IDRS 2012 Day 1 (completing the trip)

I wasn’t able to get a room for last night in the hotel I’m staying at for the conference. So I had about a 50-minute drive to do this morning. It was a relaxing morning, as the conference didn’t start until noon, so I checked out of my hotel at 10 and had a leisurely drive. It was mostly cross country on very small, two-lane highways through typical MidWest scenery. Small towns, farms, “MonkeyLand” (too bad I couldn’t see what that was all about!), and eventually into what appears to be the sleepy college town of Oxford, Ohio.

Once I found the registration location (thoroughly drenched in sweat by this point!), it was an easy walk to the first concert venue. The way it works is that they have four five venues running simultaneous events throughout the day, typically scheduled in 60 or 90 minute blocks with 30 minutes in between for rest and travel to wherever you want to be next. This year, all but two of the venues are far enough apart that switching at the halfway point (because there are often two half-hour events in each block) is just not an option. That’s unfortunate, because I foresee scheduling issues …

And there’s an evening, major concert at 8pm each day which, as I remember, usually runs until 10 or 10:30. The next Day 1 post will contain observations on what I heard, and I’ll try to keep up with each day as it goes by, posting either after the nighttime concert or first thing in the morning!