Day 5 (pm)..."The First Party!!!"

Aug 4th...I left Reno with plenty of time for the 120 mile drive to Orangevale.  I'm still amazed at the amount of mountains that are out here.  Range after range, they seem to be never ending.  I needed gas while travelling through one particularly steep set of slopes and became seriously afraid of running out, knowing the inclines and declines would affect the gas intake from the tank.  Luckily I soon found a small rest area on the mountainside which contained a Shell station and a Burger King.  There was nothing else there, it was easy on and easy off (on a plateau off the side), and it was probably the most unique rest stop I had visited so far.  I left a crumb behind, hopeful that someone else would come to experience this same place, grabbed some grub, and continued on. 

I wasn't far away, but I still had to stop at Staples to make a few copies and organize myself before the party.  I got within the vicinity around 4:30, located a store and went to work.  I went in, had minor issues getting my copy card refilled at the register, and soon found myself being helped by Cullen, one of the associates at the copy center.  He was extremely helpful, maybe because he had spent some time living in NY and recognized the accent.  We talked for awhile while I copied and collated, mostly about our kids, and how much different west coast life is to east coast life.  He told me a few 80's stories and then it was time for me to get moving.  I changed my shirt in the parking lot, reset the GPS and covered the last few miles to Paige's house within a few minutes. 

I arrived to find Paige "The Axe" Buckmaster waiting for me at the door.  She came out to the street to greet me with a big hug and it was great to finally meet her.  She has been a fan on our page for quite awhile and was one of our first online customers from Facebook when we first started our social media marketing.  She has participated in our contests for almost as long as we have held them, and she was recently a top 5 finalist in our "Design Your Own Scent" contest.  I soon met Ava, her adorable daughter, and they helped me carry in my things so I could start setting up.  It didn't take long for Paige to pick up on the NY version of "Awesome" and "Office", and they became the source of amusement for the rest of the evening.

I set up my table and scent display, then started getting the sample cards ready for mixing. Guests started to arrive and I could tell that everyone was just as excited as I was to be there.  All of the hours in the car became well spent when I started the party and the smiles began.  Paige asked everyone to go around the room and introduce ourselves which was a great icebreaker, especially since a few of her guests had never met each other.  I went last and started to give my intro, explaining who I was, and what I was doing there.  It felt really good to meet so many people interested in our product being so far from home, and I was ready to go.  I asked Paige to take some pictures for the evening, and she prodded me for my best "Vanna White" impersonation before I handed out the product folders. 

We started things off with our "Guess That Scent" game, which is always fun for everyone.  In the game, we go around the room, pairing up guests into two person competitions, and test their ability to differentiate our flavors.  It's not as easy as it sounds, and as always, there were some great match ups, comebacks and amazing guesses.  

Milk & Honey!!  :)

      

After the "Guess That Scent" game, we did a short microderm abrasion demo, and then we got to the good stuff.  Everyone was excited to mix their own flavors, and it didn't take long for bottles to be opened and the whole house to be overcome with fragrance.  Paige assisted me in applying the oils to every one's sample cards, and that helped get all of the mixtures finalized fairly quickly.  Some of my favorites that were created at this party were "Cotton Candy & Warm Vanilla Sugar", "Hawaiian Tropics & Plumeria", and "Melon & Coconut".  I gave Paige a complementary lotion for being such a great hostess, and she was able to snap an awesome picture of Ava sporting her new "Hawaiian Tropics & Peach Blossom" yellow line lotion.

After everyone was done mixing, orders were placed, and it was time to pack up.  Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.  I loaded the car, and was asked to show Paige's son Dustin and his friend the sound system in the Honda.  Paige challenged me to a "Bump Off", but apparently she only had lame music in her car with no bass.  I scrolled through the Ipod to Jay-Z and I don't want to brag, but...I won. 

I finished packing, bid my farewells, and headed off into the night.  I started on the next leg of my trip, heading north to Oregon.  I would no longer be travelling the familiar I80 west, but now the I5 north, heading up the left coast.  Dejah called after the party and we chatted as I drove through the darkness.  I started to get really tired and was praying for a sign that said a rest area was in my near future.  About 50 miles north of Orangevale, without any previous warning, I spied the blue exit sign and cut across 2 lanes of traffic to make the ramp.  My prayers were answered.  It was nice, dark, and quiet, and I had no problem falling asleep once Dejah and I said goodnight on the phone.  A few hours sleep and I would start my short drive to Portland.

Total miles logged...3,096!!!