Cosplay, and Conventions and Dragons, Oh My! (Atlanta, GA)

A couple of days ago, I got a call from scheduling with an option to go to Atlanta. Since I hail from Chattanooga, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from A-town, this normally would not be a terribly exciting prospect. However, this week was different because of.....

*Majestic music playing*

DRAGON CON!

Darcy and our friends are super nerdy, and this fantasy/sci-fi/cosplay convention is highly anticipated all year. I didn't think I'd get to go this year because as a newbie flight attendant, asking off for Labor Day weekend is about as realistic as a winning a head butting contest against a three-headed monkey.

However, when I got the call and heard that one of the overnights was in Atlanta, I got a serious case of euphoria. Even though I'd only get one night (Saturday) at the con, I'd still get to go and drink in the nerdy awesomeness.

It was my first Dragon Con, and the best way I can describe it is thousands of people dressed up as their favorite superhero, video game avatar or tv show character. Sci-fi nerdiness is in my blood though, because back in the day my dad owned and operated a comic book store in downtown Chattanooga. Everybody meandered around different hotel lobbies in downtown Atlanta, interacted, danced, ate and drank, and had a merry time. One of the hotels had an absurd number of floors; something like 40 or 50, and we took the elevator all the way up to the top to look down on the flea-sized party-goers below. We were able to purchase something called a "Bucket of Rum" which is essentially some tasty hunch punch in a plastic bucket.

Darcy and his friend were dressed up as the Blues Brothers (apparently this is an ongoing theme from the days of yore). What can I say, he looks pretty handsome in a suit.

[caption id="attachment_680" align="alignnone" width="642"] a picture from earlier this year at Chattacon[/caption]

On the flight back to Charlotte the next day, there were lots of con-goers (still proudly wearing their badges and lanyards) who I got to exchange stories with. I just wish I had been able to attend more days of the convention rather than only Saturday, but there's always next year. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take many pictures this time around, but Darcy's friends run a podcast called Vitamin Geek, and for those of you who'd like to see some of the nerdy awesomeness we experienced from their point of view, please visit their page {here}.

Last but not least, here's a picture of our group Saturday night. We had so much fun!

picture courtesy of Vitamin Geek Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/VitaminGeekPodcast)

 

Birthdays at the Beach (Savannah & Tybee Island, GA)

Hello all!

This story started about a month ago when my good friend Schyler decided we were going to party it up in Bermuda for our mid-July birthday (her's is the 12th, mine the 16th) along with her boyfriend Steve and friend Jessie. Incidentally, Jessie also runs a very cool blog about her nomadic lifestyle all over the world. I highly recommend everyone give it a read!

Anyway, Schyler and I have been friends for years, and I credit her job for a regional airline as the original inspiration behind me applying to be a flight attendant. In present day, she and I often chat about the adventuresome places we get to go using our flight benefits.

There's the saying "the best laid plans....oft go astray" and those words were never more truly applicable than this trip. First, there were scheduling issues. We both had to coordinate our schedules to be available for going on this trip. Schyler lives in Newark with Steve, and I live in Charlotte, but somehow the fates aligned so we were able to get the right days off.
Next, Bermuda didn't work out because there weren't enough seats on her airline's flight there. Major bummer—especially since she told me this the day I would be leaving to sail over the ocean blue and I was thisclose to getting on the flight!
Fortunately, we had a back up plan—Savannah, GA and the beaches at Tybee Island. What we didn't expect was how it would rain almost the entire time. Or how the room would have only one queen sized bed instead of two. Jessie ended up opting to sleep on the floor (which sends shivers down my spine remembering the roach which visited us) and I took the reclining armchair (not meant for restful human sleep).

All in all, it was a fabulous trip. When we made it to Savannah, we went straight out to the beach while it was still sunny and enjoyed an entire afternoon of swimming in the water and burying each other in the sand. The next day it rained, but undeterred we spent our time visiting historic houses and popular venues in the downtown area—equipped with an umbrella and indefatigable traveling enthusiasm.

Savannah is a fantastic town to visit; it has such a great vibe of modern trendiness mixed with historic Southern roots and beautiful buildings. If you are into cobblestone streets, cozy B&B's, savory cooking and charming pubs, Savannah is the town for you. In addition, Tybee Island is just a short hop away. I love how the sloped beaches have large tide pools left by the ocean in the morning, which heat up to near spa temperatures during the summer. If you are not an ocean swimmer, you can hang out in the waist-deep tide pools and be just fine.

I'm so glad I got to hang out with Steve, Schyler and Jessie and was a little sad to return home. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I have the best friends anyone could ever hope for, and I can't wait to celebrate my actual natal day back in my hometown of Chattanooga.

As I'm sure you know by now, I'm a huge camera nut, and so of course I took a ton of pictures. You can click thumbnails to enlarge the pictures. I have a shorter gallery of pictures below for your perusal, but if you'd like to see the full horde (and outtakes) of pictures from this adventure, check out my Picasa album here.

 

 

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As always, thanks for reading! Until next time, catch me if you can!

—Carmen