Only 8 more hours to go until I head out for vacation. It'll be nice to see friends again that I haven't seen for several years again. I've gotten everything packed except for one stubborn book that I can't find anywhere.

Hopefully we'll have good weather for the eclipse, but when you plan something like this, it just comes down to the roll of the dice. Visiting Disney will hopefully be fun as well, although I'm dreading the heat.

Well after a bit of a struggle, I managed to secure my ticket for the Magic kingdom. i'd had problems trying to book it online and in the end I had to contact them directly to get the problem fixed.

T-3 workdays left

Just heard from  MatthiasRat that he had just booked our room for Furnal Equinox next year. We'd just missed ou on the lakeview suited, but managed to grab one of the last 3 doubles left. Apparently the hotel sold out in less than an hour this year. Hopefully we'll also be joined by  Salvestro,  wolfFriend and hopefully  Cobalt_k if he wants to join us again this year.

In other good news, I splurged on one of the more expensive scratch lottery tickets($40) at work and won myself $100. After that I just took the money and run. Just in time for my trip.

Well only 11 more days before I head out on another trip to they US. This time I'm gonna be flying into Orlando where my friend Phil is gonna pick me up. From there, we'll be driving up to his old stomping grounds in Tennessee, to meet with fellow members of the TSA in order to see the solar eclipse. Afterwards several of us will be heading back to Florida for a bit before I fly home on the 30th.

I've never been to Florida and I've had several people inform me that August is one of the worst times with regards to heat, but oh well, friends and good times are more important. I'm also looking forward to seeing Disneyworld for the first time. So I guess I'll just have to suffer through the heat and humidity.

I successfully complete another solar rotation, whoopee. Gonna go see Guardians tomorrow.

Well I'm slowly getting closer to being able to start my new hobby. I ordered a sand scoop to aid in detecting the beach. I've always been interested in metal detecting and am looking forward to trying my hand along the beach. I'm also looking forward to perhaps doing some detecting down in Florida this year after the TSA Bash is over at my friend Phil's place. My first times I'm really not expecting to find anything other than junk, but you never know what will happen.

12 hrs before I get picked up for FE and big surprise, I can't sleep worth crap. Oh well, sleep will come eventually and then I just have to wait for  MattRat and  Salvestro to arrive to grab me and then head off to the hotel.

See everyone soon.

Where are you staying?
Main hotel (Westin Harbor Front) from Thursday Night - Monday.

What day are you getting there?
Thursday afternoon.

Who will you be with?
Will be with  MatthiasRat,  Salvestro and  Cobalt_K

Will you be fursuiting?
Yes.

Do you do free art?
Can't draw worth a tinker's toot.

What is your gender?
Male

How old are you?
50

Can I talk to you?
Feel free.

Can I touch you?
Sure.

Can I hug you?
Ask first, especially if I'm in suit.

Photographs?
Sure, in or out of suit is fine, but again just ask.

How can I find you?
Wandering throughout the con, mainly in the Dealers Den

Which suit(s) will you be bringing?
Mine of course

Do you draw?
No

How tall are you?
6'1"

Are you taken? Are you looking for a mate?
Presently not looking

Can I visit your room?
Invite only.

Can I buy you drinks?
Sure!

Can I give you stuff?
Sure!

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
hug yes, snuggle no.

Are you nice?
Yup

How long are you going?
Thursday - Monday

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Just come up to me and say hi.

Specifically in suit though, tapping on the shoulder works fine. .

Where will you be most of the time during the days?
Wandering the con and the Dealers den

What/where will you be eating?
Depends where the fates take us.

What’s your goal for the con this year?
Meet up with old friends, suit, have fun and spend money.

Just wanted to wish all my friends and watchers a Merry Christmas and a safe holidays. Here's hoping that everyone has a wonderful time.

Right off the bat, I'd like to state that there is nothing seriously wrong with me health wise, this is just musing on my part.

