Yes, It is extremely late. Let's not get hung up on deadlines though! Instead, think of it as a nice reflection on a recent grand time~

Picture it: 07/05/2018, 0200, Thursday morning_

After last-minute packing everything I needed, I pondered what I should wear for the long drive and first day of Anthrocon. I had the option of comfy shorts and a nice t-shirt but, being my typically dapper self, I knew the ONLY option was a nice pair of black dress pants, a finely pressed off-blue button-up, and a snazzy tie; all brought together with a snappin’ pair of red Converse.

Comfortable? Irrelevant. Fashionable? Absolutely.

Soon after getting snazzed up, my dear friend Aqua arrived and we set off from the Commonwealth towards the illustrious city of Pittsburgh! Aqua drove the first leg, expertly avoiding other drivers and a deer who was trying to hitchhike from the middle of the road, while I took over at about halfway. All the while we sang along to some of our favorite songs and reminisced about our past glories from other conventions. When designing the trip, I made sure that it would allow us to enjoy the majestic view of Pittsburgh via the Fort Pitt Bridge, I neglected, however, to take into account heavy traffic due to construction and the lunch rush. This would have been little issue for a vulpine of my caliber but factor in sleep deprivation and far too many energy drinks and I had singed my nerves to ashes. However, as our vehicle entered into the amber glow of the Fort Pitt Tunnel, anticipation began to grow and grow, my anxiety evaporated as we pierced through the brilliant glowing veil, and the wondrous sight of Pittsburgh came into glorious view!

It is always good to be back.

A short drive later, Aqua and I arrived at the luxurious Omni William Penn Hotel. Seeing that we had arrived before our room was prepared, we decided to pick up our badges and then take a jaunt to Point Park. The walk to the park was a fun adventure with me serving as tour guide from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center all the way to the fountain with a fantastic suggestion by Aqua leading to a delicious gyro restaurant on the way.

The walk back to the hotel though, that is when we discovered the wall.

Turns out not sleeping coupled with a long drive tends to wear you out but the two of us had managed to stay pretty lively and energized. Until the sun managed to finally burn through the late morning clouds and began to cook the both of us. A long grueling sweaty trudge -and impromptu tour of Liberty Street- eventually returned us to the Omni where we were finally able to get into our room and peel ourselves out of our sweat drenched clothes.

…only to have to hurriedly put them back on in order to greet the bellhop who had so graciously brought up our bags. Just to clarify, I never regretted my fashion choice then nor do I now.

After setting up the entertainment systems, organizing our clothes, and building a booze shrine we decided to take a short nap before heading to the Thursday night dance. That nap, however, ended up being the last thing we did Thursday as we ended up waking up bright and early Friday morning.

Friday

Having managed to sleep through the rest of Thursday, we finally awoke around 5 realizing we had really conked out. A quick nap, drink, and a snack later, we set out to catch opening ceremonies. Although we arrived late due to a time difference on the con book, we managed to catch the majority of the ceremony and officially began our Anthrocon 2018!

The first panel we attended was hosted by Kyell Gold who read a portion of a short story based on a character from his extremely popular Out of Position series. After that, he opened up for questions from the audience. I asked him about the process he goes through coming up with ideas for furry specific things in his writings like odor blocking Neutra-Scent, different bottle shapes for different muzzle types, and various laws and ordinances pertaining to a world populated with a variety of beings.

Next up we enjoyed the musical stylings of Fox Amoore and Pepper Coyote with a full band for a performance of their collaborative album Hashtag. Though this was the group’s first time performing together they had great chemistry and their music was fantastic. They clearly had a fun time playing for us and their enthusiasm infected the entire crowd.

After the Show, we attended Kage’s Story Hour and listened to new stories from the Chairman. Stories of triumph, disaster, and swinging drunken room parties hosted by his mother. I only hope that I am at least half as fun as that fine lady is when I am her age!
Later that night we hit up the dance and were determined to make up for missing the Thursday dance. I had also resolved to make up for not drinking that night either and was thus pleasantly trashed. As Aqua told me -or what he tweeted at least- I was falling-down drunk and attempting to establish a shaky retort to his claim that he was superior to me as he was less drunk than myself.
I stand by my shambling slurred remarks.

