Markel Family Combo Breaker 2026 Getaway–Day Four

Last Friday was a long and busy day for all of us. Ryan was busy directing things, Turkey was doing production with 10/0, Bunny, Moose, and Ladybug were working registration and/or the info desk, and Chickadee and I helped staff the Crew Lounge, starting with the very important task of getting the coffee going before 6 a.m.

We also helped serve all three meals for the staff and volunteers, including sandwiches from a local deli for lunch, and everyone’s favorite dinner of the event, Portillo’s Italian beef!

The two of us were so busy that we only managed a quick walk through the event before we returned to our room, exhausted!

Up next…another early morning, more meals served, and a visit to the Combo Breaker arcade!

Markel Family Combo Breaker 2026 Getaway–Day Three

By last Thursday morning, things were really starting to come together on the main floor of Combo Breaker:

But before things really kicked into high gear, Chickadee and I took around the Schaumburg Sculpture Park, which was a lot of fun (we even got to see a nesting swan!):

And the lilacs were still in bloom:

And then we got to work in the crew lounge…on Thursday, we only serve dinner, but we also have coffee, water, and snacks for everyone working so hard to get all the last minute details taken care of.

The real highlight of the day, though, was the delivery of the Red Bull fridge to the Crew Lounge!

Up next…Combo Breaker 2026 begins!

Markel Family Combo Breaker 2026 Getaway–Day Two

Last Wednesday we were at the Metra station in Palatine pretty early to get a jumpstart on one of the best days of the year…the day we go to Chicago!

We even managed to get on a train earlier than I planned, which gave us a little more time downtown.

We visited all of our favorite spots:

And we found lots of pigeons!

I got to spend some time on the lakefront:

And we enjoyed a few treats:

Marshall Field’s (or Macy’s if you’re from out of town) is always an important stop, because we have to get our box of Frango Mints for the year…we were impressed to find that they are doing a lot of improvements in the old flagship store:

Our time went by entirely too quickly, though, and pretty soon we were back at Ogilvie Transportation Center:

I think we walked almost from one end of the train to the other looking for seats up top, as is our tradition on the way home, and we finally found our preferred spot:

When we got back, we headed down to the convention center to help out a bit with setup before we got some pizzas for dinner…after walking seven or eight miles downtown, we were famished!

Up next: a sculpture park, and the real beginning of our work!

Markel Family Combo Breaker 2026 Getaway–Day One

Just like that, our favorite week of the year has already come and gone, but we had a great time at Combo Breaker 2026!

We set out last Tuesday. As always, we stopped at Wally’s on the way…it might be a controversial opinion, but I think it’s the superior gas station!

Arriving at the Renaissance always feels like coming home:

We did things a little differently this year, and went to Rainbow Cone on our first day in Chicagoland instead of our last (and we went to one of the suburban locations that’s paired with Buona Beef):

And we stopped at Meijer to pick up supplies, which is a treat for us, although it’s rumored that St. Louis will be getting one eventually:

And then a truly rare treat…Ryan found an amazing taco place, Thlaco Taco Tijuanense, in Arlington Heights, and we tried their tacos al pastor, which were amazing…we’re already planning on going back for dinner next year!

I capped off the evening with a visit to the hotel pool and hot tub:

Up next…an amazing day in Chicago!