Wednesday night, we couldn't sleep, we spent most of the night packing up our costumes and watching anime until almost 3 in the morning. We were super excited and anxious!
Our friends Matt and Liz - who we had played Splendor with a few weeks earlier - picked us up about 6 am. We were running on adrenaline and a 3-hour nap. We high-tailed it down to Salt Lake City and Magna to drop off our stuff at the houses we would be staying at with family. We made it back to the Salt Lake Palace and parked underground about noon. Sarah realized she needed new shoes and we were a bit hungry for lunch so we went to the food court at the mall across the street from the Salt Palace and had lunch there. There were lots of statues outside the convention palace and even a Tardis box. VIPs and those with gold badges were let in beginning at 1pm. Sarah let me sneak past general admission so I could get to my first Star Wars panel at 2pm. There was so much to see and do, and lots of people dressed in interesting costumes it was impossible to see it all and do it all the first day. Though we did our best to take it all in... Supper was a truck kitchen slider and grandma's chicken & wheat noodle soup later that night at almost midnight. Lesson learned: get the gold badges next year for early entry and only plan 2-3 main events or panels per day with time to browse tables and the show room floor.
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You can pick your friends, you can even pick your nose,
but NEVER pick Han's nose even if he's frozen in carbonite! |
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| When 30 years old you were, look this good, you did not! |
Friday morning, we took our costumes and props with us for our photo shoots that day and rode the buses and the Trax train back to the palace and got in a little late, but just in time to attend my 2nd Star Wars panel for the Utah fan film awards. We also went to the Miyazaki panel together, had a shared burrito lunch at the con just before our photo ops. I got a few of my Star Wars books I was lugging around signed by Tim Zahn & Bob Salvatore. I desperately wanted to get my giant Pez dispenser signed by Anthony Daniels in the morning but couldn't get the $80 cash he was asking for. So after waiting in line and watching him being interviewed by the local TV station, and then realizing he was asking for cash, I decided it wasn't worth waiting anymore. Sarah almost missed her picture being taken with James Phelps, and then I got mine within the same hour with Anthony Daniels. There's a story there: As he was taking pictures with other attendees, he would use a shiny C3PO doll about 10 inches tall and hold it like an Emmy award. When he saw my prop, his eyes went about as wide as 3PO's bright photoreceptors (as wide as dinner plates), guffawed and said "My life is one giant PEZ dispenser!", took my PEZ holder in hand and took his photo with me!
Best. Reaction. Ever.
We ran into Sarah's uncle & cousins, her cousins and her all bought decorative wire tiaras (crowns) at a floor shop. After attending a few more panels and attempting to get into the Guinness "world record attempt for most people dressed as comic book characters at a convention" (Star Wars and Harry Potter were out), we toured the vendor block for a bit and decided we'd try to go to bed early that night. Legs and feet were getting tired after running and walking on concrete all day. We picked up a few groceries at a store and went home on the Trax and buses.
Saturday was a more relaxed day - sightseeing and shopping. Got more books signed by the Hickmans. Watched the kids at Kidcon practice their youngling lightsaber training, Sarah got her face painted and we had a more slower paced leisurely stroll through the convention. We should have played some games - both board games, RPG, and some of the video games that were available. Oh well. Some of the best deals happened towards the later afternoon when vendors didn't want to lug back any of their merchandise. Lesson learned there.
Matt & Liz picked us up again Sunday morning after sacrament meeting and we rode back to Idaho Falls with breakfast and snacks in tow.
We were both happy to get away and geek out as well as getting back home after such an
exciting weekend!
Can't wait for next year - we're already
scheming... er, uh, making plans!
We went to her in-laws house after work Wednesday and treated it as if it were Christmas Eve. The roads were slick and icy. Mom and dad already had the stockings out and we filled everyone else's with candy. We woke up Thursday morning and found Dad snuck nuts into everyone's stockings, including ours. Due to a packer forgetting to double check his list, we convinced daddy to let us use their ice cream for breakfast waffles for our traditional morning meal. (Luckily, the strawberry revel refroze okay after returning home.)
