The 2009 Supernatural Vancouver Convention: Part One
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Part One: "The Road to SQUEE!"
It started sometime in April of 2009, if I remember correctly.
That was when my good friend Beth, aka “ShutterBugs”, aka “PadaPuppy”, first proposed to me over the phone the possibility of going to the 2009 Supernatural convention held in Vancouver, BC Canada, and my first reaction to it…was to burst out laughing. Why? Because, come on, it’s Vancouver! Vancouver, which, first off, is up near freaking Seattle, Washington, when I haven’t been any further out West than Kentucky! Vancouver - the very city that our show films in, in other words…a city that I’d only ever dreamed of getting to visit, never expected to visit! But despite that rather discouraging reaction, Beth soldiered on, informing me that it was indeed possible. How? Well, for one thing, her dear old dad - and I mean that term of affection just as that, affection - had accumulated quite a few free flight miles over the years - enough, she informed me, to pull off the Vancouver trip, there and back. Generous soul that he is, he was happy to give them to us since he wasn’t going to use them anyway, and from the way it sounded, he and her mom wanted Beth and I to be able to go on this trip. Well, one pair of parents on board is all well and good, but mine were going to be a much harder challenge.
Or so I thought.
Okay, so in hindsight, maybe I should’ve given them a little more credit than that. I mean, back in early 2008 I was all ready to do battle with them for my first ever Supernatural convention, EyeCon, held April 4-6. Because you see, my LLS (long-lost sister), aka “Pengy” and I had some drawings to give Jared of his dogs…she was doing Harley and I was doing Sadie. Living in Orlando, where EyeCon was being held, Pengy’s being able to go was a sure thing, but mine? Surely not. Until one day I’d decided that I’d lamented my not being able to go long enough, and got up the guts to actually ask my parents about it. Yeah, it took some convincing, but to my surprise and utter joy, not nearly as much as I’d thought it would...and thank goodness, because the plans Pengy and I were coming up with to get my drawing to her on the sly were getting more and more outlandish! LOL. It also helped that a member of TVG-oops, I mean, TSTSNBN (traitorous ‘The Site That Shall Not Be Named’), that I’d been talking to for about a couple of years had coincidentally ended up being assigned the seat right beside of me. Beth and I met face-to-face for the first time that weekend, and had a blast. We got to meet Jared and our squee over that was endless. Pengy and I got to give him our dog drawings ONSTAGE and got big hugs in return! It was definitely the most amazing weekend ever…and then it was over. And I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit of sadness amongst the post-con squee, because I was sure my first convention was going to be my last. I’d imagine Beth thought the same.
But we were both wrong, because along came EyeCon for September 26-28 of 2008, announced very shortly after we got back from the April EyeCon. Beth wanted to go back, and being another one of those gals who lives in Orlando, she was practically already there. I wanted to go back, but being a gal who lives in West Virginia, I was not already there, LOL. However, when the convention dates rolled around…I was there. And it took even less convincing my parents than the first time. It was another absolutely amazing weekend - met Jared again, got another huge onstage hug after giving him another drawing of his dogs (both dogs together, this time), and experienced lots of other squee-worthy stuff. By the time the third EyeCon was announced for March of 2009, I was, I suppose what you would call, a convention-junkie, and so was Beth. We were ready to go for the March convention soon enough, excited to see Jared for a third time…and then we got bad news. Worse, we later found out that we got conned…no pun intended. Because it was announced that Jared, five days before the convention started, had had to cancel. Devastating enough, but after the convention was said and done (and not nearly as much fun as the other two), we learned that it was impossible for him to have cancelled because, as Jared himself confusedly revealed at another con when told he’d been missed at the last EyeCon…he’d never even been signed up in the first place. Turns out Kenny, the shady organizer of the event, had literally put the ‘con’ in EyeCon, through multiple lies and false advertising, the biggest example involving Jared’s appearance or lack thereof, and others involving Misha Collins’ appearance, which had to be cancelled due to filming. When Kenny’s dishonesty was eventually fully exposed, he petulantly declared Supernatural EyeCons to be a thing of the past. Beth and I really thought we had attended our last convention then.
