Wayne and Erika Pfeiler

I checked out of the Allerton hotel, rode the bus to the conference and checked my luggage so I could walk around. This was the combined ORS/AAOS day, so the convention center was really hopping. The ORS conference is pretty big, but AAOS really dwarfs it by comparison. One cool thing about AAOS is they have companies come in to put together fancy booths for what's basically a trade show. I walked around and saw new versions of hip and knee implants, lots of operations on video, tons of medical products, full clinical MRI and fluoroscopy machines, and even some decorative doctors' office sculptures for sale. There were a -lot- of companies there, and many of them must have spent a mint to put together their booths and displays. I think things like this are one reason hospital operations are so expensive. Just imagine what it costs to truck an MRI machine all across the country.

I left the conference and walked a few blocks west to Chinatown for lunch. On the way I saw two men working with a small white remote control blimp. I think they may have been using it to take aerial pictures around a construction site.

Chinatown was pretty cool. There were lots of little shops and places to eat. After making a smal loop, I settled on a place to eat and the food and service were great. I picked up a couple things for Erika and headed back to the conference.

Soon it was time to leave, so I picked up my bags and took a taxi to the airport. Midway looks small compared to O'Hare, but both of them are much larger than RDU in Raleigh. So I flew on Southwest airlines, a short note on them. They don't assign specific seats like most airlines do. Instead, they give you a letter code: A,, B or C. Once you get to the gate, make sure to line up next to your letter code. The sooner you print your boarding pass online, the better letter code you get. Code A passengers get to board first, so they can pick out the best seats. Poor folks in C who are travelling together might have to sit apart. Luckily I'd printed my pass soon enough to get an A boarding pass and I grabbed an exit row seat. Overall it was a great trip. Check out Chicago if you ever get a chance.