T-minus one week until the NGS family history conference in Charleston, South Carolina

It seems like I signed up for this event years ago, but in one week, cousin April and I will be in Charleston, South Carolina for the National Geneological Society's annual family history conference. My co-workers have been very nice about it - I'm sure for anyone who isn't into geneaology, the thought of spending a whole week stuck in workshops and lectures all day long sounds like torture and the worst reason to take off work. But they all know how much I love genealogy so they're actually excited for me.

I'm excited about seeing a little bit of Charleston - I love the South and Charleston has always sounded charming. Add in the 150th anniversary of the Civil War this year, which began in Charleston, and the fact that I have family who lived in that city about 100 years before that, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the place a little bit.

But mostly, now it's crunch time. The packing list has been started, plans with April have been set, and now I have to look at the actual reason I'm going there - genealogy. What information do I have that I'd like to share? What information do I need? What research methods and resources am I most interested in learning about? Which of those are most crucial to my own research to learn? Which workshops in which timeslots will give me the most bang for my buck - be helpful to my personal family history/be helpful in learning how to help others with their research and making sure I don't sign up for a German research class for example in every single timeslot - got to make sure I spread it out! I'm also excited to spend time with people from all over who are as passionate about this subject as I am!

I'm planning on bringing my laptop to the conference with me, so for any of y'all who won't be there, hopefully I'll have time at the end of the day to share some of what I'm experiencing and learning while there, and if anyone is going to be attending, well then I look forward to seeing you there! :)