Travel Expo Follow-Up

 Today I spent the afternoon checking out the Travel Expo in Rosemont.  It was my first time going to this annual event so I didn't know what to expect.  I love finding out new travel info and hearing about other people's travel adventures.  This expo had a little of the best of both worlds.  The 2 lectures that I saw today were by Rick Steves and by Patricia Schultz.  I also wanted to see Pauline Frommer but her lecture was scheduled on Saturday.  Rick Steves gave a very insightful presentation complete with beautiful photos from all over Europe.  By the time his presentation was over, I was itching to go back to Europe.  He touched on almost all the areas of Europe, including Turkey.  Turkey has been a country that I've always kept in the back of my mind of a destination I would love to explore and learn more about.
  After Rick Steves was Patricia Schultz, author of "1000 Places to See Before You Die".  She also had some wonderful photos and advice for travelers looking to go just about any where in the world.  I think the two lectures that I sat in on made the expo the most worth-while.  There were a bunch of booths set up where I did collect some info for future trips.  Many of these booths were passing out great Visitors Guides and other useful brochures.  For me, the only drawback was that I kept getting asked to fill out raffle drawings.  One raffle even wanted us to give our signature which would "o.k." the company to call us for marketing purposes.  Even after I have signed up on the "Do Not Call List", I still get telemarketer calls so I opted to not fill out any raffle drawings today. 
  There were plenty of activities for children including an area that SeaWorld occupied with 2 live penguins.  They were in a little display case where the glass went up to their shoulders.  Their little heads would look over the glass and their little beady eyes would look around.  I have such a heart for animals and couldn't get enough of them.
  Overall I think the expo was worth the buy 1 ticket get 1 free Groupon that I purchased online.  The booths are good if people are looking for more info for a specific trip or trip idea.  I enjoyed the lectures, especially Rick Steves who has been to so many places that I would love to go.
  People always say that planning the trip is half the fun.  I can somewhat agree with that however for me, the planning part gives me that excited, anxious feeling that I have something to look forward to, something that I can experience and remember forever.
  Seize The Day and Travel!