DragonCon 2015: Amy and Rose and River: Oh My!

It's that time of year again! The annual DragonCon blog.  The time when I try and remember as much as possible about all that happened in the most amazing weekend of the year.  And this year brought the fun full throttle.  By far the best experience I've ever had at the con and that's saying something!  It's an indescribable feeling to be among people that love the same things you love.  That understand what it is like to 'geek out' over something.  To love something with your entire being and not be ashamed to show it.  For anyone that has ever loved their fandoms to be point of obsession, I highly recommend attending this con at some point.  You'll never be the same once you do.   One thing I can say with absolute certainty is that nerds know how to have fun! And this Labor Day weekend was definite proof of that!

Captain's Log: Day One:
                       Thursday:  The first day started like they usually do.  The drive to Atlanta.  Tabatha and I set off from Alabama towards Atlanta. Nothing of much interest happened here.  We drove to the hotel... checked in to the hotel and went to con registration for our badges... and got ready for the first night out.  This was my first year to stay in the Marriott.  And it was WONDERFUL.  I hope to stay here every year.  (Of course managing to get a host hotel isn't always that easy.  So already nervous about booking for next year!) The Marriott was a giant party every night.  It was amazing! But I'll get more into that later.  We ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and it was great, of course.  Again, nothing much happened.  We walked around the hotel for a while that night checking out the Cosplay and meeting people.  We went back to the hotel room decently early to try and get the last bit of sleep we would get for the weekend.

Dinner at Hard Rock!

View from the room

Day Two:
               Friday:  First official day of DragonCon!!This was to be our first full day of business.  This year I premiered my first ever Cosplay.  Amy Pond from the Eleventh Hour.  BUT since I just have the one so far and knew after three days people would start to wonder if I actually owned any other clothes I decided to wear my "If Lost Please Return to Oliver Queen" shirt.  I completely stand by the sentiment of it.  If you find me... Let Oliver know. I'm sure he's very worried.  And do you know how hard it is to be a successful vigilante and shoot an arrow with any type of accuracy when you are busy stressing out on the whereabouts of your one true lady love?  Exactly.  I can't be responsible for what all happens and you shouldn't either.  So, you know, keep that in mind if you find me.   Also, I decided to wear my hair curly for this day, which anyone that truly knows me can attest to what a big deal this is.  And even though I spent the whole day feeling weird about it, it really wasn't too bad.  I even had one extremely sweet random person walk by and tell me that I had fantastic hair.  Thank you so much random person, I REALLY needed to hear that!

So after getting dressed and eating breakfast our other adventurer for this epic weekend arrived.  Lana! Our Always River.  I'm so very glad that she was able to come.  The three of us had the most amazing time together and we really got along so well.  I like to think we were the three coolest chicks at the con.  As does my BF Oliver Queen.  Again, you  know, if I'm lost..

Once Lana arrived we decided to really get this party started.  Pink style.  Because that's really the only way.  We headed to the Westin for our first official panel.  The American Horror Story: Freak Show cast.

Naomi Grossman, Rose Siggins, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser

It was an awesome panel with lots of insights from the show.  They all seem like very nice people.

After the panel we headed back over to the Marriott. On the way we grabbed lunch from the mall and found some floor space and grabbed a seat to eat.  Comfortable places to sit are basically impossible to come by.  Just just sit or lean anywhere you can find a spot.  To say your feet, legs, and rear are killing you by the end of the day is a gross understatement.  Unless you are my parents.... but I'll get into that later.  (I never in my life thought I would wish I had a Forever Comfy.) After we ate we went down and completed our photo op purchases (because you can never have too many... no matter WHAT your bank account tries to tell you.  *wah help me I'm poor wah* whatever bank account. This is mad important.)

After we ate, Lana headed up to the atrium floor for The Flash panel and Tabatha and I wandered around until time for her photo op with John Barrowman. When Tab lined up for her photo I waited in the photo op area just lingering around.  This area can get EXTREMELY crowded so I was very happy to find a small spot out of the way to lean.  John Barrowman is VERY popular, with good reason.  He's amazing.  There were A LOT of people lining up to get a picture with him.  As I was standing around I happened to see walking towards me was CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS himself.  Let me just tell you... not only is JB amazing, but he is VERY handsome.  After muttering to myself "be cool boss" (inside joke but you get the gist) we made eye contact and I said what I think was a casual "hey" and he said "Hello".  So maybe it wasn't a scene from Shakespeare but it was flipping awesome to me! Captain Jack Harkness threw me a hey.  That's pretty amazing!

A few minutes later, Tabatha came out with her picture (which was adorable) and then Lana joined us.  She and I had a photo scheduled next with Barrowman and Stephen Amell (Malcolm Merlin and Oliver Queen).  I'll give you a minute to just let that sink in.

Yeah... Barrowman and Amell.  I don't know EXACTLY how I lived through it, but somehow I did.  Amazing.  SOOOO good looking.  And nice.   And good looking. And tall.  And good looking.  Hello Oliver.  He was very pleased to see I was wearing my shirt that would help him locate me if I was to get lost.  He spends a lot of time worrying about me,  you see.  (I mean he didn't come right out and tell me this, but I could see it in his eyes).  See?  Check out those eyes.  Worry and Love.  And good looking.

John Barrowman and Stephen Amell

After our photo ops we headed up to the infamous Walk of Fame.  Or as I like to call it, the best place in the universe.  Doesn't really roll off the tongue as well, but still.  Gets the meaning across. In the WoF Tab gets her picture with three of the ladies from Once Upon a Time.  Lana and I both also get a picture with Kristen Bauer. (Pam from True Blood) Let me just tell you, that woman is gorgeous.  She's tall and beautiful.

Kristen Bauer

Afterwards we walk around the WoF but I didn't get any more pictures that day.  Wanted to save them for when I was wearing my Cosplay. I did grab Sylvester McCoy's (aka the cutest man in the world) autograph. Next, we head back up to the atrium to get in line for the Stephen Amell panel.  We actually got a pretty decent place in line.  It was outdoors but wasn't too hot.  We were in line for around an hour and a half.  It only started raining on us about the last fifteen minutes... but nothing too terrible.  I would face much much worse to stare at the lovely Stephen Amell, let me just tell you.  It could have been four hours standing in Satan's armpit while listen to Gilbert Godfried sing What Does the Fox Say on repeat and I would have gladly done it.  And good looking.