I've often wondered, if I were to suddenly die tomorrow, what would happen to all the art I've collected, as well as my fursuit. I'd hate to imagine them just getting thrown away, as no one else in my family has any furry inclinations. Having them just gather dust in an old box isn't much better. I think I'd rather see them either sent back to the original artist or to a few select online friends, who I know would appreciate them. My fursuit however still boggles me as to how it would be disposed of.

Now, I don't mean to sound morbid, but I know I'm not getting any younger and I think I should start thinking about what will be done with all my stuff. Hopefully however, I won't have to worry about this for many years yet.

Well I'm home now and you'll have to forgive the lack of updates as the hotel we ended at had no real working WiFi, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't go into quite as much detail.

After Riverton, we headed headed up into Rocky Mountain National Park. Once again the scenery was beautiful and we ended up being over 2 miles above sea level. we managed to see lots of elk, but no mountain sheep. I'll admit I was having a bit of a problem breathing, but I took it easy on Phil's advice. From there we headed into Denver and there our troubles began.

We called multiple hotels and they either had nothing or were insanely expensive. We finally got a spot at another Motel 6 and headed down there ASAP. It turned out to be the first hotel that needed all of our ID's to be copied and had their own armed guard. The room was very small, with no room for the air mattress so Phil and Kanren shared the one bed. Luckily I would hear only 1 scream/yell during the night outside.

We decided to move hotels again and booked at another Motel 6 that had a much better rate and would give us 2 rooms for only a slight increase over the last hotel. We decided to kill time by heading west into the mountains again, trying for over 14000+ feet as our target. When we arrived at the start of the road, we discovered that a bicycle road race up the mountain was going on. We pondered turning back, but decided to press on. It was dicey at times, but up we went. Sadly we missed the turnoff to the peak and and didn't exceed 10'000' and headed back to the hotel. Sadly our hotel problems continued.

Once back at the hotel the ID process started all over again. It took us almost 30 minutes to get the booking worked out and then we finally headed out to our rooms. We killed time, had dinner and hung out for awhile before calling it a night.

The next day we had breakfast at a nearby restaurant and headed out to the zoo. The Cape Buffalos were basically the only thing I wanted to see and Phil and Kanren were basically zoo'd out from being at one just two weeks before. A keeper told us that they'd had a calf born a week or so before and I had a kick watching it just run around. I wandered around for awhile more and eventually decided to call it as the heat started to get to me. We decided to head back to the hotel for a bit and it's here that I got introduced to my new digital crack, Ingress. Now Phil and Kanren had been playing it when they could during the whole trip and now I took over for Phil as he was driving. Once back at the hotel, we decided on our next move and decided to go see "Life of Pets". We thoroughly enjoyed it and headed back to the hotel where Kanren showed us a Mystery Science Theatre episode "Jack Frost". We had a blast watching it and crashed for bed again.

Well we started out to a much cooler day today and headed west towards Devil's Tower. The trip went reasonably fast and we finally got off the interstate to see the country off the beaten path. Before long we started seeing signs for it and the it finally appeared in the distance. Even from a distance it was amazing. When we finally neared the park, we had to wait about 20 minutes before we could enter as they had to wait for other people to leave as parking was limited.

It's hard to describe what we saw. It was amazing, majestic and awe-inspiring all rolled together into one. The path up was a bit steep for me and Phil, so we waited while Kanren went and got closer. The other amazing factor was just how fresh the air smelled. On the way done, we stopped at a prairie dog town to watch their antics. They were totally unafraid of us and a few even managed to get within a few feet of us, looking for food.

One of the trip highlights, we then headed into mountain territory. We managed to make it to over 9300' above sea level and the terrain left me speechless. This trip all came about, because I once to.d Phil I'd never seen mountains and he was determined to show me and boy did he ever. Words fail me as how to describe what I saw, so hopefully at one point I can upload the video for you to all see.

We began our journey to Yellowstone fairly early to day and we're glad we did. We traveled through some of the most beautiful terrain I've ever seen. Many pictures were taken and hopefully I'll be able to get them up when I get home.

