Last month, I attended the Anthro New England convention in Boston, MA for the first time, and had an absolute blast of a time! Over the next week, I'll be doing my usual post-convention summary by sharing a photo a day from my time away, while recounting the events of the day on which the photo was taken, exactly two weeks ago:

Got up at 4am to the sound of the cafe, next to which I had been sleeping, setting up loudly for the coming day. I pack my charger away, and groggily get up to print out the ticket for my afternoon flight from the self-service machines downstairs. I walked around for a bit in something of a half-awake state, before happening across a rather comfy place to lie down next to security in Terminal 2. I go back to sleep.

Got up again at 7am, feeling much more refreshed. I headed downstairs for a full Irish breakfast - black and white puddings included! - and tried Tayto crisps for the first time. I then caught the express bus into Dublin city centre again to check out the Irish capital in the light of day. I wandered around for a couple of hours, seeing such sights as the Spire, the Parliament, the outside of the castle, and the statues commemorating the Irish Famine (as a Briton, I felt a moral responsibility to see these). I then headed to a gift shop to pick up a few gifts and a recipe book for myself.

I made it back to the airport with three hours to spare, and gave myself plenty of time to head to US Preclearance. If you're unaware, dear reader, Dublin's is one of the few airports in the world that hosts a US Customs and Border Protection checkpoint, meaning that you clear passport control and customs in the departure country, and walk straight out of the airport when you arrive in the US. It was by far the fastest I have ever cleared passport control, and having been put in a good mood by that, I headed for the gate and stocked up on drinks for the flight. The flight to Boston, aboard an Airbus A330, had the perfect start: I had a free seat next to me, there were no small children aboard, weather conditions were superb, the crew assisted an elderly nun to her seat just before the doors closed, and the co-pilot was called Mick Landy. :D Taking off on time, I entertained myself with some Puss in Boots...the first one - the latest, about which I've heard many good things, doesn't air in the UK until tomorrow. The only downside to the flight was that I was somehow missed by the meal service, but thankfully I went to the back and found a helpful stewardess who provided me with some…OK chicken and potatoes.

We landed in New England into a rain shower, but that didn't spoil a lovely approach into Logan with a view of Fort Independence. Straight out of the airport, I waited a while for a Silver Line bus to take me to the World Trade Centre, followed by a short walk to the Westin Seaport hotel. After stopping for a moment to admire the massive screen opposite the entrance, with brilliant-looking slides about the convention, I checked into my room, dropped off my bags, and then spent a wee while walking around the hotel, getting a feel for the layout and location of important rooms, and watching the arriving furries in the lobby. As part of my staffing responsibilities, I headed to the Guest of Honour dinner at M. J. O'Connor's - as an aside, it felt funny to be going to another Irish pub having just come from Ireland, but hey-ho. There, I had the honour of meeting Giza (Head of GoH Relations), Remy (Convention Chair), Scales (Head of Events), and the three Guests of Honour (Tonya Song, Braeburned, and Hearthfox) and their plus ones. Over good, light-hearted conversation, I helped myself to some clam chowdah, and a chicken burger that, while very nice, I was only just able to finish without having much of the accompanying fries. Every year, I visit North America, and every year I forget that the portions are larger. :P

Giza and I hung out for a short while after dinner, going through the GoH schedules and panels for the weekend, and deciding who would cover what. This we did with a couple of drinks, including some locally-brewed Samuel Adams. With jet lag beginning to set in, I then retired to my room for some much-needed sleep.

Hope you enjoy!