The panel was amazing.  It was an hour of him answering questions and telling stories.  At one point in the panel his cousin Robbie Amell (HOT) shows up and we are treated to looking at both of those face melters.
DEF worth the wait.   After the panel we decide to venture out and find dinner.  We decide against a Pub when we see the wait (and find out later Stephen and Robbie ate there.  Of course they did) and end up at a Diner up the street.  It was awesome in there.  Great music.  Great good.  Great drinks.  (Also saw a pretty spot on Snape cosplay.  He was perfect).

After dinner we walk around the Marriott some more and then head up for bed.

View of all the people partying in the Marriott

 Day Three:
                  Saturday: The day I premiered my first ever Cosplay.  I can't lie, I was so excited!!!! I had no idea if it would look good.  If people would like it.  Would anyone ask to take a picture of/with me?

Amy Pond Kiss-O-Gram

I gotta say, I was very pleased with how it all came out.  I may not look ANYTHING like Karen Gillan (obviously she's GORGEOUS) but it really looked pretty good!!!  I was going as Amy Pond.  Tabatha as Rose Tyler from the Idiot's Lantern and of course Lana Always River as River Song.  And, you know, basically we looked amazing.  If I do say so myself, and I do. But don't take MY word for it. (reading rainbow nod there).

Always River, Amy Pond, And Rose Tyler

We headed out into the busiest day of DragonCon dressed like our favorite fandom and ready to have an amazing day.  It didn't take long before we were being asked for photos right and left.  It was AMAZING!  We didn't have any panels planned until in the afternoon so after walking around a little we headed into the WoF.

Quick interlude:  I have read/seen Bridget Jones's Diary about 4 and a half billion times.  It is one of my favorites of ALL time.  Another movie I love is Austenland.  Well, Mr James Callis is in both.  He played Tom in the movie and sequel.  So OBVIOUSLY I had to get a picture with him.  And let me just say, he's very handsome.  He said, "You look great!  This is Doctor Who-esque?"  So yeah... YOU look great, sir.  SO nice.  So excited I was able to meet him!!

James Callis

 I saw a lot of people in the walk of fame, even if I didn't meet them all.  Hodor! He's a giant! Carroll Spinney (Big Bird).  Percy Weasley.  Felicia Day.  Jesse Rath.  Julian Glover (From Game of Thrones.  Lana got his autograph and while we were standing there  he said "You aren't a very scary police woman".  he's so adorable.  Like seriously) Erin Gray.  Jerry Hardin.  The men from Bitten (which is a show I've never seen but will now be watching.  OMG HOTNESS. Let me just tell you.  The three of us walked by their table about five hundred times just to get a glimpse.) Finn Jones (from GoT.  Who we saw in the lobby on Sunday.  With his finger in his nose, but you know... it happens.) Michael Trucco who is VERY attractive.  We saw him quite a few times.  Lots of eye contact.  And the list goes on.  Also we ran into Terry Farrell in the bathroom.  It's so strange to see how "normal" celebrities are.  I guess it easy to forget sometimes.  She and I were talking about how hard it is to get the sinks to work and germs and all.  She was SO nice and normal.  Which again, of course she was, but you know what I mean. 

After the WoF we grabbed lunch at the hotel restaurant (which was very good) then headed to line up for The Flash panel.   We were pretty far back.  All the way around the building, but still managed to get decent seats.  The panel was very good.  Immediately when it let out we tried to get in line for The Arrow panel.  And we thought we did.  We got in the line that were were TOLD was the line.... yeah... turns out it wasn't.  We stood in "line" for an hour and a half in what was NOT the line.  So we gave up on getting into that panel and headed back down to the WoF.  I immediately got in line for a pic with Robbie Amell.  Because, I mean... LOOK at him.  Hotness runs in THAT family for sure.  When I got in line he wasn't at the table but the handler told me he had just run to the bathroom.  Cut to forty minutes later.  I said... Ummm... maybe I DON'T want to meet him.  He obviously has a stomach virus... or needs more fiber in his life.... Finally he showed back up.  Turned out he had crashed The Arrow panel briefly so that's where he was.  Seriously though, I was like dang is he okay? That's a long time to be in the bathroom.   He was TOTALLY worth the wait.  SO CUTE.  He said I looked great.  He liked my cosplay.  Robbie Amell said I ME THIS PERSON HERE looked great.  Yeah, that happened.  But seriously, LOOK at this guy.  The Flash.  The Duff. Max.

Robbie Amell

After WoF Lana headed up to the Lost Girl panel and Tabatha and I headed to the vendor room and to sit down a little bit.  My feet were KILLING me.  Loved the cosplay.  Hated the shoes.  (And yes throughout the day had taken quite a few pictures with people who liked the get up.  So awesome! I loved it every time).

After the Lost Girl panel we searched for dinner.  While walking I passed a man playing drums and singing and he sang. "Oh Police Girl you make me want to get arrested".  First time anyone has written me a song.

 We ended up eating at a place right by the hotel called Big Kahuna.  It was actually pretty good.  While we were eating we saw a woman come out of a building and LITERALLY take off her top (no bra) and walk down the street in basically tiny little booty shorts.  Like legit that happened.  We began talking to the table next to us about it for a bit and then turned to finish our dinner.  When we were about down our waitress comes to us and says "The table next to you wants to pay for your dinner."  We were like "huh?"  That NEVER happens to me!  So we begin talking to them again and turns out it was a manager of some of the celebs at the con.  John Weshley Shipp, Terry Farrell, and Barry Bostwick! (Oh Brad!).  He is also Patrick Stewart's manager.  Patrick Stewart's manager bought our dinner???!!!! What the what?  We talked to them for a while and they told us to come by and see them in the walk of fame the next day.  SUCH nice people!!

After dinner we headed back into the hotel, which was at this point PARTY CENTRAL.  It was amazing in there! People EVERYWHERE.  Music.  Dancing.  We legit watched a dance battle between power rangers, silent Bob, and daredevil (who took the time out to hit on us lol).  It was soooo amazing!

Geeks Gone WILD for real

Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story) walked right by us just drinking a beer.  Like no big deal.  It was the most fun! After a good while we headed back up to the room to try and sleep a little before beginning another jam packed day.

Day Four:
               Sunday: There was another Arrow panel scheduled for this am and we DEF didn't want to miss it.  Once again the line situation was all kinds of messed up. BUT somehow we managed to be in a pretty decent spot in line.  And we had pretty good seats!! After another hour and half wait of course.  But so worth it!!! Unfortunately to make this panel we had to miss the John Barrowman solo panel.  Too bad because he wore red heels and a TARDIS dress which I would have killed to see! Love that man!
But still, The Arrow panel was worth it.  SO MUCH FUN!

