FC 2012
This year, I will simply list the highlights, as I didn't really do a great deal. I woke up early on Wednesday morning and jumped into the car for the long drive to Salinas. I took the 101 all the way even though the weather was nice. This year, we did not have rain for the entire convention. I stopped in San Luis Obispo for lunch, and had a wonderful meal at a local restaurant: The Apple Farm. Ironically, I could see that AppleJack would love this location!
I arrived in Salinas around 4pm and checked into my room at the Residence Inn. After a quick dinner at Applebees, I hit the hay. Waking up early on Thursday, I swiftly repacked the car and hit the road. There is a stop just before Gilroy that is a good place to use the restroom, get supplies, and check maps. I arrived in San Jose around 10am, and tried to park in the lot beneath the bank as I did last year. However, the lot prices were higher than the convention center parking, so I opted for that instead. I picked an excellent parking spot(right by a pillar and with a handicapped space next to the side of my car. Plenty of room and no one was likely to hit me. We were in the Hilton San Jose this year.
My roommate, FoxLord, arrived later than planned. He arrived at the airport easily enough, but was given the wrong information about the light rail schedule and got lost. He finally arrived around 3pm. After rest, a trip to Walgreens, and games, I had to get ready to go to dinner with local friends. FoxLord decided to walk around the hotels and see who was here.
My friends graciously took me to dinner at a local German place. I was delighted with the company as always, but also delighted to find that the restaurant had Steigl beer, a local Austrian brand that is much harder to find than the typical Oktoberfest brews. After a wonderful dinner, my friends dropped me off and I would see one of them tomorrow in Dealer's Den.
Friday
I woke up later than usual, and walked around looking for breakfast. FoxLord joined me, but we walked in the wrong direction for McDonalds, so ended up at Carl's Jr. We also went to Psycho Donuts on the way back. This place is wild! They were giving a discount to con goers, but we didn't have our badges yet, so didn't get the discount. Oh well.
After registering at 10 that morning, I waited for Lisa Sample to arrive. She arrived much later than planned, but I gave her my sketchbook when she finally arrived. I also handed a sketchbook to Baron Engel, who was at the Radio Comix table. I walked around the Den, buying a few items, but not very much. I was too late to get a Michele Light calendar, so will have to order it online.
Soon, it was time for lunch, and I opted to make a trip to Safeway to get fresh sandwiches for Lisa, Mel White, and me. After much hassle, I was able to get the sandwiches and make the trip back to the Dealer's Den. Mel White did a beautiful badge for me!
After Dealer's Den closed, I was on my own for dinner. FoxLord had other plans, so I headed to a possible My Little Pony party at 8pm in the Marriott on the party floor. The party did not occur, so I headed out for dinner. I met Chythar on my way to the hoagie place and he had some recommendations. However, the place I picked was not the best and I was glad to return to the hotel and made it an early night.
Saturday
During breakfast at McDonalds, I texted Lisa to ask if she wanted a beverage that she likes in the morning. I brought the beverage to the Marriott, but spilled it, so FoxLord graciously went to get another while I returned to the room to clean up and change my clothes. After this mishap, I was able to get my sketchbook from Lisa and submit it to Silent Rayvn for another sketch. My pirate sketchbook had been finished by Baron the previous day, so I opted not to bring that one again to Dealer's Den. I neglected to mention that sketchbook has been in the custody of a wonderful friend for over a year and had a very detailed sketch in it that I was loath to pass around the Dealer's Den.
Saturday afternoon passed slowly. FoxLord and I retreated to the room for a nap, showers, and rest as Saturday night is usually a very busy night at the con. For dinner, Waarhorse invited me, FoxLord, Baron Engel, Smudge, Roy Pounds, and a few other folks who I cannot remember to a restaurant. It turns out that we went to the hotel restaurant, as all the other restaurants were booked for hours. We had a very entertaining dinner with lots of stories about art school from Baron and Smudge.
After dinner, Roy, FoxLord, and I headed up to the party floor of the Marriott. I wanted to get a Warp Core Coolant from the Klingon Black Hole Party, and did so. This potent brew was the perfect barrier to the annoying personages that sometimes cluster on the party floor. After finishing the drink, Roy and I decided to check out the karaoke panel downstairs, as Waar was going to do a song. FoxLord headed up after we did, and had a few of the drinks.