We made it to the park and travelled some even more beautiful vistas. While at the park we managed to see pronghorns, elk, buffalo and a coyote. Sadly we saw no bears, moose or wolves. We visited a small geyser field, active with many hot springs and mud pots and then headed off to see Old Faithful. We arrived about an hour early and chilled I the lodge until it was nearly time. Sadly just as the geyser was starting, my iPad overheated and shut down, forcing me to quickly move to my video camera for backup. The geyser was pretty impressive, but wish I'd been able to capture it on the other device.

From there we headed south out of the park and began a search for a restaurant that was in vain. Eventually we arrived at our hotel in Riverton, Wyoming and found a pasta place down the road for dinner.

Not sure what our plans will be for today, other than to drive south. Hard to believe that there's only 5 days left, but this has been one of the best trips I've taken in my life. Great friends, beautiful scenery and good times, who could ask for more.

We decided to visit a friend of ours Felix, while in Kansas City and after a tasty lunch at Red Robin, we headed out to the National World War 1 museum. We arrived and ventured through the stifling heat inside. It was so hot that they closed the observation platform over heat concerns.

It was a very interesting museum that also handled why the war started as well as the description of life on the front. Perhaps most interesting for me was the story of the recruit who arrived at the station, letter in hand, only to be told the war was over and be handed his discharge papers. At least he still got his pension. Afterwards we dropped Felix off and headed North.

Let me just say that Kansas/Nebraska are very flat and exceedingly dull. Luckily we had pleasant conversation and podcasts to keep us going until we arrived in Sioux City. Tomorrow we head to South Dakota, hoping to make it to Wall, home of the Wall Drugstore(look it up).

Well, we started out early after breakfast at the hotel and made excellent time. Traffic through Sioux City mid morning was surprisingly light, considering the time of day and we were through it in no time and into South Dakota. Now if I thought the terrain was flat yesterday, it was even flatter here. The only thing that broke up the monotony was the vast array of billboards, including one advertising the Wall Drug Store, which was only 200+ miles away.

We managed to make it to Wall around 1:30 and set out to explore it. It's a large sprawling complex of shops, mostly western theme, whose closest cousin would be Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. The place was packed as apparently everyone else wanted to see it as well.
We cut the day short as the weather was starting to look very nasty and headed to Subway for a quick bite. Here we got to experience a piece of prairie life, the tornado siren. The locals didn't seem to concerned, so we figured we'd follow their lead. Phil went out to watch the storm and is pretty sure he spotted 2 tornadoes in the distance. We figured it be better to be safe than sorry and decided to call it an early day. Luckily we did as within 15 minutes a very nasty storm hit. Tomorrow we head into Wyoming and plan to visit Devil's Tower on our way to Yellowstone.

Thus ends Day 7 with only 7 more to go.

Get ready for several long descriptions of my recent trip folks.

Survived day one of hell at AC. Spent 5hrs waiting in a line that never seemed to go anywhere in order to buy my day pass for tomorrow. When I finally got up there, was told that day passes were only sold on the specific days. After pleading my case they managed to kinda get me a "badge". It has no name and they issued me with badge number 9000.
Afterwards, we went out for dinner and had our meal free after the manager decided that we had waited too long for our food. We questioned it, but they we adamant, so we ended up leaving a fairly substantial tip instead.
Right now I'm beat and probably will be crashing soon. My feet are absolutely killing me, so I can definitely use the rest.

Well, I managed to survive AC and got to meet most everyone I wanted to see. I delivered many presents, received my much wanted art and managed to stay within my budget. Many thanks go out to MattRat who housed me for the one night.
The trip down wasn't too bad although the bus was fully packed for most of the way. Last few legs had me sitting next to the bathroom door, but luckily it wasn't as bad as I had feared. Only downsides were that I had definitely brought the wrong shoes and that my temp crown fell out. Bus finally arrived in Nashville late as usual and Phil picked me up and we headed out to the airport to grab Kanren.
We crashed at Phils for a bit and then decided to start the trip and head to Huntsville, Alabama to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Centre And then on to parts unknown after that. We crashed at a Motel 6 for the night and will be heading out in a few hours from now.
Let the festivities begin.

