Joubert Conference - Baltimore 2019

It's been just over a week since the 2019 JS conference in Baltimore. I would've posted sooner, but work and stuff.

It was a fun week, filled with family, friends, and lots of good American junk food!

Since Baltimore was within driving distance, my family left pretty early the Wednesday morning of the conference. After a decent nine-hour trip, we made it to the hotel, which was conveniently located in the middle of Camden Yards and Baltimore's Inner Harbour so there were plenty of things to see and do over the week!

I made it just in time to see the end of the My Life With JS presentation which, this year, was being done by two younger guys, one of whom's family I've known since the Minneapolis conference six years ago. Very well done, from what little I was able to sit in on.

After that, we met some people and had dinner with a few of the other Canadian families in attendance. We would make a point to stick with our fellow Canucks as much as possible throughout the rest of the conference.

After dinner, the family registered.

As you can see by those ribbons, I had lots to do during the week, acting and volunteering as a board member, and leading another discussion group for the older youth.

Speaking of those folks, after registering, I was asked if I wouldn't mind visiting the area set aside for the older JS individuals and socializing for a bit. Right away, I was greeted with lots of big hugs, high-fives and handshakes. Now, I've known most of these people (can't call them kids anymore!) for several years, and this conference I was impressed by how much more mature and sociable everyone was.

The conference's first full day started off with a group session about adults with JS led by my parents, with me attending as their visual aide and sounding board. It went very well. Lots of people, great discussions, and sharing of resources. I got a lot of nice complements over the next few days, even though some of those were directed at me and not them. Still though, I was very proud of them both!

When that was done, we had the rest of the day off, so we went out and toured around Baltimore's Inner Harbour. Very nice area!

There were lots of ships, including restored vessels and submarines that are now museums. There was an aquarium which was a big draw for a lot of the conference's attendees, and a really cool-looking Ripley's Believe It or Not. There wasn't enough time to see it all, but I would absolutely make a return trip for it.

We boarded a water taxi to take us to the other end of the harbour. There, we toured around and took some photos

Long before the trip, the one thing the family had agreed to do was crab, which is famous in Baltimore. So, while walking around, we found a small restaurant that served the city's delicacy.

I can't speak for my parents or sister, but my eyes were definitely bigger than my belly! They had everything. We got crab cakes, tater tots with crab dip, crab cake sandwiches, and I got a crab pretzel, a giant pretzel topped with crab dip, crab meat, and cheese!

Between the awesome food, Colonial-era building, and reggae music, I could've stayed there all day! But, we went back across the harbour and did some shopping. I got a couple shot glasses (which I collect), some chocolates from a fun little sweet shop, and what looks like a pretty cool book of Edgar Allan Poe stories.

The next day was my day to do stuff. After an early breakfast, I took the morning to relax. That afternoon, I led a discussion group for the teens and young adults with JS about successes and challenges. Like before, it was fun and lots of people participated, but this time everyone there seemed more engaged and the conversations were a bit deeper, with some people bringing up issues like dating, bullying, and feeling left out at school and with friends. One girl actually asked if everyone could talk about one thing that makes them sad, which is what led to the discussion about bullying and feeling left out. Such an awesome group. I was pretty floored, to be honest!

That evening was a Dad's night and Adult social, so my Dad and I got a bite to eat at the hotel's bar beforehand. There were a couple other families there, as well. While we were waiting for our meals, the young son of a friend of mine came over and showed me something he had just drawn. Being a fan of superheroes, he also wanted to talk to me about all the latest Marvel movies. He said he liked the usual popular heroes like Thor and Wolverine, but then surprised me by liking Shang-chi, a fairly lesser-known character set to appear in Marvel's next phase of movies. It was pretty cool!

After dinner, my Dad hooked up with some of the other fathers and went out. I went to the Adult social and met a few people, including a young woman I had met after my parent's session the day before. It was fun, and we connected at breakfast the next morning.

The last day of the conference began with various Board member duties. First a quick meeting where new members were introduced, then a general meeting where conference attendees got to meet the Board, learn what we've been doing, and ask questions or make suggestions.

After this, my family went to Washington, D.C. We drove a little and got a subway train to the city.

Honestly, the subway was probably my favourite part of the whole excursion.

We got to D.C. and walked around. It was incredibly hot that day and there was a lot of walking so admittedly, I wasn't in the best of moods. Still, we did see some pretty neat sites, like the US Capitol building, Washington Monument, the White House, and the Smithsonian, which I really want to go back and see, properly!

I WILL be back for you!

That evening was the dinner and dance. Beforehand, we got our family photo and one with many of the Canadian families.

A bit of dancing and a lot of socializing. My father introduced me to a group of young couples from Norway, Denmark and Estonia (he had met some of the guys during the Dad's Night). They were all super-friendly and talked about reading my blog. So, shout-out to any new European followers out there!

Said all the goodbyes, got a Pepsi and relaxed, and that was it.

The next conference is in Seattle, which would be great to attend but is already looking a little expensive, so we'll just have to see.

We took our time coming home, so we could stop at Hershey, Pennsylvania. We used to have a Hershey's chocolate plant not too far from us, so it was really exciting to go.

Hershey's Chocolate World was nuts! For one, it was packed. Two, so much chocolate! I loaded up on all kinds of Reese Cups, as well as Payday bars which I can't get here in Canada.

The family went on a tour, which seemed pretty standard at first, but was actually an interactive amusement park-type ride with all sorts of characters. Very fun!

We took the next day to shop in Syracuse, New York, and made it home that night.

Once again, another great conference and vacation.

Cheers!