eBay Live 2008

Chicago

My summer vacation...

My vacation this year was centered by eBay Live in Chicago - But Kyle & I turned this into a 2 1/2 week cross-country road trip. Before dawn on Thursday, June 12th, we pulled out of our driveway. We made it to my daughter's home in Colorado Springs in time for dinner that night. We had planned to spend Friday night around Des Moines, but were detoured north due to all the Iowa flooding. We did make it into Chicago in time for dinner and Kyle's poker game with his buddies Saturday evening.

On Sunday, the 15th, we spent most of the day at Kyle's parents with several of his relatives - it was good tofinally meet his nephew, Russell, & several others. We spent most of Monday with his parents as well - Kyle & Russell did boy stuff like playing frisbee much of the day while Nan (Kyle's mom) and I got new cell phones (mine had died a couple days earlier).

Kyle's dad is quite the artist - if you've been to our house, you've seen the huge painting in our living room of a long-gone Chicago train yard. Nan & Rich's home is amazing - at the entry is a 3D construction & painting Rich did of a Chinese ship. (Lousy photo of it is to right.) The dining room wall he did of a cave painting is the piece de resistance, though:

Well, Tuesday our eBay stuff began for me - I spent the day with several other of my eBay Blackthorne friends at Cindy & Tom Stone's home in Kansasville, Wisconsin - a bit north of Chicago. We spent the time enjoying sitting by the lake, chatting & partaking of beer brats & sauerkraut. At one point, we Blackthorne users decided to post a note to our friends who didn't come to Chicago. John, Blackthorne's main guy, posted a smart-aleck comment about me with a lampshade on my head & Sue having a squirrel issue. We later found some props & posed for this silly photo:

On Wednesday evening, the night before eBay Live began, several of us met for drinks & dinner in the MIX Lounge in the Hyatt Hotel. We got there before the crowd arrived for the traditional Meet & Greet gathering. Here, Tom & Cindy watch BA receive a kiss from Ruth while BA's friend looks on & Sindy ignores those goings-on:

I was just getting familiar with the camera function on my new cell phone - & snapped this of Tony, Herb & Martha:

Kyle & me (what was going on with me???) with Linda & Lou...

Me (pontificating about who-knows-what) with Linda, Lou, Cindy & Tom...

We still didn't get my phone's camera out - but here's BA, me & Sindy...

Thursday morning, June 19 - and the festivities began. I brought my alter-ego, Tippy Kal, eBay seller, so that she could be seen. (You can see my Tippy comic strip on my eBay blog.) Here's Tippy in the long hall in the McCormick Place Convention Center...

Tippy at registration...

Tippy joins the crowd entering the Solutions Center (vendor displays)...

Tippy's first stop in the Solutions Center was at the Blackthorne booth...

Tippy & I greet old buddy, Harvey Baby...

Tippy & I with Griff...

Me with my new friends, Kristy & Darrin (RealWomenWant on eBay)...

Tippy congratulates Uncle Joe, well-deserved recipient of eBay's Community Hall of Fame award...

Blackthorne's wonderful woman, Leslie...

Sue, Ruth, ?? & BA (my Blackthorne buddies)...

Tippy hangs out with some Swedish Live attendees...

Tippy at the Priority Pass Luncheon...

Kyle & me at the Gala...

John, Leslie & Bob at the Gala...

Me with my little sis, Sandy... (She's not an eBayer - yet - but came for Saturday's activities.)

The entertainer at the Gala, one of my favorites, Chris Isaak...

Thank you to all who sent me photos! (Yours sure turned out better than mine!)

After Chicago, we went to Detroit to visit my family. Unfortunately, I only took two more photos which turned out on my trip, at a cemetery in Dearborn my dad thought Kyle & I would find of interest: