by GB from Devizes

October 12, 2006

From journal A Brit hits the Windy City - the 2006 Igougo get-together

This large sports bar is to be found on 1059 W. Addison St. and was to be the venue for the traditional opening evening of the 2006 get-together. It sits just across the road from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs and the interior walls are festooned with sporting paraphernalia and huge TV screens enabling you to drink and watch the game all at once.

Carole, Dianne, and I arrived a little after 7pm and were pleased to find several distinguished guides already in attendance including locals Bill (billmoy) and Cheryl (Sierra). The IgoUgo team were all there and it was good to meet Tony, Cia, and Cameron again as well as Eve, Dan, and the others who’d worked so hard to organise this event.

People were a little slow to arrive and Tony finally took centre stage a little later than anticipated at around 8pm to welcome one-and-all to the gathering. With the state-of-play of IgoUgo being the major topic on everyone’s lips, he also brought us all up-to-date with the situation, not least of all the fact that Travelocity are now the owners of Igougo and the corresponding impact that the acquisition could have for everyone here, most of it by all accounts good!

Tony wrapped up his talk after which I had the pleasure of relating my favourite travel memory to the thronging crowds, swiftly followed by zabelle and Sierra. Now it was time for the food and a chance to get to know one another better as we all guzzled bottles of Bud from the open bar.

I’d met Iz and Al in Devizes last January and was so pleased to see them again. Other firm friends were also here, namely Carole (cls223), Brenda (artsnletters), Kay (Idler), Lorrie (lcampbell), Natalie (nmgann), Dianne (Wildcat Dianne), Fleance (lashr1999), Bill (billmoy), Ed (Ed Hahn), and Arlene (travelprone), as distinguished a line up of top contributors as you could wish for.

Of course, as at London last year, "virtual" pals we might have been but there was certainly no ice-breaking required and we soon split into smaller groups with "where’s the next trip to" of course being pretty much the sole topic of conversation.

Well, the time flew by and pretty soon the big hand was on the nine and it was time to depart. The three of us cabbed it back to Oak Park, full of eager anticipation for the feast of great events lined up for the next few days, whilst I, having had a 30-hour day due to Chicago being 6-hours behind the UK, was feeling like I could sleep forever.

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