Well we headed down to the museum and despite the heat, had a great time. We sheltered under the space shuttle to catch our breath and soldiered on through the humidity. We suddenly remembered that we were going to a great German restaurant that Phil recommended and we headed right there. I had the King Ludwig Chicken that was just to die for and regret that I will likely never have it again.
We hit the road afterwards and made it to another Motel 6 in Little Rock. It was hard to believe that it was worse than the first one was, but it was. The next day we continued our trek North and West eventually stopping at the outskirts of Kansas City, this time at a Quality Inn, that for a few bucks more, was well worth it. Tomorrow, we plan on lunching with a friend who lives in the area and then continuing West.

AC meme

Where are you staying?
At a friends place for the one night

What day are you getting there?
Thursday afternoon and leaving Friday night

How are you traveling?
By Bus

Who will you be rooming with?
With  MatthiasRat and several others.

How is the best way to find you?
Search the Dealers Den

Are there any panels you might be attending?
Not likely

What do you look like?
Older heavy set guy with a white beard

Will you be suiting?
Sadly no, as I'll just be there for the one day.

Do you do free art?
Nope.

Do you do trades?
Nope

Do you do badges?
Nope.

What is your gender?
Male

How tall are you?
6'1

Can I talk to you?
Sure!

Can I touch you?
Ask first

Can I visit your room?
Nope, not staying at the con

Can I buy you drinks?
I mean...sure xD

Can I give you stuff?
Yes :o

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hugs okay, no snuggles.

How long are you going?
Thursday-Friday

Do you have an artist table?
Nope!

Will you be going to parties?
Nope

Will you be performing?
Nope!!!!

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Say hi!

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Wandering aimlessly in the Dealers Den.

What/where will you be eating?
Not sure.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
If everyone with me is cool with that...ya for sure.

Can I take your picture?
In suit, yes. Out of suit, preferably not

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Meet up with friends and have fun.

Last night after work was interesting to say the least. I'd missed my last bus connection and was waiting for the next one, when a group of 15 or so college students walked by. Now 6 of them were rather large intimidating guys while the remaining were all rather attractive young ladies. 3-4 of them were topless and the rest were just wearing their bras and were acting like they were all out for a stroll on a nice night.

Next, when I got on the bus, I had another woman get on who was drunk/high, who decided after much mumbling to her self, to start swinging from the roof handrails. When the driver asked her to stop she respond d with, "I'm not sitting down when I've got blood gushing outta my pussy. I have a right to stand here." Luckily she calmed down and got off a few stops later.

Now the strangest occurance was earlier when two mounted office trotted by on their horses. I nodded to them, but they obviously didn't see me. The one horse however, when he got to me, slowed down and seemed to nod back at me and then carried on with their patrol. Made me chuckle all night.

Ugh, just back from my 3rd visit to the dentist in 4 weeks and I have another one in 2 weeks. I've got a crown coming up next, which should wipe out my dental benefits until next year and still leave me owing between $200-400. It's my own fault for letting things get so bad. Right now I'm just waiting for the freezing to finally wear off.

On the plus side, my vacation is slowly creeping closer and it couldn't come soon enough. Work has been getting fairly busy, but we have some relief with maybe 2 more employees starting in the next few days.

First off, thank you to those who gave me hints with regards to booking the air portion of my vacation.

Finally got all my bus tickets and airline ticket for my roadtrip booked for next month. Really looking forward to making it to AC for the Friday and then on to my friend Phil's place to start our road trip to Colorado. It'll be nice to see all my friends again as well travelling parts of the US I've never seen before. I'm also looking forward to flying out of Denver as well.

I need to purchase an airline ticket shortly and I've always used a travel agent before. Can anyone recommend a reliable online service and any tips to online purchasing one?