The Arrow Panel

After the ARROW panel we ate lunch at the diner again because we really loved that place and then Tab and I headed back to the WoF and met up with our new friends.  Bob (the manager) hugged us like were were old friends and asked where Lana was.  She was getting autographs with John and Stephen.  We talked to them a minute and Barry Bostwick is just sitting right there.  Like right where we are.  SO COOL.  And then John Wesley Shipp just walks up to us and we talk to him for a minute.  Seriously so cool.  It was like no thing.  Afterwards we headed down to the photo op area to meet up with my mom.  Mom and Dad had come to the con for Sunday only.  I'm so glad they did.  They had such a great time and got some amazing pics! (Also, somehow my parents kept managing to find wonderful soft couches to sit on when this entire weekend we had barely found any free FLOOR to sit on) Dad was getting a photo so Tab and I sat with my  mom.  While we were sitting there Stephen Amell walks RIGHT by us.  Phew.... And good looking. Tab gets her photo op with the lovely Karen Gillan and then after a while we meet back up with Lana and head back up to the WoF.  We see our manager friend again and talk to him for a while.

While we are talking to him (and I didn't see this but Tab and Lana did) apparently I get checked out by the cute dude from The Hobbit (Dean O'Gorman).  Now again, I didn't see it, but they swore it happened and was obviously.  You know me, so of course I tend to believe he had other reasons for looking.  But still.  It happened.   After we fan girl about that for a minute and walk by his table a couple of times, Tabatha decides to get a picture with Tony Curran, whom we all LOVE. Tabatha is up at the table and they are talking and Lana is telling him something and he kinda just turns to me and says, "I'm sorry but i have to tell you, you are HOT." And I just became kinda of stupefied.  Everything that happened after that is me trying to piece together the bits and pieces I remember because my mind was blown.  He said something like "Must be the woman in uniform thing" and then he said some more stuff like he wasn't trying to be crude and asked if I was going to arrest him and I said "I'll allow it".  and I told him "Thank you because this is something that NEVER happens in real life!" And he said something like Oh he didn't believe that and said "You're eyes are beautiful,"  I'm telling you, I wish I could remember what all happened! But I was just messed UP at that point.  After the photo we walk over and fan girl again for a moment before we are told to not stand in the walk way. Excuse me, but do you not realize how IMPORTANT it is to get the fan girling out? ESPECIALLY when a celeb tells you you are hot? We need a moment.  Give us a break, dude.   We decide to go get a picture with Dean O'Gorman since... you know... of course.   He's VERY hot and the accent....  I can't say enough about it.  And good looking.

Us and Bob Castalano, our new friend

Tony Curran and Tabatha

Dean O'Gorman

 We meet back up with my parents for a little while and then head back out of the WoF.  We don't have long before the Doctor Who Ball starts so we head out in search of dinner.  As we are waiting on the elevator we see one of our new friends again and he is with Barry Bostwick and so we talk to our friend and there's Barry Bostwick.  He asks where we are eating dinner (not Barry) and we tell him we are gonna try the sports bar and then they head off.  Cut to us walking there and there is an hour wait.  Long story short we end up back at Big Kahuna's.  And while we are eating our new friends walk in.  So funny that we ended up in the same place.  So we talk to them again for a while.  Love these guys.

We head up and get ready for the Doctor Who Ball.  As we are heading back down (and you must know what a feat getting an elevator that has room for you is in the hotels) the doors to the elevator open and it's pretty crowded.  The people tell us to get on and Lana asks if they are sure.  Once we are on she says, "because earlier this jerk crams on and ....." (I won't go into what the guy did.  It wasn't that it was so bad or anything. Just don't' want to diss anyone in case they somehow are one of the four people that read this) And a guy in the back says, 'Well are ya'll going to be jerks?" And Tab and Lana say, "No but..." and then proceed to complain about this dude the whole ride down so right before we get off I say, "So to answer your question, yes are are going to be."  We laughed SO HARD.  Because we WERE jerks.  We were crying from laughing.  I don't know why but it just really hit us hard.  Delirium from exhaustion I assume.  

We make the few block walk over to the Sheraton and find the ballroom.  It's surprising to me how much checking they do before you can get in to the ball.  Searching bags and pockets and all.  And while I am very grateful I just can't believe they haven't checked us for any of the other things we have gone to.  I've been in rooms with thousands of people and celebs and they didn't check.  So strange..  Guess they expect the Whovians to get crunk.  And good looking.

There is no way in the world I could ever describe to you the greatness that was this ball.  It was the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of.  We had SUCH A GOOD TIME.  EVERYONE there was dressed up and mostly as Doctor Who characters. There were Tens and River's and Elevens and Daleks everywhere! It was so amazing! We danced and laughed and took pictures.  We did the Time Warp and Cupid Shuffle with Doctor Who characters.  It was so amazing.   It really was the time of our lives.  We all three had such an amazing time we never wanted to leave.  Finally around midnight we realized we had to get back to the room.   It was SO FUN.  I hope they do it again next year.

 Day Five:
               Monday: And so we come to the last day of the most wonderful weekend EVER. By this day I am basically a walking dead walker but not one of the fresh still pretty active walkers, no, but one of the walkers that have been stuck in the attic alone with no flesh to eat for the last 18 months.  Even walking to the restroom feels like walking 500 miles across the Sahara.  Everything on my body that can possible hurt, does.  I was the evolutionary chart for the first ten minutes I was up.  Dragging knuckles then I slowly was able to stand.  Yeah... but still... SO worth it.   I get up before the other two because I have a picture scheduled bright and early with Karen Gillan and Tony Curran and don't want to be late or look as bad as I feel.  

Cut to me standing in line right on time but the photo not taking place until almost an hour after it was time.  No worries.  Stuff happens.  Meanwhile Tabatha and Lana have secured us an AWESOME place in line for the Karen Gillan panel.  We were unable to attend her panel the night before because the line was UNREAL.  It went for blocks and blocks and most of those people didn't get in.  But on Monday, we got an AWESOME spot in line.  And kudos to the wonderfully nice man in line behind them for letting me skip in line to be with them after my photo.  Speaking of the photo.  I LOVE it.  Ginger power! And Tony commented on this.  You know us gingers have to stick together.  Karen laughed really hard RIGHT as they took the picture because she realized how Tony was standing.  That's why she is half squatting and doing something weird with her face and hand. Still gorgeous though.  Awesome picture!!!