But again, we were wrong. Because Beth’s dad had those free flight miles, and then, because my parents once more proved to be not as tough of a sell as I was sure they’d be. Like Beth’s parents, once everything was fully laid on the table, they wanted me to be able to go, and they did a lot to help provide me with the necessary resources, as did my grandmother (aka MawMaw) and Aunt Ellen. Thanks, family! :-D
So soon enough, we had our tickets for the Creation Vancouver convention. Gold had already sold out, so we bought Silver, along with a Jared photo op and a J2 photo op, and an extra Jared autograph for each of us. I had two drawings to bring this time, a charcoal portrait of Jared that I of course hadn’t gotten to have autographed at the March EyeCon, and the one I’d done for this convention, another charcoal portrait of him, close-up this time, from the same photo-shoot. I’d finished it just in time thanks to my new job, which allowed me five uninterrupted hours per weekday to work on it (since my only responsibility during the job is sitting there at the desk in the hospital’s fitness center and making sure people sign in, LOL), and was very pleased with how it turned out. I unfortunately didn’t even get to start, much less complete, the J2 drawing that I wanted to do, but it had been a busy past two months, and I was lucky enough to get the one drawing done! Working on it in the car on the way to Myrtle Beach, anyone? LOL.
Probably due to all this activity, the summer went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was Wednesday, August 26th, and I was packed and ready to go, then sitting in Yeager Airport in Charleston soon after getting off work, waiting for the now-familiar flight from Charleston, WV to Charlotte, NC, and then Charlotte to Orlando, FL. The flights were smooth and quick; I arrived at Orlando International around 6:00PM, and Beth was waiting there to pick me up. We spent the evening at her house having macaroni and cheese for dinner (my favorite! LOL *is 12*) and making T-shirts to wear to the convention, T-shirts with our drawings of Jared on them, heehee. We tried to go to bed early, but didn’t quite succeed, LOL. Not such a good thing, since we had to get up VERY early to catch our first flight out to Dallas/Fort-Worth airport! We were sure though that we’d get some sleep on the plane…didn’t happen, LOL. But despite that, it was a pretty smooth flight and we landed in Dallas around 10:00 in the morning. 10:00 in the morning their time that is, Central Time. It was the first time I’d ever been out of the Eastern Time zone…pretty wild! Guess that’s what they call jet lag, though it wasn’t anything bad…just interesting. And a little confusing, when I talked to my parents back home, LOL. We took a very long shuttle ride - what a huge airport! - to get to our concourse (D), which at one point we thought they’d passed because it somehow went from C to E! But we got there, and when we did we ate breakfast; I had some Auntie Anne’s cinnamon/sugar pretzel sticks and they were pretty dang good, LOL. And milk, of course. Not long after we finished eating we were then boarding the plane to Vancouver, and I was full of squee, because I never thought I’d be on a plane to Vancouver! I also took a moment when we took off, to look at the land below and hold it in reverence…after all, Jared and Jensen were born and raised in this state! LOL.
The flight to Vancouver was long, but also pretty smooth, considering the length. We flew over the patchwork quilt-looking lands of Oklahoma and part of Kansas (I mentally waved down to the city of Lawrence, birthplace of Sam and Dean Winchester, LOL.), then started seeing some very different and truly awesome scenery when we entered Rocky Mountain territory. We flew over Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of Montana and Idaho, then on into Washington State, seeing notable landmarks below us such as Yellowstone Lake, Mount Rainier (actually, it was the people on the other side of the plane who saw that one), and a big snow-covered peak out our own window called Mount Baker. I was already fascinated enough just seeing the Rocky Mountains and other such ranges. Granted, mountains are definitely not an alien sight for me, seeing as how I was born and raised and still live in West Virginia, aka The Mountain State! LOL. Believe me, once you’re a couple of minutes away from landing at Yeager Airport, it looks like you’re about to meet the mountains here up close and personal since the airport is on top of a mountain…it’s actually quite amusing to hear the anxious reactions of those who’ve never landed at our tiny airport before, LOL. But those are the West Virginia mountains. These…were the Rocky Mountains. One of the main differences is right there in the name! Whereas mountains here are tree-covered and curvy, the Rockies are snow-covered and more jagged and pointy. And…they’re bigger. Taller, wider, more expansive, the whole shebang. In fact, some of West Virginia’s mountains could more accurately be deemed really big hills, LOL. But the Rockies are some major mountains, and really awesome to see from high above. Mount Baker was also an awesome sight, rising up from the clouds in all its white-capped glory. I kind of wondered if it was a volcano at first like Mount Rainier, but I don’t think it is. And I really didn’t have much time to ponder the matter, because shortly after Mount Baker had come into our view, it was announced that we were beginning our descent into Vancouver…and upon that announcement, something did erupt, but it wasn’t a volcano. It was my SQUEE!!!
