Travel log - Chicago...

I bet the Magnificent Mile at the heart of Chicago is pretty awesome, but I wouldn't know.

Typically work travel involves boring conferences with great hotels, great food, and excellent views of the city you're in. The view usually makes up for the fact that you're stuck in the hotel and not able to enjoy the city. I've seen Tampa, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Charlotte, and Chicago from great hotels - but this time around I have an excellent conference. That's not to say the others weren't good, I'm trying to make a point.

This is my Chicago view.

The third floor view. Bummer, I know.

Chalk it up to Murphy's Conference Law. Great conference means horrible view, marginal food and sketchy internet. Which is odd, I'm at a digital media conference.

The conference part is amazing. There is so much information I'm not even sure what to do with it. I can't take notes fast enough, and to be honest typically conference meetings involve me texting everyone I know hoping to get some sort of answer - so I can at least have some type of interesting conversation that day.

The hotel isn't horrible, I just expected a little bit more for the price we paid, and being downtown. Then again, the more expensive a hotel is, doesn't necessarily mean it's better. I have learned that in my travels. Nine times out of 10 we pay for internet (it's free for this conference) and that's usually anywhere from $9.99 to $21.50. So I'm not going to complain that it works "for the most part," but has moments. I can be patient. It's free.

Room service was great, but lunch today was sketchy. Hard to believe that both meals probably came from the same kitchen. Purple lettuce salad, weird chicken salad, and a tiramisu I almost wore when the waiter dropped it behind me. Seriously, I felt it hit the ground near my foot and the lady next to me goes, "wow, you almost wore dessert." Benefit of the doubt here, conference food is difficult because of the quantity, but this chicken salad stuff was a first for me. The speaker was great, so I forgot about the food.

I did find out tonight that the hotel was an original Playboy club and that Hugh himself shacked up in the Penthouse that is no longer there. They've reconfigured said Penthouse into meeting rooms since it was transformed into a hotel, so the place has an interesting history.

I'll take that. Besides, the shower has a rain shower head and that makes up for everything else.