Waarhorse sang "New York, New York" very well in my opinion. After that, Waar took Roy to stay at his hotel a mile away from the convention center for the night. I walked around the convention center, but didn't see anyone I wanted to talk with, so headed to my room to read. Yeah, I'm boring. Deal with it.
Sunday
After a late start, I retrieved food from McDonalds for FoxLord, and headed for the Dealer's Den with a vente chai latte in tow. I didn't buy very much this convention. I did look at the Art Show, but did not bid on anything, as I wanted to keep my Sunday free. It is a lucky thing I did, because we were busy looking for a missing cell phone for most of the afternoon. We did find the phone.
Around 5, I attended the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic panel in the convention center. Yes, I'm a brony. Deal with it. I thoroughly enjoyed the panel, but had to leave a little early to make sure I caught up with Lisa and Ken, who I had invited to dinner. We ended up in Japantown having a wonderful dinner at Sushi Maru. After dinner, I hung out in the lobby of the Marriott, talking with Lisa as she finished a sketch for another friend of hers. Finally, it was time to say goodbye:sigh: The con was over, and I had to get packed to get ready to leave the next day. I had a wonderful time thanks to local friends!
Monday
FoxLord and I easily packed up and checked out. He left his stuff in storage, as he was staying one more night at the hotel before flying out on Tuesday. We visited the Westfield shopping mall, where we hit the Lego Store. Since they also had an Apple Store, I bought a protective cover for my Ipod Touch. After shopping, I dropped him off at the Hilton and headed out to drive down to San Luis Obispo to spend the night.
Conclusion:
This was a fun convention, but the convention center had too many other events to make it comfortable. I enjoyed staying at the Hilton because it was not noisy, but it was a fair distance from the con proper. The Hilton made us promise not to have parties, which is surprising.
Well, Steve Martin once again made an appearance. He didn't get a table in Dealer's Den, but did manage to cajole half a table from another dealer. That dealer was unhappy as everyone avoided her table because of Martin. The Den was very crowded behind the tables, but there was good space in front for people to pass each other. We could have used a larger room and I hope there are plans to get the convention center space as we easily could have filled one smaller room.
Next year, I may not attend FC. I am still deciding if I will try to attend Furry Fiesta instead. There are some folks in Texas that want me to visit, so that may be what I will do next year.
I arrived in Salinas around 4pm and checked into my room at the Residence Inn. After a quick dinner at Applebees, I hit the hay. Waking up early on Thursday, I swiftly repacked the car and hit the road. There is a stop just before Gilroy that is a good place to use the restroom, get supplies, and check maps. I arrived in San Jose around 10am, and tried to park in the lot beneath the bank as I did last year. However, the lot prices were higher than the convention center parking, so I opted for that instead. I picked an excellent parking spot(right by a pillar and with a handicapped space next to the side of my car. Plenty of room and no one was likely to hit me. We were in the Hilton San Jose this year.
My roommate, FoxLord, arrived later than planned. He arrived at the airport easily enough, but was given the wrong information about the light rail schedule and got lost. He finally arrived around 3pm. After rest, a trip to Walgreens, and games, I had to get ready to go to dinner with local friends. FoxLord decided to walk around the hotels and see who was here.
My friends graciously took me to dinner at a local German place. I was delighted with the company as always, but also delighted to find that the restaurant had Steigl beer, a local Austrian brand that is much harder to find than the typical Oktoberfest brews. After a wonderful dinner, my friends dropped me off and I would see one of them tomorrow in Dealer's Den.
Friday
I woke up later than usual, and walked around looking for breakfast. FoxLord joined me, but we walked in the wrong direction for McDonalds, so ended up at Carl's Jr. We also went to Psycho Donuts on the way back. This place is wild! They were giving a discount to con goers, but we didn't have our badges yet, so didn't get the discount. Oh well.
After registering at 10 that morning, I waited for Lisa Sample to arrive. She arrived much later than planned, but I gave her my sketchbook when she finally arrived. I also handed a sketchbook to Baron Engel, who was at the Radio Comix table. I walked around the Den, buying a few items, but not very much. I was too late to get a Michele Light calendar, so will have to order it online.
