On a trip, the most difficult thing for me is getting to sleep. No matter what I do, I always find a reason to put it off. So, it's no surprise it was after 1:30 AM CST before I fell asleep. Actually, it would have been difficult to go to bed any earlier as I had a noisy neighbor in an adjacent room.
Good opportunity for some thoughts on The Grand Hyatt. The walls were paper thin - don't like that. On the other hand the bed was very comfortable with good lighting when I needed it (like reading things on the nightstand).
The TV didn't pull from it's cabinet making it difficult to watch while using the computer (which was tethered to the high speed Internet line). The desk and chair at the DSL cable's termination were excellent. The swivel chair was very handy and a nice touch... and it was comfortable .
I had never stayed in a room with the right chair for a desk area and it really makes a difference.
The bathroom was well lit with a good sized sink area. The shower curtain was cloth/plastic and hund from a rod that curved outward from the tub. That's why Sunday morning, when I forgot to tuck it in, the floor was flooded. The water pressure was excellent. The towels were almost large and thick enough (water pressure and towel size/thickness make or break a hotel room for me).
My meetings started early Saturday morning and lasted all day. I am pleasantly surprised that I did get something positive from the trip. Most of the presenters were excellent, but not all. Most of the presentations were correct for the audience, not all.
That's about all I can say. Sorry.
The meetings ended at 5:30 and after a break to wash my face, call home and check email, Kirk (my boss) and I headed over to WMAQ Channel 5, the NBC owned and operated station in Chicago. One of our former anchors, Darren Kramer, is now a weekend anchor there.
WMAQ is located in a brand new facility not far from the Tribune and WGN Radio. The building is an homage to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the NBC headquarters in New York City. In a plaza in front of the building is a freestanding building containing a single studio with glass walls, like the one the Today Show broadcasts from. That studio is used for the morning news.
The newsroom, and studio used for the Saturday show is on the second flood of the building. The newsroom itself is large and contains a second studio used for Telemundo, NBC's Spanish outlet. We met Darren's co-anchor and the weekend weatherperson and then went upstairs.
WMAQ has three studios on the third floor - and uses none of them. One is leased to Jerry Springer, and I understand taping days for that show are a trip, to say the least. A second studio is used for Judge Mathis, a court show which used to precede our news cast (and provided horrible ratings as the lead-in). More interesting is what's come of the third studio.
It is outfitted like 8H (Conan's studio) in New York, with audience seating. On weekend nights, a live Sinatra tribute is performed (though not broadcast) from there. It's a pretty cool idea. We were in the studio for a moment and the setup and performance going on were very impressive. The room was just right for what was going on.
Dinner was downstairs in an Italian restaurant. I've become pretty good at ordering while dieting. It was Caesar salad as an appetizer and a steak entrée. I passed on the mashed potatoes and carrots but was able to eat most of the vegetable medley that came with dinner. If I'm good, can I have my old metabolism back - please?
Darren had actual work to do (those slave drivers), so Kirk and I turned up Michigan Avenue and walked along. The saxophonist from the nigh before was there. The street was jammed with foot traffic. This is a good sign of a vibrant city. Chicago's downtown is acting as a magnet.
Michigan Avenue has plenty of shopping and restaurants. I saw what looked like upscale apartment (or condo) buildings and a few nice hotels, including another Hyatt.
As we continued down Michigan Avenue, a brightly lit building stood out. It was the Water Tower (and as we approached and I could see the corner) the Water Works. I am told these were two buildings which survived the Great Chicago Fire. They nicely set off the rest of the area, including a vertical mall across the street.
I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Chicago does seem to have its own architectural style. I'm not educated in this, and maybe someone reading will know the full details, but the city has a distinctive architectural character that I had not seen before. 
Also, many of the buildings are bathed in projected light, including the Wrigley Building - right on the river adjacent to the Michigan Avenue Bridge.
We darted into Borders. Bookstores are treasures for travelers or others with too much time on their hands. I'm an addict when it comes to computer books and magazines and was able to come home with a magazine specializing in digital photography.
With an early call for Sunday, we turned back toward the hotel.
I decided to program my cellphone as my alarm clock. There's something about hotel clock radios that I don't trust. Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm. Sunday morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of my cellphone vibrating on the table next to me.
The Sunday morning sessions started at 8:30 and I almost made it on time. Everything went well until I leaned back and spilled a warm cup of coffee on my pants! Up to the room to change and I was back in the swing of things.
We were originally scheduled to leave about 6:30, losing an hour on the way and arriving in Hartford late. Tonight, with snow on the way, late wasn't going to be good. Kirk call United, found out they wouldn't let us make changes over the phone with our USAir codeshare tickets, and that there might be some seats on the 1:15 PM non-stop home.
The taxi to the airport was uneventful as was security. Well... let me take that back a little. With security today, you have to disassemble yourself as you're screened. My watch came off and joined the cellphone, coat and small things in one plastic tray. The bag from my laptop was in another. Yet another had the laptop itself. Finally, my rolling carry-on bag. At least I didn't have to remove my shoes. Still, after security I had to put myself together as if I were some sort of huge kit.
The podium agent wasn't sure we'd get on - so we sat at the gate area and waited as the entire plane boarded. Still no word. Finally, the go ahead.
So, I'm writing this from, yet another, very bumpy flight - this time on my way home.
Later tonight, or tomorrow, I'll post my photos. Most were nighttime shots and need a little Photoshop enhancement to brighten them up.
I've already told Helaine I'd be open to going back to Chicago with her. I hope it's sooner rather than later.
