dcseain | The Weekend That Was

Drove up to Arisia on Friday.

suecochran called me when i was in Connecticut, at Exit 25 on I-95. Oddly, that's where she and her carload were, too. She had

peacespear,

nancylebov, and her son with her. I'm so glad that

persis kindly bought memberships for the 4 of us, other than Nancy, else we might not have gotten in under the attendance cap.

I'd set out about 11 - about 2 hrs later than intended. Got there a bit before 20. Would have been there 30 min sooner, but i missed the fact that i'd crossed the river into Cambridge, and therefore missed the turn onto Memorial Dr, and found myself at Central Square. Headed down Mass Ave, made a turn, could see, but not get to, the hotel, as when i tried to turn toward it, i found myself back at Mass Ave. Hung a ralph onto Mass, and another onto Vassar, and got there.

I at long last got to meet

palmwiz, which was a big happy! :D Unfortunately, we did not get to hang at all. I'm probably coming up for Boskone, hopefully we can hang some then. I also got to have a meal with

prettypammie,

happypete, and Quinn, which was nice. It struck me in chatting with them that i live as close to them as i do to my family, so i hopefully will see more of them now that i understand that they're not as far as VA 7 and VA 9 make it feel.

I had a nice, low-key time at the con. Spent a spot of time with

voltbang and

chelona, too. The hotel layout was a but wack, especially the tiny little staircase between floors 2 and 3, but the hotel staff were troopers, and fixed the broken elevator promptly, and helped us make sure we didn't break the other 2. Next year, i think they'll make sure all 4 are in tip-top shape before we get there, and we'll be more mindful of load limits.

Sunday, ate at Mary Chung's with

nancylebov, Stephanie, and Tyler, after spending some money at Pandemonium Books, an establishment i dearly miss having nearby. I'm being a good uncle, and will likely annoy my sister, brother-in-law, and mother, because i bought Jaden, my elder nephew, a Monty Python Horse Action Figure, which was pointed out to me while at Pandemonium.

On arrival at Mary Chungs, ran into

scruffycritter,

mobmama and their party. Then, while both our parties were there, in walks

badmagic! I was in Cambridge, MA, dining in a restaurant full of people from the DC-Philly corridor, very odd.

After dinner, dessert at Toscanini's, another Cambridge shop i dearly miss shopping at.

Monday, at about 11:30,

nancylebov and i set out for home. Much to the amazement of the bellhop, the whole business, our luggage, our etcetera, and a few items left by

suecochran and company, all fit with room to spare. At 12:15, we paused for lunch in Attleboro, near Pawtucket. At about 13:15, we were back on the road. At 18:30, we were still in Connecticut, only 300 miles from our starting point - traffic more than bit.

Eventually, we got to Exit 3 on the NJTP, and stopped in Bellmawr at the Club Diner, one of our favorite restaurants. After dinner, i made the left onto NJ 168, and got onto 295 S, only to find 676 closed, so no Ben Franklin Bridge, which conveniently drops me on 95 one mile from the exit to Nancy's, no. Instead, continued down 295 to the Commodore Perry bridge, then traced the 12 miles back up 95. Long and short of it, i got home at 03:30. I took today off, too.