Ginger Power

So we get into the Karen panel and it is AWESOME.  She's so adorable.  Love her!

Karen Gillan

And then after the panel comes the saddest part.... it's time to leave..... we do manage to get our stuff onto an elevator and down to the car relatively easily which first thing that AM seemed like an impossible thing to do.  Then we say our goodbye and head home.

All in all, if you haven't gathered, this was the best weekend!!!! So many WONDERFUL memories.  So much happened!!! And I'm sure I forgot so much! There were lots of inside jokes made. #IblameRob #bewarethefallout (don't ask.  we won't tell anyway *wink*) So much laughter.  SO so many good times.  Is it next year yet??

Dragoncon, you NEVER disappoint!!!!     Aaaaaannnnnnndddddddd good looking. 

DRAGON*CON 2014: Vampires, Time Lords, Dread Pirates, Werewolves, and Ghost, OH MY!

When I was a kid, being called a nerd was like being punched in the stomach.  It was hurtful and it was MEANT to be hurtful.  Today, it’s a totally different feeling to be a 'nerd'.  No longer the shame and humiliation but a feeling of pride.  A badge of honor.  A kind of joy.  Being called a nerd means you are able to find extreme  happiness in unconventional things.  When you go in, you go ALL in.   You don’t just love something, you LOVE something.  Obsess it could even be called.   You don’t just kind of like Doctor Who, you watch every episode at three least times and analyze it to death while sitting at the computer reading message boards with your sonic screwdriver no more than three feet from the keyboard.   You were not just a LITTLE sad that Firefly was canceled, you STILL tear up a little at the thought.  Being a nerd means you are passionate and analytical.  You aren’t afraid to love something with every fiber of your being, even when most of the people you know just ‘don’t get it’.   And there is no better place you can POSSIBLY go when being a nerd is your title than DRAGON*CON.  Where YOUR PEOPLE flock to be with their kindred spirits.  Where you can geek out the entire weekend in a 100% judgment free zone.  Where your cheeks start to actually hurt from smiling.   A place where it’s so hot and crowded you can hardly MOVE and you walk so much your feet swell and you are pretty sure you aren’t smelling all that great… but not only do you not mind you barely notice.

This year was my third year to attend amaze-co… I mean DRAGON*CON and it was just as good… nay BETTER than the previous two years.  Every second of every day was nonstop and it was nonstop FUN.  I was very excited this year for most of the guest lined up, but there were a few stand outs.  The cast of BEING HUMAN (which did NOT disappoint!!), Cary Elwes (Are you KIDDING me? Westley the Dread Pirate Roberts??? I’ve only had a crush on him since I was old enough to HAVE a crush), Colin Baker (Another DOCTOR to check off the list), and Tony Curran (aka Vincent Van Gogh!!! EEEEEEE!). 

My companion on this nerd-trek this year was my good friend and convention buddy Kerry.  It’s so nice to have a fellow geek friend with whom to share your obsessions.  And best news of all this year was that we had gotten a room in one of the host hotels! Excitement! We packed the car on Thursday AM and set sail.  Atlanta or bust!  The trip up was mostly uneventful which is always a surprise when the trip involves me.  I tend to invite calamity.  We arrived safely at the Hyatt and checked in.   I suppose because I rarely stay in phat hotels (being a mostly hotwire.com type of gal) is the reason I was super impressed, but when we walked into the room, we found this:

 
I mean, the TV knows my name.  And yes, that tiny bit of technology impressed me.  After we checked into the hotel, we walked over to the Sheraton for registration.  In previous years, it has been kind of a madhouse when it comes to this.  LONG lines, lots of waiting (usually outside in the stifling heat and humidity), and blah.  This year was SO DIFFERENT.  No lines.  Walked right in.  Right to where we needed to be.  No waiting.  Done in less than five minutes.  MAJOR kudos.  Was so nice!!!  Registration over, walk back to hotel and get dinner.  Bore bore.  You don’t care.  Cut to next AM.

FRIDAY:

This year I ordered a few more Froggy Photo pics than usual, but there was so many people I just REALLY wanted a picture with that would be guaranteed good.  I ordered all of my pictures for Friday thinking I would then have Saturday and Sunday open for panels and stuff.  Which turned out to actually be a very good idea.  All of my pics were first thing so I was done by 1130 which was amazing!  First pic was at 1000 and it was the cast of BEING HUMAN.  I don’t usually get nervous around celebrities anymore.  I mean, I told Dean Cain how utterly handsome he was and how I couldn’t even look directly at him… but for some reason I was really nervous about these guys.  Maybe because it was three of them at once.  I’m not sure.  But I was.   Arrived at the time appointed and waited.  I was a bit towards the back of the line, so by the time I arrived in the room I was able to watch others getting their pics.  I had seen previous pictures of people meeting these guys and the pics were always genius.   I assumed the person paying for the photo had just said they wanted the actors to do certain poses so I was nervous that I would be boring because I had nothing in mind.   Nothing to worry about, Steph.  Nothing at all.  Sam Huntington (JOSH) would call out right before the picture was taken what he wanted everyone to do.  “Everyone pretend like you are really bummed out.”  “Kick your leg in the air.”  Ect…. When my turn came I was felt like I was in a bubble of “I don’t know how to function as a human being any longer”.  They were all so good looking and SO SO down to earth and nice.  They asked my name and said nice to meet me and the usual drill  (Also Sam Witwer (aiden) is too hot to be an actual person in existence.  Dang.)  Huntington to Witer: “Okay, pretend like I am kicking you in the stomach.”  Me: “Am I happy about this!?”  Happened so fast.  I had no idea what I had done.   Huntington asked if the picture had worked and the photographer said that it had.  He said “That was a weird one! I was trying not to cover you up!”  They said nice to meet me again and I left.   It was amazing!   And when the picture came out I could not have laughed harder.   Why am I doing the “Peter Pan”???!!!! I have no idea what made me stand like superman/the 50s TV Mom saying “Oh these kids.” But the whole picture is just amazing.  They definitely gave me my money’s worth and an awesome memory.  So amazing to their fans and such fun people.