Soon, it was time for lunch, and I opted to make a trip to Safeway to get fresh sandwiches for Lisa, Mel White, and me. After much hassle, I was able to get the sandwiches and make the trip back to the Dealer's Den. Mel White did a beautiful badge for me!
After Dealer's Den closed, I was on my own for dinner. FoxLord had other plans, so I headed to a possible My Little Pony party at 8pm in the Marriott on the party floor. The party did not occur, so I headed out for dinner. I met Chythar on my way to the hoagie place and he had some recommendations. However, the place I picked was not the best and I was glad to return to the hotel and made it an early night.
Saturday
During breakfast at McDonalds, I texted Lisa to ask if she wanted a beverage that she likes in the morning. I brought the beverage to the Marriott, but spilled it, so FoxLord graciously went to get another while I returned to the room to clean up and change my clothes. After this mishap, I was able to get my sketchbook from Lisa and submit it to Silent Rayvn for another sketch. My pirate sketchbook had been finished by Baron the previous day, so I opted not to bring that one again to Dealer's Den. I neglected to mention that sketchbook has been in the custody of a wonderful friend for over a year and had a very detailed sketch in it that I was loath to pass around the Dealer's Den.
Saturday afternoon passed slowly. FoxLord and I retreated to the room for a nap, showers, and rest as Saturday night is usually a very busy night at the con. For dinner, Waarhorse invited me, FoxLord, Baron Engel, Smudge, Roy Pounds, and a few other folks who I cannot remember to a restaurant. It turns out that we went to the hotel restaurant, as all the other restaurants were booked for hours. We had a very entertaining dinner with lots of stories about art school from Baron and Smudge.
After dinner, Roy, FoxLord, and I headed up to the party floor of the Marriott. I wanted to get a Warp Core Coolant from the Klingon Black Hole Party, and did so. This potent brew was the perfect barrier to the annoying personages that sometimes cluster on the party floor. After finishing the drink, Roy and I decided to check out the karaoke panel downstairs, as Waar was going to do a song. FoxLord headed up after we did, and had a few of the drinks.
Waarhorse sang "New York, New York" very well in my opinion. After that, Waar took Roy to stay at his hotel a mile away from the convention center for the night. I walked around the convention center, but didn't see anyone I wanted to talk with, so headed to my room to read. Yeah, I'm boring. Deal with it.
Sunday
After a late start, I retrieved food from McDonalds for FoxLord, and headed for the Dealer's Den with a vente chai latte in tow. I didn't buy very much this convention. I did look at the Art Show, but did not bid on anything, as I wanted to keep my Sunday free. It is a lucky thing I did, because we were busy looking for a missing cell phone for most of the afternoon. We did find the phone.
Around 5, I attended the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic panel in the convention center. Yes, I'm a brony. Deal with it. I thoroughly enjoyed the panel, but had to leave a little early to make sure I caught up with Lisa and Ken, who I had invited to dinner. We ended up in Japantown having a wonderful dinner at Sushi Maru. After dinner, I hung out in the lobby of the Marriott, talking with Lisa as she finished a sketch for another friend of hers. Finally, it was time to say goodbye:sigh: The con was over, and I had to get packed to get ready to leave the next day. I had a wonderful time thanks to local friends!
Monday
FoxLord and I easily packed up and checked out. He left his stuff in storage, as he was staying one more night at the hotel before flying out on Tuesday. We visited the Westfield shopping mall, where we hit the Lego Store. Since they also had an Apple Store, I bought a protective cover for my Ipod Touch. After shopping, I dropped him off at the Hilton and headed out to drive down to San Luis Obispo to spend the night.
Conclusion:
This was a fun convention, but the convention center had too many other events to make it comfortable. I enjoyed staying at the Hilton because it was not noisy, but it was a fair distance from the con proper. The Hilton made us promise not to have parties, which is surprising.
Well, Steve Martin once again made an appearance. He didn't get a table in Dealer's Den, but did manage to cajole half a table from another dealer. That dealer was unhappy as everyone avoided her table because of Martin. The Den was very crowded behind the tables, but there was good space in front for people to pass each other. We could have used a larger room and I hope there are plans to get the convention center space as we easily could have filled one smaller room.
Next year, I may not attend FC. I am still deciding if I will try to attend Furry Fiesta instead. There are some folks in Texas that want me to visit, so that may be what I will do next year.