Back now.

The trip to Chicago was quite something. Substantial delays coming *and* going due to weather. Got bumped from Midway aiport to O'Hare -- twice. Got a rental car that simply wasn't there and had to deal with that in unseasonal heat after more delays. Several normal travelling SNAFUs like me forgetting to bring a comfortable backup pair of shoes (my feet hate me right now, which is pretty fair under the circumstances). General stress and travel worries and getting lost and whatnot.

Still, good trip overall. It's just that everything related to getting to and from Chicago was horrible.