My next picture was with Cary Elwes.  Mr. Princes Bride/Men In Tights/The Crush/Psych/Saw/my dreams.  For some reason I thought, if anyone is going to be more business and less ‘friendly’ it will be him.  Not that I thought he would be mean, but more proper and business.   I could not have been more wrong.  What a NICE guy!  I was at the front of the line so I got to see him walk in and when he did, myself and the two women behind me all let out a gasp.  He.  Was.  SEXY.  He still has it.  100%   He was wearing sunglasses, jeans, and a leather jacket and a guy behind me said “He’s going to be hot in the jacket.” To which I said “He already IS hot in that jacket.” And the women quickly agreed.   He did pictures with the people on crutches or in wheelchairs first and he was so sweet.   Getting down on his knees to make sure the picture was good.  Shaking everyone’s hand.  Asking names.  Talking to them.  So wonderful.  SO glad I got my picture with him.

And almost immediately after was Colin Baker.  The sixth Doctor.  THE DOCTOR.  No matter how many of them I meet I will always be a fan girl.  Once you are ever The Doctor you are ALWAYS The Doctor.  And he was equally nice as the others.  Smiled and asked my name and pulled me in tight for the picture.  Such an awesome moment!!! The Doctor!

After my pictures I immediately reunited with Kerry who had been having a blast people watching and we headed over to get in line for the Being Human panel.  If you ever have the chance to see one of their panels PLEASE PLEASE do it.  It was full throttle from beginning to end.  Those guys love what they do and they love their fans and its SO evident.  Also they are HILARIOUS.  I wish I could remember and just type a complete  transcript here.  You would love it even if you have never seen the show (which if you haven’t, it’s on NETFLIX.  GO watch.  SO good!)

After the panel we did a walk through of the Walk of Fame to see all of the people signing autographs.  Kerry got Lafayette from True Blood.  He’s so smooth even when he is just sitting there talking.  Seriously  it’s crazy!  She also got to meet her first Doctor when we walked over and got Colin Baker’s autograph.  Awesome guy! After we saw caught a quick glimpse of everyone we made out way to the Colin Baker panel line.  (Side note, this might get slightly out of order and crazy because due to circumstances I had to wait a while to write this blog and I have a slightly shorter memory than a gnat so I’m really scraping to remember everything close to correctly.  Sigh… old age.)

The Colin Baker panel was amazing! He loves to tell stories and every one was SO interesting! I’m really becoming a pretty big Colin Baker fan.  He’s awesome! Need to go back and watch some of his episodes.   I’ve only really mostly seen new Who with just a bit of the classic.  I really need to fix that! Awesome panel! Completely enjoyed it!

After the panel we found some dinner and again… blah blah… bore bore… cutting to the chase.

Saturday:

This year I didn’t go to the parade even thought it was right in front of the hotel we were in… I wanted to sleep in… and I’m pretty glad I didn’t go only because of how many people were there! Enormous crowds!!! Even more than last year! It’s so exciting to see how many of  ‘us’ there are.  As the parade was finishing we were making our way over to the shopping.

crowd outside hotel after parade

We spend the next few hours looking and buying and braving the elevators (side note, riding the elevators in the Hyatt was a very crowded and time consuming event.  Every.  Single.  Time.  It was like waiting in line to ride the Superman at Six Flags… if the Superman was a very crowded/smelly ride) to put our newly acquired stuff in the room and then headed back to the walk of fame.  We first got in line to meet Tony Curran whom I now am even MORE in love with.  He was SO nice and that Scottish brogue…  I told him about my ultimate ginger shirt and he said I was the ultimate ginger (which I’m sure he says to all ginger fans but I do not even care) he let me rave to him about how amazing he was in Vincent and The Doctor and said he never tires of hearing it.  He was just so wonderful.  He even winked at me which I know don’t be a fan girl but come on… I AM a fan girl.  Kerry and I loved him.  Such an awesome guy!

 

Next  we got in line to meet the cast of Being Human and get autographs.  And again they were AMAZING.  Sam Huntington LOVED my pic and agreed I looked like Peter Pan.  He was so nice! And fun.  We watched Sam Witwer fan boy out himself a bit over some guys dressed as his character Starkiller in the Star Wars Force Unleashed. He took a picture of them then with them and light sabers.  It was awesome.  I love when the celebs are also geeks.    When he was talking the selfies with us he pretended to bite Kerry’s neck and she almost lost it.  It was hilarious.  He also loved my picture.  He showed it to Chloe Dykstra who was sitting as his table.  And he also called me Peter Pan and pretend to fly away. 
In the second picture he asked me if we could see Huntington in the pic and I was answering in the first which is why I look weirder than usual.  He wanted us to look like we were looking at Huntingon with disgust… I of course laughed so he’s doing it and I am not.  But still love the pictures!

 

 

Happy about a Vampire bite, but who wouldn't be with this guy!

Lastly was Meaghan Rath.  (Sally). This woman is GORGEOUS.  Truly.  And So so sweet!!!! She said the picture was so good she just wanted to keep looking at it.  And she wanted to do selfies because she said they are more personable and fun.  Love the faces she made.  HATE the lighting because I look weird.  But still, she was so sweet!  Again, get on Netflix and watch this show if you haven’t.  It’s really very good and these guys are amazing!!! Can’t wait to see them in whatever they do next!

Autograph's on Pic

After we finished here we made out way to get in line for the Doctor Who showing.  Little did we know that even though early we were still all the way through the building and then outside and then wrapped AROUND the building and almost to the back.  I really wasn’t sure we would get in but I told Kerry let’s keep the faith and give it a try.  It was SOOO muggy out waiting in line….. As we walked through the long long line to get in they told us that we HAD to turn off our phones and show them because we were getting to watch it before anyone else in the country (which I found utterly cool even if only for a few hours).  We walked and walked and I was unsure… BUT we made it! AND the way they filled one section at a time had AWESOME seats.  It was amazing! Me and roughly 2,000 of my closest friends got to enjoy something we all love and obsess over together in one place.  It was so awesome to be with my kindred spirits while we enjoyed something we love so much.  One of the most exciting parts of the con and that is saying SO  MUCH! 

Afterwards we limped back to hotel exhausted because I am old and don’t have the hang time I had in my twenties and made it just in time to watch OUTLANDER (Jamie Fraser… sigh…..  A moment of silence for his ginger hair, abs of steel, thick Scottish brogue, and kilt) and again… Boretown.

Sunday:

By Sunday there wasn’t much left we were dying to do, plus this is the day we have to drive back to the real world.  We finished shopping in the areas we didn’t make it to Saturday.  Spend some more time in the Walk of Fame, and people watched and took pics of the AMAZING Cosplay that DRAGON*CON is so famous for, then checked out and started the long journey home.

