On the road again: Balticon, day 2

It's been a long day. I got a modest amount of sleep but on a day when I was counting on sleeping a great deal, the hours I spent asleep didn't leave me feeling refreshed. I ended up having to work until the wee hours last night and again this morning, so after exercising, I was already behind schedule.

We dashed to the Hampton area of Baltimore for a pleasant lunch at Dangerously Delicious Pies. With both savory (I had a slice of steak and chili pie) and sweet (I had apple) pies, this place is worth trying simply because nothing else is quite like it.

Another dash--well, to be accurate, a mix of dashing and crawling due to traffic--and I was at the hotel barely in time for two panels in a row. Both went well, with good panelists, interested audiences, and conversations that ranged far and wide and even occasionally touched on the official topics of the panels.

At the opening ceremonies, I presented the Compton Crook award to Paul Melko for his novel, Singularity's Ring. Though we only got to spend a little time together, Paul seemed like a nice guy, and I look forward to doing tomorrow's Crooks panel with him.

Dinner tonight was at Charleston, a perennial favorite. I enjoyed the meal quite a bit, but I have to say the quality has slipped a tad; no way in the past would the center of a slice of foie gras have been cold.

With so much going on this weekend, I'm going to keep these entries short. If you're in the Baltimore area, check out Balticon. It's a nice con from nice folks.