We did venture out from the hotel on Sunday of Combo Breaker, including a stop at “The Jewels.”
We also returned to the church of my childhood for the first time in several years:
We didn’t have a chance to go to the original Rainbow Cone location on the South Side like we used to, but we did visit one of their newer locations in Lombard…I love how the place looks!
The rest of the day was spent back at the event.
King of Fighters was another game that drew my attention this time…the commentators and crowd made it impossible not to want to watch!
We even found time with everyone’s work schedules to take our traditional family picture:
Tekken 7 is a game I always look forward to watching:
We found time for an evening walk outside:
I didn’t stay up as late as some, but I made sure to see a bit of the final top eight, Guilty Gear-Strive-.
After that, I headed back to the room Chickadee and I were sharing (that was a whole saga) for one last night at the hotel.
On the Saturday of Combo Breaker, we spent most of the day at the event (Turkey and Ladybug worked almost the entire time we were there!):
The arcade machine room is always a popular destination (even I played a few games):
We watched the Them’s Fightin’ Herds top eight, which was a ton of fun!
I really love finding interesting games to watch…even though I don’t know anything about fighting games, I find the energy of the crowd to be quite contagious!
It’s already been two weeks since Bunny, Moose, Chickadee and I drove up to Schaumburg to join Ryan, Turkey, and Ladybug for Combo Breaker 2023!
It’s become a tradition to stop at Wally’s on the way up…it’s no Buc-ee’s, but it’s still quite a spectacle!
We made pretty good time (Moose took the initiative to rearrange his few remaining finals so we could leave earlier in the day), and were happy to see the Renaissance for the second year in a row:
Chickadee and I took a swim that night, and Moose helped out with some of the registration stuff, but mostly we just had a nice, chill evening following our drive.
This week’s Mani Monday is inspired by the Combo Breaker fighting game tournament event we attended over the weekend (and is modeled with the medal I received in 2022). It features Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in “Black to Black” and Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in “Luck & Glory.”
On Sunday it was time for all of us (minus Ryan and Turkey) to head home so that Moose could march with his school’s band in the town Memorial Day parade on Monday. We said a sad goodbye to Combo Breaker:
And got a few last pictures:
We took one last walk around the beautiful hotel lobby:
And then hit the road. We were excited to watch the odometer kick over to 80,000 miles on the way. We were even more excited to stop at Portillo’s and eat lunch on their patio!
It was weird arriving home without two members of our family, but they returned Monday with gifts. I didn’t have the opportunity to stop at a Jewel-Osco while we were in Chicago, but Ryan found time to buy my favorite chocolate torte:
And he brought back staff medals for the entire family as thanks for the work we did over the weekend…I was rather overwhelmed at being recognized!
And so that wraps up what was a slightly shorter than usual but greatly appreciated trip up to Chicagoland for Combo Breaker. Hopefully it won’t be another three years before we make it back, but like I said, I won’t take it for granted again!
We were up early enough on Saturday to be on the Combo Breaker floor before pretty much anyone else (other than staff) showed up:
It was the perfect time for our traditional Combo Breaker family photo!
After that, we parted ways again to do our respective jobs. Ryan and Turkey were working the full day again, and the rest of headed off to fill more bags for the next several hours. We were working with someone which made it a lot of fun, and the time passed quickly! After we finally ran out of hand sanitizer and had to stop, we took a break for ice cream at Oberweis:
Back at the hotel, we took yet another walk…I don’t think the place has a bad side!
We spent the rest of our time that day at Combo Breaker…we knew it was our last night there, and we wanted to make it last. We got to see an auction tournament for the first time, which was loads of fun, and caught one final before we left. We also got to see parts of a wedding that was taking place at the hotel, which was also fun!
We took the long way back to our room (outside again) to enjoy the night view one more time.
The second day of our trip was the one I was most looking forward to, because after three long years, we were finally going to go back to Chicago! The weather forecast wasn’t promising, but in the end, although it was quite cool, the rain lifted, and that was good enough for us. We got to leave from a new-to-us Metra station (Palatine), so we saw a bunch of different suburbs on our way downtown.
The sights that greeted us were just like I remembered:
It was so good to be back!
Bunny took some time to feed some pigeons:
And one even photobombed her!
