Travels: concert and con
After the Smithsonian, I caught the Metro and a bus to Wolf Trap in Virginia to see the Indigo Girls and Joan Baez in concert. This was the main reason I left Perth early rather than stay to mark exams, and it was well worth it: Joan Baez still has the power in her voice after more than 50 years in the business (she recorded her first album the year I was born), still has the admirably left wing politics (some of the intros between songs seemed more like speeches at an Amnesty rally) and a wicked sense of humour, particularly concerning Bob Dylan. And hearing her sing 'House of the Rising Sun' a day before I checked into said house (q.v.) was magical. The Indigo Girls and their fans had more energy, but the two sets fitted together well, and for their encore, the Indigo Girls came back on stage and sang three songs with Joan Baez. My only regret is that those of us catching the bus had to leave as soon as the encore was over, rather than getting autographs: even so, I didn't get back to the hostel until just after midnight and I decided to stay up and wait for my 3.30 am shuttle rather than go to bed.
While I was answering some emails, a slightly drunk but still quite charming young Mexican woman came up to me in the kitchen and asked if I was a hacker. I said no, just a hack. Maybe she would have laughed if she'd been sober, but at least she stayed and we talked about our travels. I'm now tempted to go to Mexico City.
The flight here was pleasant enough despite my extreme tiredness, the lengthy security theatre, and the need to make a quick dash to catch my connecting flight. The Hotel Villa Convento is one of several buildings said to be the original House of the Rising Sun, and while it's not quite as pretty as the photos on the website suggest, the room had everything I needed, including a comfortable bed, a hot shower, free wifi, tea-making facilities, and cat pictures on one wall. Because I arrived before check-in time, they also upgraded me to a balcony room at no extra charge. Heading back there after the con (it's about a kilometre away), and will be enthusing about the place on tripadvisor.com
After a shower and a brief nap, I wandered around New Orleans for a while, lunched on gumbo and a gator po-boy at Johnny's Po-Boys, then headed to the con. I knew that there would be almost no-one here that I knew, but within minutes of registering I was sitting in the bar chatting with other writers. I went to the opening ceremony and two panels - "Genre Mash-Ups" and "Co-Authoring: The Dos and the Don'ts" - but I was feeling tired after my sleepless night and hadn't checked into the con hotel yet, so I left at 9pm and headed down Bourbon Street to the Villa Convento. Walking down Bourbon Street, I had to remind myself that it was Thursday night, not Friday or Saturday: yes, there's a lot or tourist trap trashiness, but it feels more like a perpetual rent party than anything else. I was wearing my Shadowrun T-shirt, and as I walked past one of the strip clubs, the spieler/bouncer called out, "Shadowrun! I used to play Shadowrun! I was a sci-fi troll!" We stood there enthusing about the game for a couple of minutes, and he gave me a free pass to the club, but I politely pleaded exhaustion and returned to my room.
SpaceShip One at the Air and Space Museum.
I finally made it to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
While I was answering some emails, a slightly drunk but still quite charming young Mexican woman came up to me in the kitchen and asked if I was a hacker. I said no, just a hack. Maybe she would have laughed if she'd been sober, but at least she stayed and we talked about our travels. I'm now tempted to go to Mexico City.
The flight here was pleasant enough despite my extreme tiredness, the lengthy security theatre, and the need to make a quick dash to catch my connecting flight. The Hotel Villa Convento is one of several buildings said to be the original House of the Rising Sun, and while it's not quite as pretty as the photos on the website suggest, the room had everything I needed, including a comfortable bed, a hot shower, free wifi, tea-making facilities, and cat pictures on one wall. Because I arrived before check-in time, they also upgraded me to a balcony room at no extra charge. Heading back there after the con (it's about a kilometre away), and will be enthusing about the place on tripadvisor.com
After a shower and a brief nap, I wandered around New Orleans for a while, lunched on gumbo and a gator po-boy at Johnny's Po-Boys, then headed to the con. I knew that there would be almost no-one here that I knew, but within minutes of registering I was sitting in the bar chatting with other writers. I went to the opening ceremony and two panels - "Genre Mash-Ups" and "Co-Authoring: The Dos and the Don'ts" - but I was feeling tired after my sleepless night and hadn't checked into the con hotel yet, so I left at 9pm and headed down Bourbon Street to the Villa Convento. Walking down Bourbon Street, I had to remind myself that it was Thursday night, not Friday or Saturday: yes, there's a lot or tourist trap trashiness, but it feels more like a perpetual rent party than anything else. I was wearing my Shadowrun T-shirt, and as I walked past one of the strip clubs, the spieler/bouncer called out, "Shadowrun! I used to play Shadowrun! I was a sci-fi troll!" We stood there enthusing about the game for a couple of minutes, and he gave me a free pass to the club, but I politely pleaded exhaustion and returned to my room.
SpaceShip One at the Air and Space Museum.
I finally made it to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
