At first everything was fine.  We hung out, we traded war stories about being an inanimate mascot and all that.  But then, he must’ve confused me for a horse, because he jumped on my back looking for a ride.

Well, I’m nobody’s horse, so I didn’t take too kindly to such behavior.  I politely asked him to get off, but gnomes can apparently be pretty stubborn.  I don’t like to get rough, but I had no choice.  I had to put him down.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long him to tap out.  Before it got too out of hand though, my pal Vegas stepped in and talked us both down.

Once everything was under control, we hooked up with one of the “Eat More Chikin” cows from Chick-Fil-A and chowed down on some delicious chicken sandwiches.

Samm always knows the best places to take me for food.  In Philly, she took me to Pat’s and Geno’s for the world’s best cheesesteaks and now I finally had the chance to try out what has to be the best fast food burger on the planet.

That’s right. I finally got one of the famous Double Double with Cheese burgers I’ve been hearing Mike the marketing guy yammer on about.  In and Out is a regional chain, so if you don’t live in California, Arizona or Nevada, chances are you’re never going to have a chance to experience this burger.  Seeing as how we’re in Vegas though, I got to nosh a bit and it was totally worth the wait!

Don’t forget that I’ll be running all around Vegas over the next week or so and will be giving out $25 gift certificates to five lucky fans who are nice enough to pose with me.  If you’re going out for the show, just look for the crazy lady with the red hair carrying me around.

This crate, affectionately called “the sarcophagus” by the marketing guy is how we get all our stuff from Colorado to Vegas.  This of course doesn’t include all the shelves, banners and fencing that make up our booth.  This is just product.

Every year Keven does his best Tetris impression and fills every square inch of space with product.

Since he forgot to leave some space for me, I’ll be travelling in style (or as much style as one can travel in when you’re shoved in a smelly backpack under an airplane seat).

For those that have gone to BCA Nationals before, you’ll be able to find us once again in the same spot we inhabit every year.  Newbies, just come in the front door and walk down the main hallway to the back wall.

In addition, my buddy Samm Diep will once again be running me around getting pictures.  We’re giving away dawg dough for the best pictures so be sure to find me and Samm and don’t forget to be creative!

Having to ride under the seat is expected, but being forced through an X-Ray machine like a piece of luggage, that’s just wrong.

Anyway, we’ve started checking out all the pictures thanks to my personal paparazzi, Samm Diep.  There are a ton of great shots, so choosing the five best for our “Be Seen With Frank” contest is going to be tough.  What won’t be tough though?  Including this guy as one of the Top 5!

As photographer, Samm gets to choose two of the winners, but I have ultimate selection power for the other three.  Once Samm gets back from NYC we’ll have all five picked and will send out the gift certificates.  See, Samm and her friend Mike Fieldhammer decided to take off to New York without me and Sarah was busy with the folks over at Mezz, so that meant I had to go home with Mike.  Ugh.

Since there’s a longstanding debate about who has the world’s best cheesesteaks, Pat’s or Geno’s.  Mike, Samm, Fieldhammer and I went down to South Philly for the ultimate taste challenge.

Both were magically delicious, even if we didn’t go the traditional cheese whiz route.

In the end, we decided unanimously that Geno’s had the better meat but Pat’s had the better rolls.  If only we could put the two together…