I finally figured out what the kids are talking about.  I got sick while at Dragon Con (that’s what it means–right?).  I guess it was inevitable with all those people that someone was infected.  I mean, we were packed in so tightly in some places that I’m sure the guy next to me knew when my cell phone vibrated or could tell me how much change I had in my pocket (Twenty-three cents according to the guy dressed as Hellboy).

Saturday was the crazy crowded day.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever been in such a large crowd before.  I would have taken a picture, but that would have meant trying to get my cell phone out of my pocket without losing my place in the mob.  I did enjoy all the costumes though.

Notice there are no crowds in this picture.  My wife took it on the way back to our hotel which was about four blocks from the convention.  Walking the four blocks every day was a pain, but getting away from the crowds made it worth the walk.

I didn’t get to do much of the programming.  We were there for two days, and it took one day just to go through the vendors and art show.  Here’s the entrance to one of the vendor floors on Friday.

Silly me, I thought it was crowded on Friday.  The vendor area took up four floors.  We spent about five hours going through this area and then took a break back at the hotel and went back in the evening to check out the artist room.

I hit some of the programmings on Saturday, and we went to the Dragon Con Night at the Aquarium on Saturday night.  All in all, I had a great time, even though the crowds were a bit overwhelming.  I’ll be honest, I had the best time back at the hotel swimming pool on Friday afternoon recharging my batteries.  No crowds there.  Everyone was at the convention.

I doubt I’ll go back to Dragon Con again unless I can sell books.  For me, there wasn’t enough writing programming to make me want to spend the money to come back.  Besides, for an introvert like me, it was sensory overload.  It would be so much easier to stay in one place and sell books (Wow, never thought I’d say that).

A couple of days was enough time to see all the vendors, check out the costumes, and come home with a cold.   What more could you ask for?