Chicago Report!

[przed]

It's been two days now since we flew back from Chicago, so I figured I should put up some sort of post. The trip was, I have to say, absolutely amazing. There was fun family stuff like taking Ros to the Children's Museum and a Chinese Circus, and great panels, like the brilliant Kaffeklatsch I managed to get into with Ken Liu ahead of his winning the Hugo for Best Short Story. And it was also nice to catch up with my cousins, and some LJ friends. (Hi pxr5 and sooguy.)

Going to the con and attending panels has even re-invigorated my desire to write a bit of pro fic, as did Ros when I was explaining the Hugos to her:

Me: I'm going to the Hugos tonight.
Ros: What's that?
Me: It's a ceremony where they give awards to people for writing the best stories.
Ros: Are you getting one?

That just made me well up a bit.

Okay, before I crash, have a few pictures...

First, Ros in front of the Bean. (Okay, the sculpture is actually called the Cloud Gate, but no one calls it that.)



Whilst I was doing panels Thursday and Friday mornings, Ros and the Sweetie rented a bike and went for a marathon ride down the lakeshore. They had a blast.


Me and Ros on a concrete sofa on the River Walk.


Every time we took the stairs up from the River Walk, we passed by this mass of Chicago Police cars, some of which were totalled or upside down. I can only assume that either they were filming something nearby, or that the Chicago cops are really bad drivers.


Ros at a nearby park, doing the kid version of a zipline. I have a feeling that as soon as she's big enough to do a real zipline, there'll be no stopping her.)

Comments

[gritsinmisery.livejournal.com]

The Bean!

The shot of the police cars looks an awful lot like the chase scenes from The Blues Brothers, except of course that the cars are 30-some-odd years too new and they didn't just leave that mess on Lower Wacker Drive. One does presume that they're filming something and that Chicago's finest just got a new fleet.

Google-fu addendum: it's an Indian movie Dhoom 3 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833673/).

[przed.livejournal.com]

We half thought the cars might be some sort of Blues Brothers homage at first, but saw them filming something nearby in the Loop a couple of days later. Thanks for enlightening me on what it was. Cool!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Glad you had such a good time! Ros looks thrilled with it all!

[przed.livejournal.com]

We all had a blast. And Ros was so ecstatic most of the time she was constantly bouncing.

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great trip!

And Ros's dresses are adorable :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was fab! Chicago is such a great city, but not quite so crowded or totally urban like London or New York. Perfect for kids. (Not that I'm not looking forward to taking Ros to London!)

[przed.livejournal.com]

The dresses, BTW, are all from our local One of a Kind show, where local artisans sell their stuff twice a year. It's fab for kid's clothes.

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

It was lovely t o see you, as always!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Likewise! Here's hoping I'll see you in 2014, if not before. (You are coming to Toronto for World Fantasy, are you?)

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

Right now, not planning to do world fantasy. Cannot deal there due to Canadian customs...although it has been ages since I've been to Toronto, and My other half has never been. Tempting....

[przed.livejournal.com]

Would love to see you, although just checked and realized that weekend is when we're renting a cottage with a group of family from our adoption agency so I won't be around from Friday night to Sunday. Drats! But if you were there before or after, we could hang.

Also, looking at my last comment is making me realize I should never post whilst distracted/in sleep debt. ::headdesk::

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. It's still tempting...not surbthey till have tix left even....unlike worldcon, WFC is capped...

[przed.livejournal.com]

I think they've already capped it. Though a mate recently picked up a membership from someone who couldn't attend.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

It looks like the trip was a success! Ros is so darned cute. Thanks!

[przed.livejournal.com]

The trip was brilliant, if exhausting.

Now I've just got to get over the panic attacks and get my damn BB story done.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Lovely to hear that you had such a good trip. I truly love Chicago, one of my favourite places in the world.

Ros always looks like such a happy kid, a major achievement for any parent.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'd almost forgotten how much I love Chicago. It's definitely one of my favourite places as well. Very urban and very liveable.

As for Ros, she was pretty darn ecstatic the whole trip. Well, except when we were trying to get her to sit still long enough to eat a meal. ;-)

[nsandik.livejournal.com]

I love seeing your family photos!!! My local BFF's sister (in NY) has three adopted girls from China. They are so wonderful and happy. It makes my heart swell with joy. :-) that's how I feel when I see Ros having a good time!

[przed.livejournal.com]

It really is worth it all just to see her happy.

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Ros is so cute, and she always looks like she's having the best time ever!

So glad you had such a great time \o/

[przed.livejournal.com]

I am, of course, selective in the pictures I post, but in this case, she was definitely having the best time ever.

It was a great trip and a perfect end to the summer.

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a brilliant time and the pictures are wonderful.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was totally brilliant.

[sooguy.livejournal.com]

It was a great trip. Glad we got to meet up over writing.

I was so thrilled to introduce both my kids to fandom and the writing world at large. Even though I know it was completely lost on them.

It was our first time in Chicago and I was really impressed with the place and would love to go back to explore more.

Love your writing regardless whether its pro fic or not.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks again for the Chuck Wendig rec. I'm halfway through Blackbirds and quite enjoying it. (BTW, here's the link to the first of those books I was telling you about. They're quite awesome.)

I was also happy to give Ros a taste of fandom. Hopefully it'll take.

Chicago is just fantastic. The trip reminded me how much I love it.

And thanks for the vote of confidence on my writing. I'll remind you of that when my psycho Pros/Take That/zombie crossover goes up in a month. No, I'm not kidding.

[kanders07.livejournal.com]

Great pics. Looks like you were all having a great time.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! We did indeed have a fabulous time.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

Looks like you had a fab time which is great to see ♥ I wish they'd had those 'clip-on' bike extensions for children when I was small, it's such a good idea for a going a long way and keeping together too.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I was an utterly fab, and utterly exhausting, vacation. I'm so glad we went.

The tagalong bike extensions are a really great invention. Ros completely adored it. Apparently the big guy had to tell her to stop peddling when he needed to slow down.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Awesome pics, and I'm glad you had a good time. I cannot believe how grown up Ross seems now. She's beautiful.

[przed.livejournal.com]

A very groovy time was had by all.

As for Ros, she's definitely 6 going on 16. I live in fear of her teen years.