Saturday

The fursuit parade was the grand event it always lives up to be and Aqua and I had managed to snag a great vantage point just outside the Dealers Den to watch the show with a group of furs we had met grabbing lunch. Some of them I had met at the last AC and some I had just been acquainted with that day. The fursuiters were fantastic hams as usual; throwing up high-paws and dancing about but the best part was how many of them directly interacted with me! That day I had decided to wear my Nick Wilde outfit around the convention and while I was waving to the parading suiters, many of them complimented my outfit or shook my hand saying they were big fans and that they could not wait for a Zootopia sequel. The real funny part came when the police fursuiters rounded the bend and one of them -as best I can recall- asked, “Nick! When are you gonna’ get to the academy?” I was so enthralled with the unexpected attention that I had nothing immediately prepared for a response but I managed to throw out a ‘cool’ nonchalant shrug and say “Ehh… I’m on vacation.” Soon after my likely embarrassing attempt at surprise in-character banter, the parade concluded and we snaked through the gathered crowds to head to our next event.

Our next event was Anthrocon Tonight! which had a great variety of musical and artistic performances all hosted by the multitalented Rhubarb and Cosmic. After enjoying a multitude of singing, original compositions, and a bit of magic we set off to see some old friends again.

Our last activity for the day was to watch Fox and Peppers After Dark show which included copious drinking and some of the most hilarious auctioning of random items to ever take place. Thanks in major part to the shenanigans of Alkali Bismuth. We would have stayed for the entire show but we had our own ‘panel’ to host.

The party

Shortly after the parade had ended, Aqua and I had decided that we would invite a few of our friends over to our Omni abode for some good old-fashioned room partying. We started off by playing a few party games on Aqua’s tablet with myself getting thoroughly spanked by the other much more savvy players. While Aqua and I had gone through the majority of our booze shrine, our guests were kind enough to bring more offerings and helped to keep everyone well lubricated. A bit farther into the soiree, I did a partial reading from Joshiah Warbaum’s 2016 work “Boys Only” which, for a dry run presented by a nicely drunk vulpine, I thought it wasn’t half bad! More drinking, playing, and reading continued through the rest of the night and before I knew it I was waking up on Sunday!

Sunday

The Dance Competition Finals were the best I have seen at Anthrocon in all my times going there. Every single dancer was amazing and hugely talented and the judges' showcases proved without a doubt why they were the ones judging the event. Closing ceremonies was a somber time as it is at all conventions but the inclusion of convention records and hearing the final tally for the charity equalling $36,021 for The South Hills Pet Rescue I left feeling happy and proud that our fandom gives so much to help others.

After closing ceremonies, I began to feel the slight rumbling of early-onset post-convention depression. Yet with some positivity from Aqua, a call to my top advisor, and a bit more booze I was back to enjoying myself again! The Dead Dog Dance while not as big as the regular dances were just as electrifying and enjoyable! I even saw Tarou Strawberry jamming out on the dance floor so that was pretty cool too. It had looked to me like my Sunday would end in depression and ennui but after all, good friends, good vibes, and cheap booze saved the day with dear Aqua being the one to sherpa my exhausted, delirious, vulpine tail safely back to the Omni and into bed.

Monday

Leaving Anthrocon is always such a sad time even if you get to leave on Monday. Everyone is putting on brave faces but still has that crestfallen look. The end is here but no one wants to say it. Faced with this permeating air of sadness, Aqua and I decided the only way to cope was to fully embrace it! Now you may be wondering, oh reader of mine, how does one ‘embrace’ the last day of con sadness? Well, first you need to put together a killer downer playlist filled with only the best songs of leaving and the end. The list is an ongoing project but a few of the tunes are “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn and “Smile” by Nat King Cole. We will likely turn this playlist into the backdrop of a Sunday night room party designed to give everyone just a little bit more con to enjoy while embracing the end -and a final chance to finish any booze that won't get through the TSA-. It came to pass that with most of our friends on their way back home and barely a tail or ears to be seen, we ourselves set off back to our east coast homes and regular life…

...but not before we stopped at a SHEETZ station so that I could show the wonders of made to order food to my native easterner raccoon! If you have not gone to a Sheetz, you do not know what you are missing! Delicious food of all shapes and varieties all for relatively little in cost. My suggestion is to try their quesadilla burrito and the french fries are pretty good too!
After our post-con food adventure, we both got back on the road and enjoyed lovely tunes, hilarious company, and the first few chapters of Kyell Gold’s Out of Position via audiobook. A nice wholesome wrap up to one of the best weekends I have ever had!

Of course, there are more conventions and meet-ups to be had with Furpocalypse in October and a local meet up near my campus in September. Yet, I am already busy planning for next year’s pilgrimage to Pittsburgh and hopefully, with any luck, I will see you at Anthrocon 2019 “Surf Pacific”, oh reader mine.~