In a matter of minutes, the city of Vancouver came into our sight, and what a beautiful, amazing city and sight it is! The city itself is massive and sprawling, skyscrapers clearly visible on both sides of the large body of water, Burrard Inlet, that splits it in two, long bridges spanning it, with the even larger English Bay visible further west. There were numerous boats out and about, many of them pleasure boats, many of them work boats containing lumber and other such cargo. Mount Baker was still distantly visible behind us, and all around us, there were other mountains, tall and wide and snow-capped. Between the bay and the inlet, the mountains, and the huge city itself, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. And much like how it is at Yeager Airport with the mountains, it looked for a few seconds like we were about to land in the water instead of on a runway, but hit the runway we did, and I think at that moment I was literally squeaking with excitement, with a grin so wide it almost hurt, because we had just landed in VANCOUVER! We were there, the dream had come true! We walked through the decent-sized and beautifully decorated airport - it had lots of Native American art, a few simulated nature backdrops complete with trees, plant life, ponds, and stuffed animals, and coolest of all, a waterfall running parallel to a big staircase…really neat. We claimed our baggage without any trouble, and got through customs relatively quickly, then waited a bit outside and caught a cab to the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver. On the way, we passed through a neighborhood with large, gorgeous houses and tall shrubbery, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Jared and Jensen lived there. (Later we’d learn from some more knowledgeable con-goers that Jared’s house in fact overlooks the Pacific Ocean - and boy would I love to see it, BTW - so the answer to that was no!)
The first thing we noted upon arriving at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street is that it is a tall building. VERY tall. There are actually two buildings, a North Tower and a South Tower. Our room was located on the 16th floor in the North Tower, which was cool, because that tower was where all the convention activities would be taking place. Getting checked in was easy, and we found our room to be very nice - comfortable, clean, and well-furnished. After unpacking a bit, first thing was first…we needed a nap! LOL. We took one that was about two hours long, woke up at around 5:00PM (Pacific Time), much more refreshed, and then decided to get in touch with our TSTSNBN/Plurk buddies that had also come to the convention - Amy aka “Metalligirl”, Charissa aka “Patronus”, and Jenna aka “Sarie”. I called Amy from the hotel phone - unfortunately my cell phone had no service this far West - and we arranged to meet with her down in the lobby and catch up to Charissa and Jenna, who had already gone out to search for more Supernatural filming location sites. When we did, the five of us ventured over to Hastings Street, where we spotted two locations that were used in the episode Nightshifter - the jewelry store where Dean posed as an FBI agent and flirted, and the bank where all the main action took place. Amy informed us that located further down Hastings Street was the Laundromat that had been used in the filming of The Monster at the End of This Book, which they had already gotten pictures of along with the manhole cover that was used for the episode Skin. But they chose not to go that far again, as Hastings Street was a notoriously dangerous area in the city, and we were fine with that. On the way back up the street, we joked with each other that people back home would be expecting pictures of landmarks and scenery and such, and instead they’d be getting pictures of Laundromats and manhole covers! ;-)
We stopped on the way to scouting somewhere to eat to look out at the Waterfront and also check out the iconic landmark of The Sails of Canada Place, an architectural structure overlooking Burrard Inlet that’s built to resemble the huge sails of a boat coming in. That was pretty cool and had a great view, and we were taking it in and continuing to ponder where to eat when Amy’s cell phone rang. We figured it was just another routine call and left her to it, snapping pictures (except for idiot me, who accidentally left her camera in the hotel room!) and taking in more scenery…until we started overhearing loud exclamations from Amy. Excited, shocked exclamations such as, “Oh my God!” and “Are you serious?” and, most intriguingly, “Where?! When?!” That’s when we knew something was up, and though my skeptical side said that there was no way it was what I thought it was, that we just wouldn’t get that lucky, the rest of me? KNEW what it was…just knew, deep down. And sure enough, Amy’s gleeful revelation came - we now had confirmation of where the show would be filming part of the upcoming Season 5 episode "Fallen Idols" that night. And getting food and sightseeing, as you can imagine, became forgotten concerns. We power-walked back to the hotel where we freshened up and met with other con-goers who would be joining us on the excursion, including Sandra aka “SJCCM”, and “immie_8”. The only option for food at that point was snacks, so we picked up some of those at the small gift shop located in the lobby and waited outside for those who were driving us to bring their rented cars around. It was Beth, Amy, Charissa and I in one car, with Jenna at the wheel, and the rest of the gang in another. We got in a lot of talking on the drive down, concerning various subjects from jobs and pets to, of course, convention talk and show/guy talk. And thanks to our passing through several Asian sections of the outskirts of Vancouver, and the peculiar, unwittingly hilarious names they often give their places of business, we engaged in a bit of gutter talk, too. It’s hard to avoid, as Amy said, when you a see a car place called “Mr. Lube” located right next to a restaurant called “Mr. Ho”! We actually ended up spending the rest of the drive discussing various badly named places and people, thanks to that! LOL.
