As I mentioned last week, we were off to Supercon in Rochester, Minnesota last weekend. Joining takaza and me were roho, genet, and linnaeus.

We rented a Toyota Sienna minivan, picking it up at the Holiday Inn Gurnee. It was a little tight getting five people and too much stuff into it, but we made it work. We struck off for points north at about 4 PM. Traffic in Milwaukee was slow, which was predictable for a Friday afternoon, and the Pewaukee was surprisingly jammed. Around Lake Mills, WI, Dan traded of driving with Paul and as night fell we were passing the outskirts of Madison.

Twenty miles north of Madison, we were surprised by a loud BAM! and rapid hissing as the rear driver’s side tire blew out. Paul was able to pull over safely, then limp the car about a half mile to the next exit. We changed out the tire while Dan called Hertz to negotiate for a replacement vehicle (since we couldn’t very well drive another 600 miles on the spare). We drove back to Madison on surface roads and found the oh-so-cute Dane County Regional Airport, which was all but deserted for the night. A little wrangling with the Hertz counter there yielded us a Ford Explorer, which was…well, even tighter quarters, but manageable. After a quick stop at A&W, we hit the road and reached Rochester at just before midnight.

Supercon is a relaxacon, mostly comprised of people who run conventions (mostly Convergence and Anime Detour, with a sprinkling of others). This year, their 16th, they broke their record for most people in attendance with 90 attendees. We’re not talking a big crowd here 🙂 We had fun meeting new folks as well as spending time with kellicjtiger and uberhill. The hotel is a bit old and showing its age, though the pool and hot tub were just wonderful. We wandered around Rochester a bit, I fell in love with Dunn Brothers Coffee, and we had a very enjoyable weekend there.

On Sunday we met up with foxfeather and mbala for an excellent lunch at India Garden. Following the meal they surprised with an offer for a tour of the Mayo Clinic, which is normally closed on Sundays. We had time for a whirlwind behind-the-scenes tour to see some of the fantastic artworks there, admire the architecture, and marvel at the infrastructure required to serve millions of patients each year. It was very enlightening and extremely enjoyable. Thanks to Fox and Mbala for a great time! I just wish we could have stayed longer, but unfortunately we needed to get on the road.

The trip back was thankfully uneventful. We took the overland route of Route 14 from La Crosse to Madison which was slightly more interesting than the interstate, but probably not worth the extra time. We grabbed a quick dinner at Culver’s in Lake Geneva before finally dropping off the car and getting home at around 9:00 PM.

It was a very enjoyable weekend! I’d been itching for a road trip lately, and this certainly qualified. I enjoyed our excellent company, and I hope that someday soon poor Roho can unfold himself from the pretzel he was stuck in from having to ride in the back seat.

I’m dragging a bit this afternoon, which I suppose isn’t too surprising. This should be a fun week since Dan has informed me that we’re doing stuff Wednesday and Friday nights (and possibly the weekend?), though he hasn’t told me what. It’ll be enjoyable no matter what, though!