Saturday in Chicago was possibly the best inauguration of a new chase season that I’ve experienced. A little time to take in some of the Museum of Science and Industry; then watch Sean Casey’s long-awaited new Imax film, Tornado Alley; then head over to Skip Talbot’s place and hang out with fellow chasers and watch storm chasing videos…what could be better?

It was good to reconnect with Michigan native Ben Holcomb, whom I hadn’t

seen since he moved to Oklahoma City last year; with fellow Michiganites Nick Nolte and B. B. and L. B. LaForce; and with Scott Bennet, Adam Lucio, and Danny Neal, comrades in arms along with Ben from the infamous Field Fiasco of May 22 in South Dakota. Plus, it was a pleasure to finally be able to meet some people whom I’ve known of for a long time, including Skip Talbot, who hosted the fete.

My buddy Bill Oosterbaan and I left Grand Rapids for Chicago around 10 a.m. Saturday and arrived at the museum with time to spare. Fifty or sixty miles down the road, I realized that I had left behind a couple 4-packs of barley wine which I had bought exclusively for the occasion. It was a minor downside to a great trip. Drat! Now I guess it’s up to Lisa and me to drink all that barley wine–an onerous task, to be sure, but we’ll manage it. In fact, we’ve already whittled away the workload by half, and I’m contemplating a bottle tonight after I’ve finished writing this post.

Watching tornado videos and hanging out with chasers has got me hankering to see some storms. It won’t be much longer now! And this year I’ve got everything I need to kick things up a notch or two with a great new camcorder and live streaming video. Wednesday I meet with one of the Channel 8 meteorologists to discuss doing some media chasing–connection courtesy of Ben Holcomb. Thanks, Ben!

But back to the party, here are a few photos. If you were there and don’t see yourself here, sorry–I didn’t intentionally leave you out. I just didn’t get everyone, and these shots are merely representative.

Skip, thanks to you and Jenny for opening your home to us. To everyone else: great seeing you, and I look forward to crossing paths with you again at the edge of the meso.