I spent last evening with a snuggly toddler in my lap and didn't get a lot done, but got lots of love.

Awww - sweet! :-) No worries - I just wanted to make sure that you actually checked it - publicly listed websites being prone to junk mail and all...

You've given me plenty of time to con someone into sharing the drive, so it's very likely I'll easily be able to make it :-)

I actually live in Michigan, a couple hours up the Lake Michigan coast from Chicago.

That's still just a long-ish day's drive... somehow based on your website I'd assumed you were in Europe (probably just the subject matter - I am happy to be wrong!)