Photo 1. Here I am on the left, next to my tent of fun activities and nearby all those people!
Photo 2. Preparing for the onslaught, Dan rolls archaeology posters for prizes, and Tammy and Mac make sure all is ready.
Photo 3. Oh my, look at all the people heading my way!
Photo 4. Billy oversees restocking supplies for activities. (Photo courtesy of Mary Jo Davis)
I had lots of handlers this time. My friends Luke and Lauren (hey, that sounds like a soap opera on TV!) from New South brought me all the way down from Stone Mountain through a tremendously scary storm the day before CoastFest. It was raining and windy and dark and thundering…it was so bad I almost lost my air conditioning cover on my roof! But cool Luke kept me on the road and out of the ditches. Lauren followed as a good safety backup, which made me feel much better
Saturday at CoastFest new and old friends showed up to help me work the crowds. My old handler energetic Tammy H. came back again with some great educational displays, and my mentor and handler Veronica and my true and quirky friend Real Dan came to help too. Old and new CoastFest friends from the Golden Isles Chapter of The Society for Georgia Archaeology showed up to assist, including Billy Brice, Mac Carlton, Jack Caldwell and Mary Jo Davis. Thanks guys!! I made other new friends who helped me from Savannah, including Evelyn Shealy, from the Anthropology Club at Armstrong Atlantic State University and archaeologist John Brannen. I hope they all had as much fun as me!
Photo 5. The audiences from the stage tent behind Lauren came over before and after the shows to try out some of my archaeology activities.
Photo 6. John got even the youngest visitors interested in archaeology!
Photo 7. Luke welcomes guests inside for more hands-on learning.
Photo 8. A visitor playing the “spin the wheel” game thinks about an answer to Mary Jo’s archaeology question to win a poster prize.
Diary, can you believe that 9,495 people came to CoastFest this year???? That was record attendance. I was so tired by 4 pm that I was sure most of them visited me! Not only was I tired, but I was worried that when I got back on the road my AC cover would fly off, since it was loosened by the storm. But I met a new friend from DNR named Brad A. who was SO VERY nice! He climbed up on my roof and put a whole lot of new screws around my cover, securing it in place. Whew, I felt better immediately!
Photo 11. Mac poses under the ArchaeoBus Tent and the colorful Society for Georgia Archaeology banner. (Photo courtesy of Mary Jo Davis.)
So, Diary, you can see why it took me a few weeks to write this entry. I was tired! But word on the street is that I get to go to the spa this winter for some much needed rejuvenation. If that is true, I will keep you posted!