I went in to work on a Sunday the last week in March to get a jump on my work week.  I also had to pack for my upcoming trip to Philly. One of the other OT staff members was attending the conference, but we were not traveling together. She had friends in Philly that she was visiting, as well as attending a Bon Jovi concert with her family on Friday night. So we traveled separately. At least we ran into each other a few times during the conference and enjoyed having a lunch break together. We also visited briefly with our previous Rehab director who was also attending the conference.

My work week went by quickly and on Thursday morning I was headed out the door to drive up to Philly. I was hoping to drive up early enough to check in and attend a few conference classes before the end of the day. Unfortunately, my GPS took me on the scenic drive through Philadelphia and with rush hour traffic starting, I ended up checking in a bit later than I wanted. Tom was able to check me into a hotel right across the street from the convention center where the conference was being held. It is fascinating staying in the city. My hotel lobby was off the street, but the actual hotel rooms were 17 stories above the main lobby. It was built on top of the parking garage. And the dining room and bar were actually on the top floor with a beautiful view of downtown along with the swimming pool and jacuzzi. After I  parked in the garage and checked in to the hotel, I walked across the street to the Convention center. This is the biggest building I have ever been in for a conference. It took at least 20 minutes to walk from one side of the building to the other. So you had to schedule travel time into getting from class to class. Along with taking several escalators up and down on 3 levels. I checked into the conference and picked up my badge and workbook. This year the conference celebrated our 100th year as OTs. It turns out it was the biggest conference in the history of AOTA conferences(American Occupational Therapy Association) with over 13,000 OTs in attendance. Our theme focused on the next upcoming 100 years and incorporating technology into our rehab programs including use of robotics. That was the focus on our opening lecture. They also put on a big show for the upcoming OT Ball on Friday night. I think I am getting too old for this! They had an opening band(very loud) and all the OTs were throwing around beach balls and started a congo line.  And the conference hall was so packed, there were no more seats left! I stood in the back for the hour long program. Then enjoyed hors d oevres with the opening of the Exhibit hall. Lots of booths set up by different companies selling lots of products and showing off new inventions and OT gadgets.  I had been on my feet for 4 hrs and was pretty worn out when I walked back to the hotel. I got myself a glass of wine and sat down with my conference schedule to map out the next few days. The conference decided to try to be more environmentally sound by posting their conference books online. You could get a paper printout of the conference schedule, but not until you checked in. That is a little late to figure out your days. So I had printed out a schedule ahead of time and read it over when we were in Florida(in between watching March Madness basketball games). Now at the conference I just had to pick the classes I wanted to attend and make sure I had a schedule that worked. They also eliminated the registration for each class and all handouts. So it was basically first come first serve. I found out on Friday morning when I sat down in my 8am class that there was not enough space for all of us in this huge building to attend all the classes, and they actually had to shut the doors. Ridiculous. Especially since the building was huge. For some classes they were able to quickly set up video and stream the class in another room. Obviously the organizers did not plan very well for the huge attendance. They did put a disclaimer on their workbook that stated you might not get into a class if the room filled up so they recommended you arrive early. Great. The difficulty was running from one class to another with limited time in such a big hall, with so many people. Just standing in line for the bathroom was interesting. Or to buy a drink or snack. Instead, I would drop into the hotel when I had a break. A lot cheaper and more convenient since I brought my own snacks and had bottled water and coffee from the hotel. So Friday was a busy day attending classes, visiting booths in the exhibit hall and I stopped to have lunch with my coworker. Fortunately there were lots of restaurants in the area, but the most interesting place was the Reading Market. It was right next to the Convention hall and was filled with all different types of food booths. And absolutely packed! You had to go at lunch since it was closed during dinner.  We managed to find a seat at a seafood diner and enjoyed Fish and Chips on our Lenten Friday before heading back to more classes. That evening, I attended the OT Ball on my own. The celebration was included in the price of our conference. It was held in the Convention hall and took up half of the building. They had a live band playing and lots of OTs dancing in a huge room with a huge stage. I enjoyed the music,  appetizers and drinks while watching the crowd and chatting with a few young OT students. I then enjoyed some desserts while listening to the Jazz band in a quieter spot while people watching. They had caricature drawings and photo booths set up. I was just surprised with all those OT people I never spotted anyone I knew. I was also disappointed that my alma mater, Wayne State, did not have a reunion going on. I see Western Michigan held one and I thought about crashing it!  It was amazing to see all these OTs together in one spot-mostly young students and some of the really old OTs. I guess that will be me one day! Looks like I am getting there,  especially since I quit around 9:30. I had to get up early for my last day of classes and needed to pack up. Naturally I had gathered a whole lot of freebies at the exhibit booths. I even bought myself a few estim machines to use on myself and the family(gives an electrical stimulation to those aching muscles and sore joints). I use the machines at work on my patients since I am certified, and have had the treatment myself especially for my sore hip, and I have always wanted my own system. I just cannot believe how small the unit is and how powerful. Can't wait to try it out!

