Chicago Strictly Sail Show a Chance to Catch up with Fellow Sailors

Ben and I had such a fun weekend in Chicago at the boat show. It's always a chance to catch up with Harry and Karen, and this year also Tyler, Carrie and baby William (I got to meet baby William!!!). But there were so many Flying Scot sailors it was like a reunion. Somehow we all showed up on Saturday without planning anything.

Can you see little William?
From left in front Cathy, Deb and Janet
Second row, Jim, Mike Harry, Karen, Williams, Tyler, Carrie, Ben, Jack Greg and Linda

From Delavan there were Jim and Cathy Walsh and Jack and Janet Markwick. Bronson and Rachel Bowling and Greg and Linda Vitt made the 5 or 6 hour trek from Carlyle despite ice storms. Dale Counihan came from Neenah Nodaway, which is where our Midwest Districts will be in August, so it was fun to see him. Debbie and Tom Yeagle and Bryan and Angie Hunt helped us represent Clinton Lake Sailing Association. Plus Mike Faugust was there, picking up his new boat!! Woot Woot! His was the one the Carpenters were displaying. I'm sure Mike was thrilled to have the boat delivered, even if he was a little nervous when people crowded around. He didn't want any dings in that pristine gel coat, and who can blame him?!

Ben and I don't always go to the boat show but we were especially excited to support Tyler and Carrie when they gave a seminar on "Sailing with Your Spouse" this year.

Tyler and Carrie were very well prepared and did a good job!

You can see a bunch of us in the front two rows here. Also, notice how crowded the room is!



We hung out at the boat show until dinner time, grabbed some pizza at Connie's in McCormick Place. We met up there with several (not necessarily Scot) sailors from Clinton Lake, which made it extra fun.


After pizza a group of us headed to First Draft, a pub that Bryan and Angie Hunt had found last year. Boy was it fun! There was one page of food and about 10 pages of beers to choose from.
We also did an experiment to determine how many people you can fit around a "four-top." We squeezed in 10!!  Ben ended up in a "Debby/Debbie sandwich" here with me and our Clinton Lake friend Debbie Yeagle, who, if you've come to the Glow, you will recognize!

The next day Ben and I, having socialized to our fullest extent, spent a more quiet day touring the Field Museum. We saw a very cool exhibit on the various traditions surrounding tattooing and another on ancient Chinese history. Then we were ready to go home. It was such a fun weekend. Full of camaraderie, laughs and beer (or whiskey for some!).

Can't wait to be on the water, but this weekend will help sustain me over the next few months!