My CHA trip started off rather interesting, but in the company of friendly people interesting is not always bad. (ok - I am hearing a credit card commercial on the television which blames some Packer fans for doing something - ONLY in Chicago!) (LOL)
My family took me to the bus depot so I could take the Van Galder to Ohare. I have to say we had the tiniest lady bus driver - but man, she could toss a large suitcase 3x her size! Because she is so small she could crawl right under the bus to arrange suitcases in the storage area - wow! Would not want to get on her bad side. Wish I had a pic of her.
I do have a pic of George, though. George was the driver for the Holiday Inn shuttle from Ohare yesterday. Three of us are on board. Sarah Larson from a brick and mortar store in PA, and Manfred, on holiday from Germany to see sites in Chicago. I was glad to board, about 1:20 and have a late lunch - an apple I had brought. The van did not seem to be going anywhere.
George is sitting in the drivers seat, heard him mumble something, get out, use the cell phone, kind of agitated in speaking manner... Gets back in and says we are going to have to take the side roads to the hotel because the van is acting up. He tries to put it in gear...shimmy, shimmy. That doesn't sound good. He slowly pulls out. Hmmmm...shake, stutter....
We drive from terminal 2 and by the time we reach end of terminal three to depart Ohare it is not good - and George pulls over. Thankfully!! The bus was stifling in the 90+ degree heat and no air, so of course the three of us passengers get out to the sidewalk. No sooner had we done that than the van started steaming - and a flood of anit freeze pours out below. It really stunk! Then something else - two long, black lines dangle on the ground. We all decided to retrieve our totes and backpacks from the vehicle, and I decided to take pictures. By then the dramatic cloud of steam had dissipated. I put the camera on action mode so hopefully I captured some steam. Sarah also got her camera out, and George was willing to pose for us by the van and working under the hood for added drama. (LOL) We three passengers were in good moods despite, afterall, George was having a real bad time and this certainly was not his fault.
I offered Manfred a 2nd apple I had brought along - and it had been hours since he had eaten, I gathered from his pretty good English. Sarah had been to Germany and elsewhere in Europe so those two could chat about that. It is fascinating how people can quickly become comrades in situations that would otherwise be stressful.
It seemed a long wait and finally a 2nd shuttle arrived. I hope Sarah made her Making Memories meeting at 3 p.m.! I took a cool shower and lounged around until my friend Lynne Wilson arrived from Ohio. We made plans to meet up with our other roomies, Stephanie Fearn and Rachel (kiwiscrapper) from Homegrown Scrapbooks, but they had had a long day in the Chicago heat and were almost back to the hotel.
We went to an SEI sneak peak party at 7 - they handed everyone a nice collection of their Poppy Collection - LOVE that line! Plus a 6x6 mini album and a "JOY" word book to alter. SEI is coming out with some super lines. By the way,I really love the Dill BLossom collection they sent the SPBG DT - and the team will be posting our work starting Sunday.
We also got a glimpse at the Making Memories catalog - all I can say is hold on to your drool!!
We had a late dinner upon returning to the hotel. Even later than expected with a 45 min wait for burgers, that were not done to how we had ordered. I am not sure how a pat of meat can be cooked so unevenly - well on one side, raw on the other. At any rate, Steph had the worst and sent it back.
If you are a Homegrown Scrapbook kit subscriber, hang on, I think Steph is going to bring back monthly kits!!
So live from CHA - I see the shuttle has left for the convention center at least once outside the window here. I will see how my roomies are doing. We want to get in line for our badges and find a Starbucks!
I hope to once again feature the "best kept secrets of CHA" as I did last year - highlighting those lesser known companies with fab product. I am not reporting for Cloud 9 duty until 2 pm so I have time to browse this morning. Stay Cool, and don't drool - I think that is my slogan for today as I feast my eyes on gorgeous scrapbooking supplies!
1 comment:
You are so lucky to be there. It must be wonderful to be surrounded by so much inspiration
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