Off to the NRA Show in Chicago!

I am truly excited to be going to the restaurant show in Chicago this year, although for only a couple of days for four great reasons.  The first reason I am excited is that I will take the train for the first time from Lafayette, IN to Union Station in Chicago for $19!  I LOVE traveling by train, it is so relaxing.  You can kick back, watch the scenery roll by, read a book, take a nap in your comfy seat and more.  We were used to taking trains all over the UK during my six month sabbatical in Wales, UK.  In fact we never drove once the entire time we were in Wales to do sightseeing as a family or when I needed to take business trips for my research on sustainable tourism, which was only fitting due to the nature of the research!  So I am looking forward to getting back on a train.

The second reason I am excited is that I will see plenty of old friends, colleagues, business associates, alums, current students, FELC advisory board members, FELC members and more during the show; it is like Homecoming weekend.  It is such a great time to catch up with who is doing what in their personal lives and professional careers.  Perhaps I will see some of you reading this blog post at the Show.  If you are going come see me in the Purdue booth for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management on Monday afternoon or Tuesday.

And of course the third reason is that I LOVE Chicago.  It is truly a great city and I have been visiting it as part of the show since 1989.  The city and I have truly come a long way since then and both are better off for it or so I would like to think.  I am still trying to find a watch I lost late one night on Rush Street but that is another story for another day.

Finally there is the obligatory stop at the Billy Goat on Hubbard, below the Wrigley Building.  It is the place that inspired the "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger" skit with Dan Akroyd and John Belushi on Saturday Night Live from their days at Second City where they were regulars.  Of course, I will have the grilled cheese now since going vegetarian but the atmosphere and the eclectic mix of people at 1 AM is awesome!

In closing, it was a great pleasure seeing so many at my seminars as part of the Education Development Series at the Central and Northeast Regional ACF Conferences.  The series entitled "Teaching that Sticks" was a great success and hope it has made a difference in the way those who attended the series teach their courses when back on their respective campuses.  Chef Carmel also had the same pleasure of seeing so many culinary educators at his seminars for the South and Southwest Regional ACF Conferences!