Dragon*Con 2005 report, pt. 1
Thursday, 9/1
I couldn’t sleep Wednesday night – a combination of a wired state and generally poor sleep lately anyway. I had to get up quite early to get cleaned up, tuck last-minute stuff in the suitcase, and make a trip to the bank. I finally got to meet thatwhichisgene – a very intelligent, charming fellow, even if we don’t agree on Shadowrun and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Gene made good time driving down, and we arrived less than 9 hours out from Norfolk – without speeding! Gas was as high as $7.00 a gallon in Atlanta, so after determining that the rented station wagon’s tank was good for about 400 miles, we made sure to gas up about 150 miles out where the prices were more reasonable.
On Thursday evening, the Dragon*Con registration lines are non-existent – I strongly recommend getting one’s badge this early. Hall costuming was already starting, though the Con was not to begin until 9:00 the next day. I found David Allen (once of Starfleet, now of Plan Nine Publishing) outside the registration hotel, and chatted for a few minutes before returning to the hotel where I was staying.
Dragon*Con 2005 consisted of three hotels – the Hyatt, home of filking, gaming and half the panels; the Marriott, home of two dealers rooms, the art show, an artists’ walk, and more panels; and registration, buried in the Atlanta Hilton. I stayed in the Hyatt. It wasn’t as crowded as the horror stories would have had me fear, but the five elevators where always unusably queued. Luckily, our fifth-floor room was easy to walk up and down to and from. (Room 523 – a nice Discordian number.) During the con weekend itself, every room in the Hyatt was occupied by con-goers: one wasn’t allowed in the hotel without a Con badge. The street between the Hyatt and the Marriott was blocked off for Con traffic. I began to get the idea that this was a big con.
It was late. I was pooped. I went to bed.
Tags: conventions, costuming, discordia, fandom, travel