So I packed up my car on Saturday morning and checked out before heading over to the conference. I also enjoyed my complimentary breakfast every morning in the hotel thanks to Tom.  I attended a few classes before running into my fellow coworkers and we took a lunch break together. Back to the Reading Market. This time I stood in line for Philly cheesesteaks. I also picked up a few extra to take home to Tom and Scott. Afterwards we had to pick up some ice cream at a Philly favorite, Bassetts, Ice Cream since 1861.  I heard about it during an opening OT ceremony with a story from Al Roker. He is from Philly and gave a video Welcome speech and recommended a cheesesteak and ice cream. He also thanked OTs for our program which helped his autistic son increase his participation in all types of activities including improvement with school work and sports. I also went Easter Bunny shopping for some goodies for the family's Easter baskets. There were lots of candy shops-chocolate covered pretzels are big in Pennsylvania. Actually pretzels in general are a big hit. My coworker and I searched hi and low for a bag of pretzels but no one sold them by the pound to take back to our staff. Instead, she traveled to a local bakery the next day on her way home and picked up a huge bag of soft pretzels and mustard.

I missed out on a few events while visiting Philly. I was hoping Tom and Scott could have joined me. We have driven to Philly in the past with visits to the museums, zoo and of course the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We would have loved to all be together, but Scott had a busy schedule back at home. On Thursday night he was inducted into the National Technology Honor Society at school. Not a lot of kids in this group, but plan to be busy organizing a Science Fair as well as other activities at school. And they meet during school, so no extra time needed to join. Just dues payments!  So Tom accompanied him to the ceremony on Thursday night. Scott also had to work, and on Saturday evening he had his yearly Boy Scout swim test to complete for upcoming summer scout water events.

I also missed out on the yearly high school Viking Fest dinner. It was scheduled on Saturday night, and even though I arrived home from Philly in time to attend, I was just too pooped to party!  Maybe I will try again next year. Then on Sunday I went off to dinner and a Christian concert with a fellow co worker. Last year, Allison and I joined my coworker Ann and attended a christian rock concert during Allison's spring break. Allison was already done with her spring break and was sorry she missed her favorite christian rock n roller, Steven Curtis Chapman. I sent her lots of photos and a small recording of his live music.  Now I was officially worn out.

Allison was already back at school, but traveled down to Virginia Beach for another Frisbee tournament the weekend I was in Philly. She called me Friday night from a restaurant on the eastern Maryland shore since the Bridge had been shut down in Virginia Beach. There was a tornado that touched down nearby and the state police had to close the bridge.  It was raining pretty hard in Philly during our conference and a bit chilly, but Allison ended up with the really bad weather. And Allison kept asking me if it was Sunny in Philly(Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of Allison's favorite shows, along with her roommates). Not Sunny when I was there!

Dad Seitz celebrated his Birthday this week. Glad we were able to celebrate in person when we visited him in Florida!