Cleveland, Ohio, April 27, 2013

The last day of a conference is always hard—the people you’re getting used to seeing at meals, in the elevators, at the sessions are about to go away, just as you are, and reality is about to return.

The final presentation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum was that of Steve Averill, graphic designer for the band, and the man who named them U2.

I saw him before back in 2003, and it was cool to see the updates (since U2 have released two albums since then) as well as hear the classic stories behind the covers once more.

After that, I attempted to nap, but kept getting texts and calls, so I finally gave up.

I was exhausted and starving by the time Matt, Michelle and I walked over to the Hard Rock Café.

The line was long (our event was ticket-only so they were in the process of forcing others to leave before we could come in) and we had to wait a while before entry. I got carded on the way in, so that made me smile.

Mary was sweet enough to reserve us a table, so we had a great view of the stage as The Unforgettable Fire tribute band began to play.

I tried to eat a salad and some bread to perk up, but the food came in stages and it wasn’t tasting right.

To solve that problem, I began to drink heavily. Bahama Mamas all around!

Soon Marylinn joined me and we stood on the benches of the table for the duration of the show, dancing and laughing and being silly as we typically are when we’re together. In fact, somewhere there’s probably a running tally of how many pictures we photobombed. 🙂

It was great fun, and the band was full of energy and signature U2 moves.

A nice way to wrap up a phenomenal weekend for the tribe.