Black Friday decision: tougher than which mall to hit

I didn't sleep well the night before Black Friday.  My Black Friday would be black for different reasons than mall stampedes.  My mind was racing.  Should I bring Mini to Louisville knowing she had a fever the night before, or should I leave her home?

After I worked out and ran a few errands (including buying a new thermometer), I came home.  Mini had just woken up after sleeping about 12 hours.  She said she felt fine other than a stuffy nose.  Her temperature was normal.  Realizing that often a fever doesn't pop back up until the afternoon hours, I was still not planning to bring her to Louisville to watch Curly compete in the Irish dancing Midwest championships.

At my workout, I had run into a friend who urged me to bring Mini along.  Her kids used to Irish dance, and she knew what a big deal the weekend was.  I explained that I was concerned that she would get Curly sick right before she had to dance on Sunday.  We discussed keeping the girls apart, but how do you do that on a long car ride?

What kind of message is this to give a driver?
 Like your car might blow up because you
 have a faulty gas cap?  I ignored it.  Like I
said, this would be a Black Friday for very
different reasons than those
 shop-till-you-drop types.

A few hours later, it was about time to head out the door.  Mini still had no temperature.  Her appetite was fine.  I borrowed a few masks from my mom, who keeps them on hand for my dad.  He has Leukemia and often tries to avoid germs.  I told Mini that she was coming but that she was going to sit in the back of the minivan.  Curly sat in the front next to me with the window rolled down 2 inches administering fresh air - and by default a cold breeze!

Mini initially tried sit in the row directly behind me.  No way, not the deal I struck.  She wasn't thrilled with sitting in the way back.  She claimed it was gross back there.  Not really an issue I cared about at that moment.

This was not my favorite way to travel, and even with the cold air I still found myself fighting sleep.  I am also not partial to traveling with the 'gas cap' light on.  No idea what my car was trying to tell me, but the gas cap was on good and tight.

This is one of the two
towers of the Galt.  Cool hotel that
consists of two towers that are
 connected by this little
atrium hanging over the road thing.  

We checked into the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville, and I decided to valet the car.  We were in a hurry to get over to the venue, so we could watch the awards ceremony that evening.  Some of the older girls that dance at our studio were competing and we wanted to cheer them on.

The bellhop, who helped us with our bags told us he was very new to the hotel.  He scored points right off the bat though by signaling me over to the concierge desk.  He said rather than wait in the long line at the front desk, the concierge would check me in.  The concierge asked for my name.  Before I could answer, Curly noticed that according to her name tag, she was also named 'Ernie'.  How crazy?!