I spent most of the weekend at The Travel & Adventure Show in Rosemont, Illinois. A huge travel convention, it has become a staple on my yearly convention calendar.

In its 21st year, The Travel & Adventure Show has 10 shows this year. Chicago was its fifth, with five more scheduled. South Florida is next weekend, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Denver. There were hundreds of exhibitors, including convention and visitors bureaus, travel consultants, adventure companies, authors and more. There was also a handful of food vendors offering their local food products, like New Orleans Cajun spice rub.

My first stop was at travel author Theresa Goodrich‘s booth. I interviewed Goodrich on Talking Travel last year but got an in-person update from her.

Next, I saw travel journalist David McGuffin, another previous Talking Travel interview guest. We discussed his latest and future travels.

One other highlight was a presentation by Samantha Brown, a television host seen on the Travel Channel, PBS and other outlets. Naturally, Brown talked of her love of travel, specifically the connectivity with people through travel. She also took part in a meet-and-greet, which drew a long line of fans.

— John Wroblewski, online writer