Weekend Travels

This weekend we went to Chicago for the Godzilla convention. Rob goes to the convention, the rest of us go for the fun of it. Josh accompanied Rob to the show this year, just out of curiosity and to help carry stuff.

We went last year as well, so it seems to be an annual trip for us. Last year we left on a Friday afternoon and came back Saturday afternoon. It's about 300ish miles for us, so it's apprx. 5 hours if driven straight through. We don't drive straight through, however. We stop and smell the roses a little along the way.

This year we left around 6 p.m. Saturday and didn't get home until 11 p.m. Sunday. It's a quick trip, but Rob only goes to the convention itself for a couple of hours. He's there to buy items for our toy shop, chat with some of the vendors to get contact information, and that's the extent of it.

Last year we stayed at the hotel where the convention was held. This year, we opted to stop in Indianapolis Saturday night and stay there. We're glad we did. The hotel was great. It had a pool, free internet access in the lobby, a continental breakfast with more variety than we've ever seen at a hotel, extremely comfortable rooms, etc. It was a Jameson Inn, which are popping up everywhere now. We stayed at a Jameson Inn once in Georgia, and everything was nice then, too. I think I may start making a habit of staying in Jameson Inns. They are comfortable, accommodating, and within our budget.

Saturday night the kids and I played in the pool until after ten o'clock, and then turned in for the night. Rob rested up from the drive, opting to stay in the room and relax.

After our stay, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast, then headed out early in the a.m. so that he could get there before noon Sunday. We found a park close to the convention. Jess, Jo and I played at the park while Josh and Rob did the convention thing. I was getting ready to take the kids to Wendy's for lunch when Rob called and said he was ready to go. We ended up driving to a city called Merrillville, Indiana where we stopped for a late lunch. We were all still full from our uncharacteristically large breakfast that we had at the hotel that morning. However, by the time we stopped, we had all regained our appetites.

On the way out of the restaurant, we asked our waitress where the closest mall was. Turns out, we were one exit down from a large mall/shopping center. We stopped there and shopped for a little over an hour. The malls closed at six because it was Sunday, so we were forced to hit the road. It was a good thing we left when we did, because we were all tired by the time we rolled in at 11 p.m. last night.

So, that was the extent of our quick trip to Chicago.

The next few posts will be of some photos I took along the way.

Hope your weekend was a great one as well!