This past weekend was Furpocalypse 2025 in Stamford, Connecticut. My third Furpoc I attended, and I had a great time. The hotel it's been at since last year has been rebranded as a "DoubleTree from Hilton" after being a regular Hilton-owned hotel and conference center, but all that's really changed was that you now get complimentary water bottles and a warm walnut-chocolate chip cookie upon check-in! Mmm-mm! But what DID change this year was that I actually had a roommate! My good friend  squirrellyjay, who's just my age and also on the spectrum, has had difficulties with rooming at furry cons we go to together, and since we also both knew a hotel room at the Hilton would be pricey, I got the brilliant idea of having us room together! I reserved the room, and he paid for half of it, so it was just right for our budgets! Also, he stayed for two nights compared to my staying for four nights.
Another thing that was different was my traveling. Right now, my car is currently not ideal for long out-of-state trips, according to my mechanic (but driving it around the Greater Boston area is OK), so I got to and from Stamford by riding the rails! I sprung for Amtrak's Regional service, having my mother drop me and my luggage off at the Amtrak train station in Westwood, MA. The train ride was comfortable and gave a great scenic view, especially with all the autumn foliage, and an advantage was I could just kick back and play around on my MacBook Air laptop or read a book, and for nature calls and getting lunch, I could just get up and into my Amfleet coach's restroom, and getting lunch at the snack car was fun and easy to do! (The Amtrak snack cars' grilled cheese sandwiches are SOOOO good!) But with my luggage, it was a little tricky with the narrow doors and corridors of those Amfleet coaches. Good thing the doors to the vestibules were automatic and you can press the button to open them with your foot! (The Amfleet 1 roster is now 50 years old, but they're just so reliable, especially with the refurbishments they've had, which is why they're still in regular use here.)
You can read the full con report HERE, with images also not on this site:
https://wile-e2005.livejournal.com/286573.html

This year, Furpocalypse saw a pretty good attendance count rise, with 3,150 attendees! Over 900 fursuiters, including me, partook in the Fursuit Parade and Group Photo, and we raised $18,000 for our charity fundraiser. Next year's theme is "Rock and Roll Nightmare" (and I got a hot tip early on next year's theme would relate to music), so that means I'll definitely want to bring a record player and some of my vinyl again!
This morning, I checked out of my hotel room while one of the elevators was being repaired (forcing me to have to use a service elevator for our luggage) and walked with all my luggage to the Stamford Transportation Center, boarding an Amtrak Northeast Regional train where I once again had lunch on the snack car after the conductor scanned my ticket, and then my brother picked me up at the Westwood train station to drive me home, where I could start my first load of post-con laundry and type this con report!
While I am just a little blue about the con ending, the anticipation of my birthday coming up combined with the feeling of accomplishment from another great Furpocalypse where my YouTube Poops 101 panel once again went over so well!