That Marty's a sweetie!

The architectural boat tour is fabulous! Even thought the cloud ceiling was low on the day we did it, we could still see the tops of the buildings peeking out from the clouds.

EL wrote: DON'T EMBARRASS ME.

Would we embarrass you? C'mon. We wouldn't do anything to embar...

Wait a sec....

EL should have quit when she was ahead, but instead wrote: I'll have some...idiot questions...

Idiot questions? IDIOT QUESTIONS?

Humpf.

Questions written by an idiot to be answered by geniuses, of course. EL

Questions written by an idiot to be answered by geniuses, of course. EL Yea, you say that now.

You never check luggage anymore, I always check my bag. Guess I'm too lazy to shlep it, but most times its too big to be a carry-on, what with the tiny airplanes they use nowadays.

By the way, last week all the local weather people were commenting about how it was warmer in Chicago than it was down here on the Panhandle. I think that's changed by now though.

Have a great trip EL!

Don't worry TSA won't notice that the wool coat isn't your size. They are too busy looking for explosive toothpaste tubes.

Have a great trip, enjoy the flag football games, eat well, stay warm, and most important of all, stay out of trouble!

Trouble starts with a T and that rhymes with E. :-) EL

I kid you not, a few years ago, I went to visit some friends/colelagues who live in Chicago.

When I got there, they wanted to take me to this oplace that "I just HAD to try", they were convnced I would just "love" this place.

What was the place? I kid you not, it was the ESPN Zone. LOL. They didnt realize we had one in Baltimore. I told them that not only did we have one, but it was the very frst one of the whole chain.

It was a real hoot.

Rest assured that we will do everything possible to uphold your escutcheon (one of those words that after you use it, you haven't the foggiest notion what it means.) We will introduce culinary topics that bring forth smart, clever, witty responses. Which raises a question. Is it possible to start a totally new thread on this blog (especially when you're away bringing Gailor her cleats) rather than work it into another subject?

Please tell me you aren't one of those folks who doesn't check luggage and then tries to fit a small U-Haul trailer in the overhead!!!

My carry on is actually a little smaller than many because I'm careful about raising heavy things above my head. EL

Learn how to pack light - depending on the length of stay. I haven't checked luggage since '99 (No, not 1899). Roll, press, and sit. Every city (or acquaintance) has laundry.

Pack some quarters.

"Questions written by an idiot to be answered by geniuses, of course" - there's something frightingly Falkneresque about this quote...

EL, Have a GREAT trip, and be safe. So what's your other half doing...staying home to feed the cat, or going with you?

I love your vacation posts--they're almost always thought-provoking. We'll try to keep up the standards on the home front.

He actually has a job where he has to stay in one place. :-) EL

The last time I flew to Chicago I had just had a trip to the ER (long story, omitted here). I got pulled out of the regular line for the super security treatment. Yeah, right, I have explosives under these bandages ... I wonder if cleats will get through security? But I love Chicago and I am betting Lady E. will learn to love it, too.

Pack quarters? Heck, a few packets of Woolight, a universal sink stopper and a proper travel clothesline work for me. I got through my last 9 day trip just fine with 3 shirts, two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks and 5 pairs of underware.

I do need to get a better pair of walking boots, though.

Depending on length of stay, fashion needs,airline etc...one can always UPS or Fed Ex the luggage, and negat the need for totin all them bales around....

Lissa

Ever hear about the fellow from Minnesota, who went on a two week vacation with a new pair of overalls and a twenty dollar bill?
He came back at the end of the two weeks and hadn't changed either one

Whew, either you are all especially disciplined or I'm exceptionally undisciplined. I not only check a minimum of 2 bags for a 5 day trip (one is mostly shoes) but I pack my carry on and make it so heavy I can barely carry it on. Guess my GF is right, I am out of step with the rest of the traveling world!

This is my last night out on a ten day trip. I was pretty pleased to get my bag in at 42 lbs, but my backpack/briefcase is over thirty. The moment of truth will come tomorrow afternoon when it goes back on the scale with a St. Louis mug (souvenir), a Chinese tea bowl (present) three books from the Amana Colonies (continuing ed), a half-bottle of rhubarb wine (self-care), and an envelop of receipts.

Sadly, there has been a turnover of leadership in the group that I am meeting with here. Last night's dinner was at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that was unbelievably good. (Old leadership.) But tonight we went to a tacky sports bar. (New leadership.) Okay, its tough to find a place for 30 of us to have dinner on short notice, but Omaha is a very cool town and even a couple of extra days notice could have scored us a cooler place in the Old Market.

No checking in with Zagat this week ... sigh!

Hue, the Woolite is for washing. Plus cotton is the worst thing on earth to pack if you are going to either do your own laundry or are going someplace that rains a lot.

MD Canon, my bag was 13 kg, with souvenirs, including everything, coming back from 9 days abroad. They made me check it (8 kg carry on limit on Icelandair).

Joyce W! With you on the shoes!

What are The Amana Colonies?

Eve,
I wondered the same thing. Could it be a rebel group of refrigerators?

Amanas were a German religous communal sect..not unlike the Oneidas in upstate NY or the Shakers in Ohio..