I am already chomping at the bit for next year.  As long as I am able to go I WILL go.  I’ve already purchased my membership for next year.  If you have a love for all things nerdy or even SOME things and want to be able to let your geek flag fly I definitely recommend going.  It’s a long weekend full of amazing, judgment-free, nerdy things! 

Dragon Con 2013: Time Lords and Wizards and Torchwood! Oh my!

I’ve spent the last few days making notes of all of the things I wanted to make sure and include in this blog.  Things I wanted to make sure never to forget (as if I could!! How many times in your life does John Barrowman cop a feel?) things I wanted to share with my friends… (because let’s face it, I know you guys have been waiting with bated breath)…. And I’ve come up with A LOT.  This could take a while.  Grab a pillow and a cold drink.  And if you don’t feel like reading all of this, but would like to leave a comment as if you did, might I recommend any version of the following:

“Awesome! That sounds like a super fun weekend!”

“You met all of those people?! That’s amazing!”

“I can’t believe it’s not butter!”

“Where’s the beef!?”

 “When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes!”

“In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, ‘Au revoir, gopher’.”

My sister in law was my victim… I mean guest on this excursion.  We rode in to Atlanta the day before so we could register the night before and then be sure we were there super early on Friday to get the day started without having to be up at 3 am.  Uncharacteristically for me, the ride up went smoothly.  ALMOST the entire way…. until my Tom Tom decided to have a complete meltdown and try and take me down a closed road and every single time it recalculated it wanted to take me BACK to the same closed road… but I digress.  We made it to the hotel.  Checked in. No big deal.  Found out the hotel had a shuttle directly to where we pre-register.  Awesome.  We ride over in what for Tabatha was a very scary ride… since I’ve survived the hotel to airport ride of NYC this felt more like a Sunday drive with Grandma.  We arrive and soon realize the line goes out of the building down the sidewalk around the building and almost meets back up where it starts.  And after WE finished checking in, the line DID end where it started and then snaked back a ways.  I’ve never seen so many people in my life. At least until that point.  Saturday in and around the Torchwood panel would soon be taking that honor.  And in the interest of keeping this blog from becoming a contender to be longer than War and Peace I’ll move on to Friday.

Cue fast forwarding sound…….

Friday: 

Friday was so jammed packed I don’t even know where to begin! The whole day seems like a giant blur of activity that I can’t even really remember what happened when.  I BELIEVE the first activity was going to the Froggy Photos booth to see if they had posted photo times… which coincidently they had NOT.  So we went ahead to the True Blood panel.  This was the ONLY panel of the weekend we didn’t have to wait in line for.  We walked up and they told us to go ahead in and pick a seat while the panel before finished.   I didn’t know anything about the panel, but apparently some famous person from the Gaming world was there.  Mark Meer? All I know is when I told my brother he was really jealous so I guess in some circles he is a big deal.  After that panel disbanded, we watched some Dragon Con TV while we waited.  Dragon Con TV is HILARIOUS.  Anyone that read my blog of last year may remember some of the stuff they showed.  This year they had things such as a commercial where a woman is complaining about ants and she calls “Dalek Exterminators.  Call 1-800-4-Davros” and I’m sure it’s not funny unless you see it but I laughed a LOT.  There also was something for “Star Wars Episode IV: The Legend of Curley’s Gold.”  Again, funny if you see it.

The True Blood panel started with only three of the five actors there.  Hoyt and Luna showed up as the panel went on.  I must say… I always like Hoyt.  But the actor who PLAYS him…. Maybe he was having a bad day…. I don’t know… but he seemed so bothered to be there.  Not a fan.  Not much happened during the panel to talk about. They told behind the scenes stories, answered questions… that sort of thing.  At one point a man starts to ask a question and he preferenced it with “I haven’t seen the last three episode but…” and the girl that plays Luna interrupted with “A#&hole.” And then said she was kidding a bunch which she totally was but he says, “Don’t worry I’m about to this around on her, I’m in the service and I was deployed.” I felt SO BAD for her.  He wasn’t being mean he was just kinda saying it like yeah but I could tell she felt horrible.  I saw her wipe a couple of tears from her eyes.  It was awkward even though it was kinda all in jest.  I mean he really WAS deployed but I don’t think anyone was being malicious. 

True Blood Panel

After the panel we find out when out photo times are and they aren’t until the afternoon so we decide to check out the Once Upon A Time panel.  It was actually really good! The guy that plays Jiminy Cricket was there as well as one of the head writers and the Blue Fairy.  It was a really good panel to sit in on and I’m glad we caught it.

Once Upon A Time Panel

After the panel we head over to the Hilton where my first picture is going to take place.  It was a bit before time so we found a spot outside the room where a plug was and sat to charge our phones.  As we are sitting there I see some AWESOME cosplay including a man dressed as the first Doctor.  He was fantastic!  I actually ended up talking to him in line.  He was getting 21 pictures and they are NOT cheap.  He must have been a super rich guy.   As Tabatha and I were sitting waiting I see a man riding in on a scooter wearing a hat and quirky colored suit and I immediately say, “Tab that’s him!” The ‘him’ being Sylvester McCoy.  Just riding in by himself like no thing.  Then I see him park the scooter and get off and just stand around so I figure I was wrong and he was just an awesome Cosplayer.  Finally they call for anyone getting the Sylvester picture and somehow I end up at the front of the line and as I stand there I see Peter Davidson and Sylvester McCoy sitting in chairs chatting away.  The 5^th and the 7^th doctor just sitting there.  Talking.  And I’m RIGHT THERE.  PS. He WAS the man on the scooter turns out.  He’s wearing a knee high boot.  I thought at first he was just old and couldn’t walk and I was sad but he apparently hurt himself. Poor cute sweet man.   Finally they tell me to walk over and he hobbles up and I say hello or something.  I can’t remember.  My mind was basically blown already.  I’m standing next to THE DOCTOR… in a room with TWO Doctor’s in it.  Amazing moment.  He says, “What’s your name?” And I tell him.  And he says, “Stephanie? Well, step up Stephanie.” And we step up to the line for photo and after they take it I turn to him and say “Thank you SO much.” Because I’m beyond giddy.  He was just so smiley and friendly and seemed genuinely happy and interested in being there and he said “Cheers.”  It was marvelous.  Superbly so.  Amazing amazing moment.  

