To summarize: I had a really good time, and I do believe Kiyo did as well. :)

Met a bunch of new good peoples, like Sothe and Fiyah and Ahkahna and DarkNatasha and Kwik and ForeverChagrin and Cyberhorn and the cool guy with the Rick Astley ringtone in the elevator line, and ran into old friends like Icen, GothicSiamese and GeekSiamese, SqueakyChewtoy, Mutteo, Gravewalker, MoonMochi, Louve, IndigoAngelCat, JoDragon, and probably a few more I don't remember but will add later in edits. ^^

Icen, Sothe and Fiyah are fantastic roommates. :)

The drives up and back were both oddly pleasant, with only minor delays [such as the 20-minute delay when a truck carrying hazardous medical waste dumped its load all over the PA Turnpike. >_< ] I always forget how awful the first rest stop we come to going back east is, though.. a half million people tripping over each other fighting for the restrooms. Had good music, and Kiyo and I sang along a lot.

We made the right decision to arrive Wednesday afternoon rather than Thursday. Things were relatively quiet, our room had a terrific view of the city and the rivers, and it was quite peaceful. Thursday our roomates Icen, Sothe and Fiyah arrived very early, and by the time Kiyo and I woke up they were snoring away. [Literally.] We fed Icen at the panini place, where she fell in love with the spectacular portabella panini. After registration [very very smooth] we hung out, had Golden Palace buffet with the roomies, and went to the rave and flailed around madly for a bit.

Friday, we hit the Billy Mays-led Opening Ceremonies and cheered along with the 3100+ other attendees who had *already* registered even though it had just opened, and remembered poor Furp and his black medical bag. We hit the Dealer's Den, fed on more paninis, wandered the Con, and said hi to old familiar faces. After feeding on pizza that Icen brought us for the win, Kiyo got into her fursuit and we raved madly again. Unfortunately she can barely see in her head [the eyes were not made well, though the rest of the suit is beautiful], and after overheating a bit, we cooled down and hit the room for the night.

Saturday we went hardcore shopping in the Dealer's Den, buying T-shirts and commissions [hooray Ahkahna] and art [hooray DarkNatasha]. Due to Kiyo's fursuit head issues, we didn't make the Parade, but hopefully we can get it fixed by next year's. We both missed the panels we wanted to catch, but honestly, who's awake at 9am Friday or 11am Saturday? We met up with ForeverChagrin, and went to dinner with her and Icen and Fiyah and Sothe. The boys went off to feed on their own, while Icen and Chagrin and Kiyo and I went to the Chinese Food Place That Will Not Be Mentioned because they advertised a buffet. [Not the Golden Palace, because that place is beautiful and has a nice buffet and is yummy.]

Now, two years ago, we had eaten at the Unnamed Bad Place and suffered Ill Effects with most of the group of 12 or so of us who went, at the same time as the now-famous attack on Fernando's owner happened in the street outside. [Had we realized what was going on, we would have bolted outside and pummeled the attacker.] We forgot our lesson, though, and Icen and Kiyo and I all fed. Chagrin, much to her non-chagrin, had just ate elsewhere and didn't feed.. she was the lucky one. The food was, simply stated, bad. Kiyo's eggroll tasted like paint thinner. Icen, a vegetarian, was limited to the rice and noodles, while I [normally vegetarian] sighed and had some General Tso's Chicken since the noodles looked a little iffy. Icen attempted to order a dish along with the buffet, which sent the waitress into practically a seizure of confusion, so she gave up without her side dish. My chicken was seriously tasteless [though Kiyo felt hers was overly spicy], and we both agreed that it was probably the worst we'd ever had. It was basically like chewing on a solid substance that was physically present but had no other defining properties.

Afterward, we went with Icen and Chagrin to the Zoo, where we hung out and drew a bit [I was sitting right across from Ghost, one of the artists I've known of ever since I first came to DA, and didn't even realize it until afterward.] It was then that.. problems.. began. My tummy began making noises sort of like a derailing subway train. By the time we got back to the room, with plans to go watch fireworks, my insides were outside. I seriously have not had an old-school tummyache like that probably since I was a little kid. With the sensation of a horde of mice attempting to saw their way out through my abdominal wall with rusty dull razors, I curled up and whined while Icen headed out and Kiyo fussed worriedly trying to help me to feel better. We watched the fireworks out over the city, which was distractingly neat, since we could see 6-10 displays all going on at the same time in our field of view.

At some point, Icen returned to announce a horrified discovery: The people across the hall had, apparently, as near as anyone could tell, copiously defecated or vomited all over their bedding and then piled it up outside the room. [It was quickly removed by someone, but not quickly enough.] Earlier we had spotted people going into the room with enormous amounts of alcohol. Icen was in a rather excited state, having had a "small amount" of adult beverages herself in the hotel bar, and she and Kiyo went off to rave as I tried to feel better. I dozed off until they returned, and we decided to get room service [I got a salad, hoping that would settle things. Fail. But the salad was really good.] Everyone raved about the incredible brownies [no, not the stuff from across the hallway]. The boys came back at one point and went right back out to rave, even though they had to leave to catch their flight in like four hours. Finally feeling somewhat better, I dozed, though not before noting that I was in a room with *four* snoring furs, which made me giggle.

Poor Icen and the boys had to leave for their flight at like 5:30am, so Kiyo and I missed them leaving, which made us sad. *poutyface* After we woke up, we.. well, a couple hours after we woke up, we packed all our stuff, loaded the car, and hit the Dealer's Den one more time. Kiyo bought another print and earrings while I chatted with the Siameses and Mutteo, then we headed for the car and back to NJ, sad but glad for the weekend.

So.. assuming Rainfurrence is out of our abilities for this year, next it's on to ConnectiCon [anime/scifi], and then FurFright. :)