Well I fell under the group of people who used a dead email for their FA account and was stuck during the reset. Many thanks fo out to the staff of FA who took less than 12 hrs to help me reactivate my account. Say what you want, but I was happy with the help I received.

Well who'd guess that I actually would make it to 50. Now I can start officially complaining about that crazy music these kids are listening and how it's crap compared to what I listened to growing up. Just wish I wasn't sick or working tomorrow.

Well it looks like I will be making an appearance at AC this year after all. I will most likely be there for the Friday only and then continuing on to parts unknown for a two week US road trip. Many thanks Ho out to  MatthiasRat who has offered to put me up for the one night I'll be in town before I continue on with my whirlwind adventure.

Hope to see my friends there in the short time I'll be at the con.

Well whatever I picked up at the con on the last day, it has laid me right out. I rarely if ever call in sick, but I did yesterday and struggled in today because I didn't want to lose out on the STAT holiday pay. The store manager took one look at me and told me to go home and home I went. I've spent the last 3 days now combatting chills, the sweats, muscle aches in every joint in my body and a horrible hacking cough. Hopefully I'll be better for my Saturday shift.

Here's hoping my roommates at FE didn't get hit also.

All of my roommates headed off to church Sunday morning so I was left to my own devices. I went down for breakfast and joined  hbruton,  xenotropos and  SandySchreiber foe breakfast and we had a great time. Afterwards I headed down to the art show/dealers den to wait for the opening. From there I wandered around and finally got the massage I've been looking for, wow it felt good. We also discovered that Uncle Kage had come up for the con, spending the Saturday in disguise. I managed to win a lovely framed print in the art show from  jupiter_fox of a caribou.

I spent some time at the auction and as usual, it was a bit slow, and the visited the den for the last time to pick a few presents for people. Afterwards I headed back up to the room to rest a bit for closing ceremonies. I managed to grab a close seat for a change and you could definitely feel the energy in the room. The final results were rather impressive for the con.

Total fursuits in the parade: 328 (280 last year)
Total attendance: 1322 (1051 last year)
$$ raised for charity: $5492.15 ( includes $1219.70 raised to have the right to what our Con Chairs badge will read next year)
2017 Theme: Rock the Fandom
GOH: Likeshine
Beetlecat

They also broke the news that was our last year at this con and that we would be moving to downtown Toronto to the Westin harbor Castle.

Afterwards I headed back to the lobby where we gathered for  catmonkshiro's Mandarin dinner. Everybody had a blast and the closest I came to any vegetables was the pimento I had on the 4 deviled eggs I ate, mmmmmm for all the meat. We headed back to the hotel and crashed and watched several hilarious videos on youtube.

Today we packed up said our goodbyes and all headed home, to look forward to next years con. Seeya all then.

Many thanks go out to my roommates  MatthiasRat,  WolfFriend,  salvestro and Deranged Kitsune, who managed to join us for 2 days. No one could have a better group of roomies.

Now at the midpoint of the con, we started it off with a wonderful breakfast consisting of much bacon and then headed off to  danraccoon's Superhero And MLP Jeopardy panels. I had a blast at both and even won a DVD MLP box set. From there I wandered around the Dealers Den getting my sketch books back and then handing them right back out again.

Around noon I happened to see our fifth roomie who had just shown up, so we took his stuff up to the room and headed out for lunch. Afterwards it was back to the den to kill time before the fursuit parade. We had another great turnout, with 323 suiters, which was a new record and I managed to get badge #66' which is funny as I was born in 1966.

After a brief break it was back down to the den for more shopping before supper at our traditional Saturday location: Wang's Kitchen. Now this is a tiny little restaurant in a strip mall, that we have been going to since FE#1. The main reason we kept coming back was their Honey Crispy Lamb, which is to die for. It's an Indian/Thai fusion restaurant and everyone orders one or two things and share it with the rest of the table. Very spicy, but well worth it. I'm looking forward to being there again next year.

Afterwards it was back to the hotel to talk, relax and get ready for sadly the last day.