Well things are definitely looking up! We had a trouble-free journey to the Donald E Stephens convention centre in Rosemont, Chicago, where the Backer Christmas Show is being held. The hall is unionised and we'd been worried about how we would organise getting all our gear into the hall. Well we needn't have worried, the guys were really helpful and quickly unloaded everything out of the back of the RV onto a couple of pallets and whizzed them into the hall ready for us to start building the stand.

When we'd finished setting up we went off to find the parking area for the RV, where we would be spending the next five nights. This turned out to be the marshalling yard for the convention centre freight trucks and the yard, although not crowded, is located right alongside one of America's busiest highways, the Interstate 90 which that is busy 24/7 and is also directly below the main flight path into O'Hare airport, so definitely not the quiet rural locations we are used to! The good news is that we will not be spending much time there, using the RV only to sleep and eat in.

Our not-so-rural campsite!

The busy I-90 runs right next door!

The first day of the show was fantastic with loads of interest in the products from the stores, the new Kitty range was really well received, and we took several orders. The show has a specific 'natural' products area, which has grown bigger year-on-year and reflects the enormous growth in natural healthcare products for pets.

The Hilton stand at the Backer Christmas Show

Not a product out of place!

Kitty products

We are hoping that the next two days will be as good and that the Backer Christmas Show turns out to be a real winner!