he seemed glad to see us.
"Where is everyone?"
"The conference doesn't start until 3pm!"

Wow! Were we early. But it was well worth it!