Comic-Con Adventures, Vol. 4: Your Friendly Neighborhood Comic-Con

Your Friendly Neighborhood Comic-Con

There's not much to say about my final day in San Diego, but I have several nice pictures you might enjoy!

This was my "extra" day; I didn't have a Saturday Comic-Con pass, so my entertainment was limited to whatever I could find to do outside the San Diego Convention Center. However, I thought it might still be fun to wander around downtown with my parents for a little while. I had done a little exploring on my first day at the convention, but I thought there might be an opportunity to try out some of the cool exhibits/experiences being held in the hotels surrounding the convention. Or, failing that, my parents and I could find a good place to eat. I was dying for some proper food, having lived off of backpack fare for the last three days!

As I may have mentioned before, my parents shared a hotel room with me for all but one night of the trip. They had decided to go on an extended driving vacation through California that summer, and they were kind enough to meet up with me in San Diego and share the hotel room. It was a little cramped, but we made do well enough. I was very happy to spend time with them on Saturday, even if it mostly just involved walking around. My mom is a huge sci-fi nerd (where do you think I got it from??), and I felt genuinely bad she didn't get to attend San Diego's convention with me (she is a veteran of literally dozens of conventions over the years).

However, after just a couple of hours of walking around downtown together, my mother turned to me and said, "This is a little overwhelming. I don't think I could ever attend this convention." I was shocked! My mother, turn down the opportunity to attend a sci-fi convention??

Then, I looked around downtown San Diego. It was swarming with people; the sidewalks were incredibly congested. Loud music was blaring from every door. It was a sensory overload of cosplayers, commuters, signs, statues, sets, booths, pavilions, demonstrations, flyers, merchants, parade-goers, tourists, and more. And lines...so many lines.

People were standing in lines everywhere. There were lines outside restaurants, stores, and hotels. One interactive experience I would love to have tried was a mock-up of the ominous Hall of Faces from the TV show Game Of Thrones. But that line was the worst of all, stretching around a city block and reportedly involving a three-hour wait. Yikes! I know it was a free event, but I highly doubt it was worth that long of a wait. I hope all the brave souls who stayed in that line all day were satisfied with the experience.

(Final!) Cosplay Roundup!!

There was a whole herd of post-apocalyptic zombie hunters hanging around; I wasn't sure what franchise they were from, but their costumes were pretty cool.

George R.R. Martin the Reaper. For those of you who don't read the Song of Ice & Fire /Game of Thrones series, Martin has a habit of killing off lots of characters...including popular and beloved characters! You've been warned.

Another Goblin King. Man, I really miss David Bowie.

Hee hee. We'll see how funny this is when Marvel's Infinity War movies finally show up in a couple of years.

Car cosplay! I saw lots of cars with creative bumper stickers; this was one of many.

For my parents and I, our Comic-Con experience on Saturday was limited to some strolling around and looking at the outside of buildings. Mostly, my parents wanted someplace to hang out with me and chat more privately. After some searching, we found a delicious seafood restaurant called The Water Grill and had lunch. It was nice to put our feet up and get caught up.

After eating, we decided to put Comic-Con behind us for good. I suggested we drive to Balboa Park, a favorite destination of our family's, and a place my parents had never visited. I warned them we would mostly just be walking and sightseeing, but I told them it would probably be more relaxing than our current location.

To my relief, my parents really enjoyed Balboa Park. It was also crowded there, more crowded than I'd ever seen it before (apparently, Comic-Con makes everything in San Diego congested), but compared to the madness downtown, it was relatively idyllic. We had fun checking out the gardens and museums, and "decompressing" a bit from the earlier madness.

After Balboa Park, my parents and I said our goodbyes; they had to drive to Los Angeles that evening and needed to give themselves time to find a hotel. I would be staying that last night with the parent of a friend from Sahuarita, but it was an hour's drive from San Diego. However, my hostess was involved with an activity away from home that evening, and so I wouldn't be able to crash there until later that night. I decided to spend my last few hours in San Diego doing as little as possible.

I drove down to La Jolla, and after securing a (contested) parking spot, I headed down to the beach. Rather than the large public beach, I found a more secluded cove. It was still open to the public, but the waves were a little more vigourous there and so there weren't many swimmers. I sat myself down on the sand, pulled out a book, and read and read and read, while watching the sun go down.

It was probably the longest reading session I'd had in years. I finished most of my book! I also completely ignored everyone around me, and they paid me the same courtesy. It was bliss to my introverted soul. I am not normally a big "beach" person, but after such a crowded, high-intensity weekend, it was the perfect relaxant.

Once the sun finally dipped below the horizon, I reluctantly got into my car and headed to my destination for the night (which I found, after getting just a little lost). My hostess was gracious and generous; my bed was comfortable; my sleep was deep. In the morning, before I headed out, I even got to see her grandchildren:

I was so excited to see this cute girl! When her family lived in Sahuarita, I was her piano teacher for a year or so. She is super sweet and I love her whole family. Even though I didn't get to catch up with her mother and father, it was still great to say hello to her and see how much she has grown in just the last year since her family moved to California.

But our reunion was a short one; it was time for me to drive home and reunite with my own family. I had such a wonderful time on this trip, but I still really missed Nathan and the girls by the end! More than that, though...the girls' first day of school was the day after I got home! Reality was waiting for me, and a very busy autumn (so busy that I haven't blogged regularly in months!). But I felt more ready to face that reality, now that I'd had a few days in a crazy fantastical place. I don't know if I'll ever make it to San Diego Comic-Con again, but I'm grateful for the opportunity I had! It was a terrific break from the everyday.

Coming soon (I hope!): some posts on just what we've all been doing for the last six months or so.