Mostly, we just walked around and took it all in. It was so much fun to see all of our favorite places (and some new ones), and we even stopped to listen to a street musician (who was very talented!) for a bit. The only thing we didn’t get to do that I would have liked was see Buckingham Fountain and Lake Michigan, but it was very windy, and that was in the opposite direction of the other stuff we had planned, so I settled on seeing a sliver of my lake from a distance.
We walked up the Magnificent Mile to Water Tower Place, something new for us. We stopped in to see the big American Girl store and the Lego Store (two of our favorite places):
We also spent some time in Jane Byrn Park by the historic Water Tower:
After that, we made our way to the Plaza of the Americas so we could visit the “Wings of Mexico” art installation, which is “a symbol of the immigrant journey and celebrates Chicago as a sanctuary city.” Moose didn’t care to have his picture taken, but us gals couldn’t resist!
No visit to Chicago would be complete without a stop at the former Marshall Field’s on State Street to buy a box of Frango Mints!
And then we made our way back to the train and said goodbye to my favorite city. The last time I said goodbye, I assumed I’d be back “soon.” Three years later, and without Turkey joining us because he was working Combo Breaker the whole day, I finally made it back. I really hated to leave, and I’ll never take it for granted again.
Back at the hotel, Combo Breaker had begun, so we spent some time on the floor, taking in all those sights, too.
We also enjoyed playing some of the arcade games they had set up, including Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong.
We couldn’t resist another walk outside, where the evening light was perfect. Also, we enjoyed watching muskrats swim in the hotel ponds…who knew?!?
We also found time for one more evening swim…it wasn’t quite the same as swimming under the stars at Pheasant Run’s outdoor pool, but it was still fun!
I haven’t had the opportunity to do too many “Markel Family Road Trip Wrap-Ups” over the last few years, but I’m back with a big one, because Combo Breaker returned to Chicagoland over Memorial Day weekend!
Ryan and Turkey left for the event last Wednesday, but Moose had one last final that day, so the rest of us hit the road on Thursday (major thanks to Ryan’s parents for letting us borrow their second car to make it all work!). The drive through Illinois was, as always, pretty boring, but we did get to stop at the fairly new Wally’s in Pontiac to get gas and stretch our legs, and that in itself was quite an experience…I had no idea a “jerky bar” was a thing!
Our destination was the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, the new home of Combo Breaker. As much as I loved Pheasant Run, this was a real upgrade, and we really enjoyed just walking around the hotel (inside and out), and taking it all in:
Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so after stashing our stuff in the “boys’ room,” we went down to the event space to see how we could help. They were, I think, happy to see us, as they put us to work immediately, filling the registrants’ bags. It was fun being part of the work that goes on behind the scenes, and we got to see a lot of people as we worked, but I don’t think we were as happy to see anyone as Bunny was to finally get to meet her favorite fighting game commentator, Tasty Steve!
I took a break from bagging to check into our room, which was very nice…we especially liked the “wish” artwork on the wall!
The view wasn’t bad either!
After we finished our work for the day, we headed down to the pool, which was very nice (it was a saltwater pool, which I enjoyed), and we had the whole thing to ourselves!
We also took one last walk around the property…it’s a very beautiful place!
After a long wait of three years, Combo Breaker is back! Like everything that has taken place since the beginning of the pandemic, it looked a little different, but one of the most obvious differences wasn’t even pandemic-related…Combo Breaker has a new home at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center! (In related news, the now-defunct Pheasant Run Resort burned down the week before the event began, and there’s so much irony in there I can’t even start.)
So how was Combo Breaker different in the of COVID-19? It really wasn’t…vaccinations were required (you received a wristband to wear all weekend after you showed your proof of vaccination) and masks were mandatory at all times (except for when you were eating or drinking, of course…and I have to say, in general, compliance was excellent). Everything else felt familiar, though…the crowds, the games, the commentators, the artists, the fantastic energy on the floor. It was just all much bigger, because the space was enormous…even though the main stage screen was the same size as it has always been, it looked tiny compared to my memory of the event because the room was so huge!
For the first time, all seven of us Markels were able to volunteer at the event. Of course, Ryan always works, but Turkey drove up with him on Wednesday, and pitched in from Thursday-Saturday. The rest of us drove up a day later, and on Thursday and Saturday we helped fill thousands of registrant bags, and Ladybug even got to help run a bracket Friday night! There was something special about all of us being able to help out during the first event back after the pandemic, and even though most of us had to leave to come home before the Sunday night finals, I think this Combo Breaker will always have a special place in our hearts, because it just meant so much!
