August 2nd, 2011
Woke up this morning bright and early around 6:30 am, though I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, as too many thoughts about the stuff pertaining to this year's GenCon were floating in my head. Did the morning things that needed to be done (showering, breakfast, grooming, etc.), and then got down to finishing the last of the packing for the trip. My back was quite sore, but the pain killers I took with breakfast seemed to help. My mother arrived at the house about a quarter to nine, to see me off, and things were well in hand.
While I had thought that we might have to taxi to the airport for the flight out of Ottawa at 12:20 pm,
When the Delta Airlines counter opened for business,
After relaxing for most of the morning at the airport in Ottawa, the first leg of the flight to Detroit boarded on time, and we went out to the plane. It turned out that this plane was even smaller than the ones we'd flown on to Indy back in 2008, with only about 60 seats or so. Very cramped, very tight, and not all that comfortable. I handled the flight rather well, and between the Tylenol sinus and extra-strength pills that I took (for my sinus allergies) and the gum I chewed on the flight, I was fine. My head popped several times, and my sinuses dripped for some time, but nothing serious. The flight was about two hours. Because of the size of the plane, my carry-on luggage had to be stored in the cargo hold, as did
After deplaning in Detroit, and making our way to the gate for the Detroit-Indianapolis leg of the trip,
After an hour and a half wait again, we boarded the plane for Indianapolis. The same type of plane (if it wasn't the same plane that we had taken from Ottawa to Detroit), so very small and really cramped. Saw that there were quite a few gamers on the plane, no doubt all heading for GenCon 2011, but didn't recognise anyone that I saw. The flight itself was pretty smooth, but the back pain had gradually gotten worse during the course of the day, and I was starting to flag and all.
When we arrived at the airport in Indianapolis, around 4:40 pm local time, we hgad to walk the length of the Indy airport to get to the baggage claim! As we walked with the carry-on luggage, my back got worse and worse, and I thought I was going to collapse.
We arrived at the Omni Severin Hotel - Indianapolis around 5:30 pm, and I found the hotel was sort of just as I remembered it, but with some changes due to the renovations they've made over the past three years. I received a nasty surprise when we were checking in, and had problems with my credit card.
The hotel room that we got was in a corner of the building, with an entrance hall into a two-room area. (It turned out the second room was a conference room, but I didn't learn that until later.) The room was quite small, compared to other double rooms I've had at hotels, but there was a fridge as requested, so that was good, and I was rather disappointed at the size of the room since I didn't think there'd be enough room to put stuff. The air conditioning units were above the entrance to the room, and literally blow the cold air around the room and on the head section of the beds. Not great, but I thought I could manage. (As it turned out, I couldn't cope that well.) Here's the view from our hotel window.
By this time, I hadn't heard from my friend, Shawn, who was going to help us go and do some grocery shopping for snacks and the like for the fridge, I tried to reach him by phone at the number I had for him. The guy who answered the phone told me every time that I had the wrong number and no such person was at the number called. Since I had no other way of getting in touch with him, and hoping that Shawn would call the hotel looking for us,
Between the heat, walking, the plane trip, and the long day, the pain in my lower back and right leg got the best of me, and pretty much did me in.
So there you have it folks, the first day of the Indy and GenCon trip for 2011. Somewhat long, yes, I know, but I trust it was enjoyable. The next entry will deal with GenCon Day -1.