Ok, I just got off the Blogher waitlist and have a ticket!
(let's say that again "!")
But I'm traveling solo with my toddler and am weighing the value of staying for the keynote and a few minutes of cocktail party with getting the babe home into her own bed late Saturday night and spending Sunday morning with Daddy (that one is nice for me too).
Details about the options:
Stay over Saturday Night
I'm probably staying with friends in Chicago not near conference center so,
- spring the kid from childcare after the keynote (assuming she's been happy there considering she's normally a home-with-daddy babe and I didn't have to drag a cranky toddler to the keynote with me),
- spend half-an-hour at the cocktail party* trying to manage a toddler before giving up and then,
- schlep across Chicago on public transit** (~40 min) to spend a few minutes making chitchat with my hosts before putting the babe to bed and probably crashing myself,
- get up and schlep across Chicago again for a mid-morning flight (definitely missing our weekly Sunday morning yoga classes),
- get home early afternoon and try to unwind/get ready for the work week.
Travel Saturday Night
- pull the kid out of childcare at the break before the keynote,
- head for the airport (miss keynote, cocktail party, and potentially some end-of-conference networking) via public transit, which at 4:30 is a nicer toddler prospect than 7 p.m.),
- catch 7 p.m. flight that get's us home at 9:45 p.m.,
- retrieve luggage,
- take really tired toddler (either asleep in the Ergo or enlivened by a nap on the plane) across town on subway (~35 min),
- crawl into bed very late for a tot (but not unprecedented) and be joined by Daddy even later when he gets back from his Saturday night gig,
- potentially make it to our morning yoga classes (Anusara II/III for me followed by Itsy Bitsy tots for her) and go out to brunch with Daddy.
Other notes, Maya's actually a pretty great traveler (for the under two set). She loves airports and sleeps on planes.
* No way Maya lasts very long a a cocktail party after two days of non-stop baby/conference action in or out of the childcare center. I actually think the airport would go well though since she'd have near undivided Mommy attention, room to roam, and other passengers to flirt with.
** I really don't want to bring a carseat so it's probably public transit all the way.
So how would you handle this? Another question: should I be considering getting a room in the conference center (Money is an object.)
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