Sylvester McCoy and I

Right after my photo we head over to the Marriott where our pictures with John Barrowman are to take place.  We still have some time so we walk up to the Walk Of Fame (the autograph room) where a lot of the celebrities are and walk around.  We see SO many amazing people! 

Billy Dee Williams (!!!!!!!!!!!!) (I’ve breathed the same air as Lando Calrissian)

T-Dog (Irone Singleton)

Adrian Paul (There can only be one!)

George Takei

Ernie Hudson

Mitch Pelggi

Lee Majors

Data from Star Trek

Ed Asner (!!!)

Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange OMG)

Tommy the Power Ranger (who OMG had a SERIOUS fan base.  They weren’t playing around.  He was LOVED.)

There were SO many people in there but if I name them all it’ll just be a giant list of names I’ve dropped.  I just wanted to say the ones I was particularly happy I was able to lay eyes on.   It’s very surreal to walk around a room filled with people who you geek out over.  

Afterwards, we walk back down to the Froggy photos booth for out Captain Jack photo.  And let’s just say that FROGGY photos is right.  Because SOMEONE was feeling very Froggy.  Mr. Barrowman.  Wow just wow.  He wouldn’t LET you do a boring photo.  That man is high octane energy filled with pure craziness. Watching other people get their photos was seriously entertaining.  There wasn’t anything he would not do! Grabbing body parts when asked… dipping women, grabbing butts… having his butt grabbed… you name it.  When it came my turn I wasn’t even sure WHAT to think.  I walked up and said HEY! As I grabbed him and he said hey back.  All I remember was that he was soaking wet with sweat but he smelled great anyway.  Right after my turn was Tabatha and then we wait around the corner to see what pictures he does with this guy who was in boxers a bow tie and fez only.  He had already called the guy out and then when he had to move in line yelled “hey where’s the naked guy!?” so we HAD to see what he was going to do.  Having said that… I won’t put it all in the blog.  Let’s just say they took quite a few photos.  Insert wink here.

  John Barrowman is a true entertainer.  He made sure everyone that paid to see him got their money’s worth.  You can tell he genuinely cares about his fans and wants them to have a good time.  I felt that way about everyone I met personally over the weekend.  It was SO wonderful because you KNOW they don’t have to be that way.  They can fake a smile take a photo and say thanks for coming and that’s what people would really expect.  But asking someone their name, smiling, pulling them into a hug… these are the things that make a moment unforgettable.   

And back to the news….  After we walk away from the photo center Tabatha informs me that John Barrowman grabbed my butt.  Ha!!! I was so into the moment I guess I didn’t notice.  And as it turns out… he TOTALLY did! Captain Jack Harkness…. Sigh….

notice hand placement

After the photos we decide to head back to the hotel and have dinner.  It’s been a long fun filled day, we didn’t sleep much the night before and Saturday was going to be a super long day.  Rest time.   And I forgot to mention that at some point during the Walk of Fame Tabatha got her picture made with Rutina Wesley (Tara from True Blood and she was VERY sweet!)

Saturday: (Busy busy day!)

One thing that it’s important to know about a convention is that there are at any given point about 6 billion people trying to cram into a small area that is super hot and super muggy and doesn’t always smell the best.  Also, these people generally ALL want to go to the same panels that you do.  So if you REALLY want to see a certain panel, you need to line up SUPER early.   I’ll come back to this… but it will be important. And ps it’s common curtsey to wear deodorant when you are going to be crammed in like that in such hot conditions.  And make sure it’s a good brand.  Sweat activated.  And I DO NOT know how people were wearing such thick, huge, face covering, sweat boxing, heat holding costumes.  I tip my sweat soaked hat to you.  

On the same note, apparently this should also be done for the parade. (the lining up early part that is) Silly me thought, it’s outside, the route is long, there will be plenty of places to stand…. Yeah…. Not so much.  There’s not much to say here really.  It was SUPER hot.  And SUPER crowded.  Poor Tab (who’s pregnant) became sick pretty quickly and had to go back inside but I missed the parade last year and really wanted to see it, so I stuck it out.   The parade was amazing! I took lots of video and lots of pictures (obviously to anyone who looked through my photos).  Sylvester McCoy, Tommy the Power Ranger, Billy Dee Williams, and someone who I STILL am not sure who he was… were the grand Marshalls.  And the rest of the parade was filled with hundreds of amazing costumes! It was so fun to watch! 

At one point in the parade I made “friends” with a kid (whom I’m not sure I should call kid… she was soooo tiny and looked like she was about 13 but told me she was 16).  She told me there were a lot of people being rude to her and she couldn’t see and her parents were in the parade and her phone was going to die but she wanted to take photos but if her phone died she didn’t know how she’d call her parents……  I couldn’t very well abandon this tiny girl.  I told her she could use my phone.  She said “There are such mean people and then nice people like you…”  What could I do?  I let her hang around me during the parade then I stayed with her during the foreverlong it took her to find her parents and let her use my phone.  I couldn’t very well drop a kid off with no phone and no parents in the middle of a million people in Atlanta.  Good deed done.  And we DID find her parents. 

Billy Dee Williams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55cITaTC0gk&feature=youtu.be
This is the video of Sylvester McCoy and a lot of Doctor Who cosplay in the parade

It took me ten lifetimes to get back into the Marriott and when I did I had NO signal.  I really didn’t have much of one at all the whole time I was there, but at this venture there were SOOOOO many people you could barely move and I couldn’t even send a text out.  How in the world was I going to find Tabatha? I tried to call her about 15 times and tried to text double that.  I was imagining what I was going to tell Luke about how I lost his pregnant wife.  I wandered around looking for the Torchwood panel because she told me when she left she was heading that way…. well as it turns out there was a Warehouse 13 panel in the room the torchwood panel would be in so about 123,456 people were congregated in that area.  I found a small hallway and managed to get a text out and then by some magic I saw Tab walking around (this was probably after 45 minutes of looking) and found her.  Probably never been so relieved to see someone in my life.  So we grab some pizza from a vender and try to be ready for when the Torchwood panel lined up.  This was around 2 hours before the panel.  We wait and wait and then they tell everyone to go away because the Torchwood lineup wouldn’t be yet but we stay around… Long story short they totally mess up how they do the line and even though we waited forever we end up REALLY far back in the line…. And we wait outside in this line…. But it’s all good.  I just REALLY REALLY want in on this panel.  And am I soooooo glad we made it in! This panel was AMAZING!!!!! From beginning to end.  It was almost the entire Torchwood cast and they are all equally crazy! John Barrowman fell out of his chair TWICE.  They told a TON of inside stories.  Funny stories.  CRAZY stories.  I videoed A LOT.  But will not be posting most of it. (Due to the semi adult nature of what they were saying)  It was one of the most entertaining hours ever. 