After probably a bit over a half an hour in the car, laughing it up, we arrived at the filming site in the area of New Westminster, which consisted of what looked like a warehouse, a garage, and one other old, creepy-looking building. We had parked in a nearby lot and began the walk up, pausing, thinking, and then pushing our luck a little bit more each time, getting closer and closer to where we could see all the trucks and equipment set out. Looking to the left on down the street perpendicular to the one we were walking down, we could even make out trailers! And we looked to the right on up that same street, and we saw…her. Nope, not an actress, nope, not a crew member, but the third main character in the show herself…the Impala. There were collective gasps and sounds of multiple cameras being broken out and snapping shots (I remembered mine this time!), and best of all, we had already gotten permission to hang out for a while upon finally getting close enough to be noticed, thanks to a kind crew member. We weren’t allowed to actually walk up and touch the Impala of course, but we were allowed to ogle and take pictures and ask questions. She was our main focus until we heard the shout of “Cut!” and then the doors of the garage opened…the boys were supposedly in that garage. Our eyes were glued to the spot, waiting for one or both of them to emerge, and after a few minutes, one of them did. And I missed it! I don’t know where the heck I was looking - because I was still looking in the garage, I’m pretty sure! - and moreover, I don’t know how the heck I missed seeing a six-foot-four giant like Jared walking out, even if he only appeared for the few seconds it took for him to walk to and get in the car that pulled up right to the door to pick him up…but somehow, I did. I had to live vicariously for the moment through those squeeing around me, those who saw Jared smile at our group and then lean over once he got in the backseat and wave at us, and while that was still exciting…dang it I wish I could’ve seen it! LOL. Then we got quiet again while filming resumed, asked some more questions, took some more pictures of the Impala (sadly none of mine turned out, BTW…too dark, and too crappy of a camera! But, Beth did take my picture in front of it with her camera!), and talked to some more nice crew members. And then filming was cut again, the garage door opening back up…and then Jensen came out. Now him, thankfully I did see. He was noticeable even way back in the garage, oddly enough, because he had suspenders on! LOL. Plus, I guess unlike Jared with his super-long stride, he took a little more time to get to the car that was also waiting at the door for him. He too, smiled and waved at us. Wasn’t fast enough to snap a picture, but hey, I still saw it! Squee was rampant among us…we had been on a Supernatural set, and the boys had smiled and waved at us! :-D
We talked a little bit more to the crew after the boys were gone, and one of the men gave us some information that I find so unfortunate and sad, both for sane fans and for the boys themselves. According to this crew member, Jared and Jensen used to actually come out and talk to groups of fans like us that were watching them film, after they were done filming and before going to their trailers. That stopped when, after one such session, they came back to their trailers to find three crazy girls that had broken in waiting for them. He told us that the boys had been really shaken up by that, even to the point where Jared went through a period of having trouble falling asleep at night because of it, and we totally understood why they no longer came out to talk and got in those cars so quickly, even while we mentally cursed those stupid girls who had the gall to take advantage of them like that. Now of course, stories such as this can only be proven 100% true if they come from the mouths of Jared and Jensen themselves, but since this guy was a crew member and as such probably knows a little somethin’-somethin’ about set goings-on, I believe it. Because happily, while I fully believe Jared and Jensen are that generous and kind to have once talked to fans outside of the set, sadly, I also fully believe that some so-called ‘fans’ are crazy and awful enough to have done something like break into their trailers and wait for them. And the latter, I find a really big shame.
After some last rounds of picture-taking and question-asking, we finally left the set as the action died down and cleanup began. We were still post-excursion excited and happy and giggly on the drive back of course, but we are also starting to tire out and, most of all? We. Were. STARVING. And after passing Asian restaurant after Asian restaurant - no way were we eating at Mr. Ho’s! - and closed restaurant after closed restaurant since it was well past 10:00PM, we decided that we should just get back to the hotel and go from there. It was nearing midnight when we got back, but we were informed by the desk receptionist that thankfully, there was a place nearby that stayed open late - a restaurant just down the street called Joey’s. It was a little expensive, but pretty good, and hey…it was food! LOL. I had a burger and fries, enough to quell my growling stomach for the night. We talked as we ate, so we were there for probably about an hour, and then it was finally off to bed, at close to 2:00 in the morning! LOL. But it was worth it, we’d definitely had a full and exciting day…and the convention hadn’t even officially started yet! -o-
Coming tomorrow: Part 2, covering the first day of the convention, Friday, August 28th.