New photos! New photos! Last weekend Lucas and I attended Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA, and there are lots of new photos to share from our adventures there. We hopped in the car after work on Friday and drove to Georgia with our friend Chris. It was a fun roadtrip! We arrived late but got to meet my #WonderTwin Kara, and her husband Jake, who helped us check in at the hotel. We took Oscar the Cthulhu, made by Ruth, and Oscar went everywhere I went, ensuring he got to partake in the fun of the weekend.

Saturday was our first day at the convention. Even though Dragon Con had started officially on Friday, I didn’t feel like we had missed too much. Mostly because the one panel I just HAD to attend was the Venture Brothers panel on Saturday afternoon. Lucas and I managed to snag front and center seats in the huge auditorium, being a mere four rows or so from the stage. Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick were so awesome. I especially enjoyed their question and answer format as they roamed the floor to theme music in between questions. I have to admit that my favorite part, though, was the depth of the various Venture Brother themed costumes people put together. We sat across from someone dressed as Hank who had built a life-sized Helper bot to accompany them. I posed with several Monarchs and Dr. Girlfriends and was tickled to run into a well done Dr. Henry Killinger, too, complete with his magic murder bag. Too amazing! I mananged to capture the hilarity of Doc and Jackson dancing at the end of the panel, which turned into Jackson falling out of his chair during one of his sweet, sweet dance moves.

Speaking of costumes, that was another highlight of Dragon Con for me. Many people went above and beyond with their costumes; moreso than I remember at Gen Con. Not only that, but most were also more than willing to stop and let you photograph them or were happy to pose with you for photos. I guess it’s an expectation that comes with dressing up for a convention. It inspired me to want to attempt my own costumes next year. I think Lucas and I would make an excellent Monarch/Dr. Girlfriend pair, though our group of friends also dreamed up the perfect scenario of us dressing up in a group Venture Brothers theme for next year together, which is even better!

For me, Dragon Con was such an exciting adventure. Yes, there were lines. Yes, there were rude people, and yes there were some frustrations… but overall it was a hugely positive experience for me. Probably because it was only my second geeky convention ever, with Gen Con last month being my first. The difference was that Gen Con was a working con for me, where I was behind a booth all four days and didn’t get much opportunity to check other things out, whereas Dragon Con was a play con for me, where I was able to experience everything that I wanted to experience since I wasn’t behind a booth. Don’t get me wrong, I loved selling GEEKSOAP at Gen Con and will be doing it again next year, but I will then follow up with attending Dragon Con again the following month as a way to unwind and experience it all, too. A working con and a play con within a month of each other? I can handle that!

One of the biggest highlights was getting to meet @CatStaggs and pick up some of her signed art, and getting to meet Ashley Eckstein at the @HerUniverse booth and nab a shirt. Both women are so incredibly creative and are such inspirations! And of course the absolute best part of Dragon Con for me was that throughout the weekend we got to hang out with Chris and Devin along with finally meeting Kara, Jake, Lisa, Jessie, Terry, Dave and his friends, including Mike (another amazing artist like Dave!), and Eugene. Finally getting to put a face and a hug to the names and getting to spend time with all of these fabulous people was the icing on the cake and made Dragon Con such a memorable and fun experience. I only wish I would’ve had more time! After our big group dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday, Kara, Jessie, and I danced together for no reason at all (which was a riot – video below!) and then we all went back and played the Battlestar Gallactica board game in our hotel. Are you surprised to hear that Lucas ended up being one of the cylons along with Kara?

So of course I took lots of pictures of our Dragon Con adventures and put them all together in a new set of our Flickr gallery appropriately labeled Dragon Con 2010! Hope you enjoy them. :)

Now that Dragon Con is over, Lucas and I are trying to focus long enough to get our things packed for the move next week. We move next Saturday, though we haven’t even begun to pack yet! Guess what we’re doing this weekend… ?

Hopefully I’ll get a moment to update once we get situated in the new place and/or even have a new recipe attempt to share soon. Have a great weekend!