Torchwood Panel

We now interrupt this story telling to go back in time to Saturday AM and mention something I previously forgot to mention and don’t feel like going back adding in…. We were sitting outside of Starbucks eating breakfast and who should limp by but Sylvester McCoy.  Wearing his hat.  Suit Jacket.  His boot.  And striped boxer shorts.  And no I’m not kidding.  Just walking by like No Big Deal.  I’m the Doctor.  I’m in the Hobbit.  I’m awesome.  I’m in my shorts.  Drinking coffee.  There’s was nothing to be done.  Smile and continue with breakfast.  That man is adorable. 

And now back to my regularly scheduled ramblings….

After the Torchwood panel of epicness (henceforth it shall be called) we ate an early dinner and then walked over to the vendors to shop.  There was SOOOOO much stuff! I only ended up buying a Daryl Dixon bobblehead.  Oh yes.  I did.  Totally not embarrassed.  I’d buy it again.  Daryl Dixon AND a bobblehead.  Here’s my money.  It’s yours.

Afterwards, we head to the Westin to get in line for the Walking Dead panel.  We made some friends in line.  One if a dentist from Mississippi.  He seemed cool. It’s easy to talk to someone when you are sitting in line with nowhere to go for over an hour.  Even boring things become life changing interesting.  “Oh, you prefer THAT way to do wisdom teeth extraction? Tell me more tell me more. Like did he have a car? Or an over bite?”   But he was really nice actually.  It’s just funny how easy it can be sometimes to talk to someone you’ve never met in your life and never will again.  

Walking Dead Panel

The panel was fantastic.  The moderator was HILARUOUS.   I want to hang out with him EVERY DAY.  He was one of the walkers IN the barn in season two.  And in the audience were actually a lot of people who played walkers on the show.  One guy in the back was the FIRST walker out of the barn in the Sophia episode.  It was really cool.  And I must say Scott Wilson who plays Hershel is ADORABLE.  Seriously.  Little white pony tail.  And I have to say he seemed so small when I saw him in the Walk Of Fame.  They must make him wear fat suits on the show.  He looked tiny to me.  Super fun panel!  Afterwards it was getting late so we walked back to meet the shuttle…. Which was taking forever to come…. Soooooo we made some friends and all six crammed into a cab to head back to the hotel.   Watched some Ghost Adventures then went to bed.

And I want to give a quick shout out to the shuttle driver.  He was hilarious. “I got you. It’s good that I know my way around.   I got you. We all good? We good.  I got you. I sound like a broken record, but I got you.  We all good.”  He was so funny because all three days he repeated the same stuff.  He was really extremely nice.  Awesome guy and god love him I bet he made that trip at least 500 times over the days.  Good job, old sport. 

Sunday Sunday SUNDAY:

Sunday…. Sad day! Last day! Exhausted… spent too much money…. But SO not ready to leave! It’s been such an awesome experience…. But all good things must end…. But not before I make the most out of the day!  We get up.  Pack out stuff.  Load up the car and check out.  This time I drive over to the con and actually manage to get around without running over any power rangers or fairies or spidermen… I was pretty pleased.  We head into the Marriott and have breakfast.   Then the autograph room.  The fun room.  Walk of fame! Gotta get out last minutes sightings done.   As we are walking around I hear Tab say, “There’s Mickey!” And yes.  There he is.  Noel Clarke.   Mickey! I get a little nervous and have to talk myself into going over to him.  I want to… but I’m feeling chicken.  Finally after I see someone else do it I go over.  He’s so cute! The accent in person is killer.  “hey baby! You know it comes with a hug, right?” and I said something like I’ll take it.  And then before I even know I’m going to say it “Wow, you smell AMAZING!”  “You smell  great too.  We should just stand here smelling good.” And I said something else I don’t remember. And let me tell you, he gives great hug.  It wasn’t an A frame lame hug it was a BEAR hug.  And let me ALSO tell you, he really DID smell amazing.  I want to bottle it and spray it on my pillow at night. After the photo I said “Let me see if I look crazy.” So we pulled it up and looked and he was like, “No, you look awesome.”  He was such a sweet guy! Truly.  Good ol’ Mickey.

Noel Clarke and I

Tabatha and "The Blue Fairy"

Afterwards we walked the room again and the Walking Dead people still weren’t there so we decided to go out sit for a bit. We were sitting on a ledge UNDER the escalator and I was marking people in the Dragon Con guide that we had seen when I said, ‘I wish I knew what time they would be here.’ And as SOON as I said it Tabatha hit my arm and I looked up right as Michael Rooker aka Merle Dixon walks directly in front of us and down the hall.  He was wearing sunglasses and a leather coat and a hat.  She thought it looked like him but when he talked she knew for sure.  His voice is VERY recognizable. We grab our stuff and follow him.  He checks out of his hotel and then walks toward where we are asking the person he’s with where they need to go and Tabatha says, “Go down these stairs and it’s directly underneath us.” And he says, “I love you! Thank you, baby.” And I gotta admit, it was REALLY cool.  Just the way he said it, I guess.  Tab was on cloud nine, of course.  So we waited a few minutes and then walked back down to the Walk of Fame just so we could see them.  Tabatha had planned on getting a picture but after he told her he loved her and called her baby she was set.  No picture needed

We then proceeded downstairs to where William Shatner was supposed to be set up.  We found a seat on the ground against the wall and waited.  After about twenty minutes we finally figured out that he wasn’t coming out to the table, you bought your autograph or pictures at the table and then went to a giant line and waited to go back into a room where he was.  Didn’t realized The Shat would be under such lock and key.  Like he was the great and powerful Oz.  So sadly I was never able to see him.  But I saw so many other awesome iconic people I’m not too worried.  I mean Billy Dee Williams! Malcolm McDowell! Lee Majors! Ed Asner! John Barrowman! Ernie Hudson! And the list goes on.  After we walked back up to the Walk of Fame one last time we decided to hit the road back home.  It had been a super long super fun filled weekend but it was time to end.  I really was very sad for it to be over.  It was an epic epic time and I can’t WAIT for next year.    You can bet I’ll be back! Who knows… maybe I’ll even dress up next year…. Yeah, I won’t.  But still! I’ll be there! And I can’t wait!