Category Archives: Travel

Blogging, Conferences, Friends, LEGO, Photo-A-Day, Travel, Vlog

Post Conference Malaise – Travel Uncertain

My One Cup Challenge
Photo-A-Day #4324

I was awoken to a message that the second leg of my trip home had been cancelled. I then took a look at the weather. Apparently, even more snow is going to be dumped all over my home. This is causing flights to be cancelled over and over. so I hopped on to see if I could switch the flight. I did and then that one had cancelled the second leg again. So this time I just called and was waiting on the queue. However, I didn’t have to wait on the phone. I could hang up and my spot in line would be saved till they were ready to call me back. Derek offered to have me fly through Dallas and stay with him until I could get a flight out. I wasn’t able to do that so I was booked back on my original first leg of the flight with a later flight out in the morning. We’ll see if I get there as expected.

The folks from Dad 2.0 organized a couple of excursions for people who were staying on Sunday and I really should have gone. I wanted to go and take some photos but couldn’t get myself motivated enough to go. I don’t know if it was post conference blahs or the nerves about not being able to be home when Allison is sick and has been cooped up in the house since Wednesday. Whatever it was I hung out in my room till almost 2pm doing blog posts and such. When I finally got out of my room there were a few people returning from the trips. I worked out a ride share to the airport with Michael. Then I took a walk to look for something to eat. I walked back to the mall where we watched The LEGO Batman Movie. While I was there I had a super small cup of ice cream for $4. Then I went into the LEGO store. While I was there I had time to kill so I started making a cup full of LEGO bricks. I took a whole hour at it and got a ton of pieces. I don’t know exactly how many I got but we’ll see when we do the next One Cup challenge for Built from Bricks.

Then I walked back and hung out, had crazy good nachos with short rib meat and blue cheese. They were potato chips and totally fresh. I split those with Doug, the organizer of Dad 2.0. It was Doug, Michael and I sitting by a firepit and enjoying good conversation. Then Michael and I headed to the airport. I’m there now and awaiting my first leg of my trip home. There is no one here in the airport, too. It is crazy.

Blogging, Conferences, Friends, Photo-A-Day, Travel, Vlog

Farewell to #Dad2Summit 2017

After the LEGO Batman movie
Photo-A-Day #4323

I’m leaving Dad 2.0 Summit tomorrow. I had a different experience this year than the last. Last year I was a freshman making his way through the crowded halls of the upperclassmen, the veterans, those Dads that had many years of Dad 2.0 under their belts. I met many people and became friends with a few whom I would keep in contact with over the course of the next year. Some have become very close. I don’t have that closeness or ties to many other dads back home. Virtually none. I’m not much for the online groups and that is partly why I shied away from the conference to begin with. The other part was the M3 conference and the bad taste that left in my mouth. I had to give Dads conferences some time. Then the time slipped away. So, I am glad that I finally got it in gear last year and went.

I had applied for and won a Miller Grant. I had never met Oren Miller. From all I heard and saw at the conference in Washington he was Dad 2.0’s favorite son lost too soon. I felt myself feeling a little less for never having known him. Mind you, no one made me feel that way. I just felt that way, like I had missed someone quite special and I would never go to Dad 2.0 through that lens and experience.

But my trip last year was good and this year was really good. I got a roommate again, my friend Derek Wilmot. He and I had a great time together over the course of the Summit. It is always good to connect with a friend at these conferences and having a roommate was something that I balked against many times over but the past two times has been great, last year with Dave Taylor and this year with Derek.

Throughout the day yesterday I had many great experiences. I won a Nest Learning Thermostat from Rheem, and a $50 gift card from Russell Athletics, and yesterday Rheem gave me a $25 gift card to Home Depot. Facebook Live gave me a Mophie battery backup for doing a Facebook Live Session. Derek and I did one that was a lot of fun. You can see it here.

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