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Getting out of the hotel was tricky.  Getting out of Atlanta was annoying.  Getting out of Charlotte's rush-hour traffic was nearly disastrous, as we came as close to being involved in an eight-car accident as I've ever been.  Yet, our car escaped untouched, and we were shaken but fine, so in the end I can't complain.

The energy and enthusiasm of the tens of thousands of DragonCon attendees is a refreshing reminder of the joy that fans of all aspects of the sf/fantasy genre share.

More quick hits from another DragonCon day

I awoke unreasonably early on a Sunday morning for a fun brunch at PittyPat's Porch, courtesy of Publisher Toni.  Quite a few Baen writers and staffers ate, talked, and generally had a good time.

After a second tour of the art show, I ultimately decided not to buy any art.  Half a dozen pieces nearly persuaded me to bring them home, but none of them succeeded.

I next toured two more floors of dealers' rooms.  One even contained an arcade area.

I enjoyed one quick game at a Ms. PacMan machine.

Next up was a signing at the booth of The Missing Volume, run by the redoubtable Glennis LeBlanc.  To my happy surprise I signed some books, sold a few, and had some pleasant conversations with fans of the Jon & Lobo series.

After work and rest, dinner took me to Kevin Gillespie's new, second restaurant, Revival, in Decatur.  Wow, is it good!  It and Gunshow are the best of all the Atlanta area restaurants I've tried.

We opted for the family-style dinner, in which each person selects an entree and everyone at the table shares an appetizer and sides.  If you want to know how good Gillespie's chefs are, consider that the salad course was kale, which I despise.

Here's that plate after we finished.

Yes, I had seconds of kale salad!  They used grape seed oil as a dressing, put bits of asiago cheese on top, and included four small peach slices.  Wow, was it good!

The crowds in the Hyatt lobby were smaller than last night's, but the people watching there was still decent.

Over at the Marriott, the crowds were more intense, as usual, but not as huge as last night's.

Tomorrow, I head home.

A few DragonCon Saturday snippets

Toured the art show today.  Multiple pieces tempted me, but I'm not sure any will end up going home with me.  Tomorrow will tell that tale.

Ate a reasonably healthy Mediterranean lunch at the nearby Aviva by Kameel.  Long lines, but that's true everywhere near the con hotels.

Attended the Baen Traveling Road Show.  It's always fun, and it was today.  I learned there that my friend, David Drake, had won Baen's readers' award for the best military SF story for "Save What You Can," his Hammer's Slammers story in Onward, Drake!  As the one who commissioned that story, I was quite happy to hear the news.  Well done, Dave!

Dinner took me back to Gunshow for another excellent meal, with dessert afterward at a nearby Jeni's.  Great food all around.

Tonight's people-watching was both the best and the most intense yet.  The Hyatt lobby was tough to navigate and full of spectacle.

The Marriott lobby was even more crowded than last night and featured an amazing assortment of people in costumes--as well as hundreds and hundreds just socializing and looking.

Tomorrow, a publisher brunch, a signing, and time in the art show and dealers' rooms!

Barbecue and dealers and sushi, oh my

I suppose I should consider it a sign of age or failure that one of the good things about this con is that I'm sleeping at least eight hours a night, but I don't see it that way.  I normally sleep so little that I'm quite happy whenever I get to catch up on my rest.

I should also consider it a failure that I'm working multiple hours each day when I had planned to be offline, but again, I don't see it that way.  I'm working way less than usual, and I'm choosing to do the work, so I'm mostly okay with it.

For lunch today, I headed to a local barbecue institution, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q.  I enjoyed everything I tried, but honesty compels me to report that the brisket wasn't even in the vicinity of Texas brisket, and the pulled pork simply wasn't up to North Carolina standards.  The food was tasty, but it didn't meet those benchmarks.

The most fun dish I sampled was the Frito pie, which they served the traditional way:  in the Frito bag.

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The chili was a little too heavy with tomatoes and a bit too sweet for my taste, but it was still quite good.

After lunch and some work, I wandered through the first of the multiple floors of dealers' rooms.  The sheer variety of merchandise on offer is stunning.  Books are definitely a minority, but you can find them, as well as comics, clothing, anime, posters, weapons--you name it, and if it's related to science fiction or fantasy, it's here.

Dinner was a delicious mix of sushi and an amazing piece of Kobe ribeye steak at Tomo.

Every single bite I tasted was at least very good, and many were better than that.  I recommend this one and wish I could make it back for their omakase menu; alas, I cannot.

The people watching tonight predictably was the best yet.  The Hyatt's lobby was hopping.

The Marriott's was, as always, even busier and more full of amazing costumes of more types than I could count.

The energy and enthusiasm of the fans here is so much greater than what I experience at more traditional SF cons that the cons I normally attend look almost dead by comparison.  I do not worry about the future of our genre, but I do fear for the end of the cons I grew up loving.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 6

I'm home.  The drive, which included breaks for a meal and a stretch, consumed a little over seven hours.  The traffic ranged from busy to intense but never hit full-on psycho, for which I was grateful.

I'm glad to be home.

I don't have much else to say tonight, so I'll leave you with this trailer, which I saw in the theater in Atlanta.  I was already going to catch The Hateful Eight, if only because Tarantino directed it, but now I'm awaiting it eagerly.



Enjoy.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 5

I spent the vast majority of today in my room, either sleeping or working.  I didn't mind either one, because I needed to do both, but I also didn't see much of the con today.

Dinner led us to a local Basque-inspired restaurant, Cooks & Soldiers, about which I'd read many good things.  I may well do a full review of it later, but for now I will say that I was quite disappointed by the food.  It was decent, but with few exceptions it rarely rose above that level--and sank below it on two occasions.  If you want true Basque food, definitely do not go to Cooks & Soldiers, but if you're up for Basque-inspired food, it might be worth a look--but set your expectations low.

Dessert was delightful and spot on, as it always is when you go to a Jeni's ice creams shop.  The sun was setting as we were entering the shop, and the sky was lovely.

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In the middle of the evening, I made my final rounds of the big fan gathering places.  The Hyatt's lobby was nearly entirely empty,

while a small group of hardy fans hung around the bar in the Marriott's atrium.

Overall, this year's DragonCon proved to be low-key fun, but enough so that I hope to return in 2016.

Tomorrow, the long drive home--and work when I'm not driving.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 4

Waking up in the single digits is never a good thing for me.  Doing it on a Sunday is doubly bad.  Doing it on a Sunday at a convention--well, suffice to say that little could make me do this.  What made me arise early today was Publisher Toni treating the Baen authors and artists at DragonCon to a brunch at Pitty Pat's Porch, a nearby well-established Southern restaurant.  I went not for the food, though it was good basic brunch fare, but for Toni and the crew.

After brunch and a bit of rest, I joined a number of the same folks at the Baen Traveling Road Show. I talked about Onward, Drake!, the audience was good,

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and everyone seemed to have a very good time.

My next event of the day--and my final commitment of the convention--was a reading.  Readings generally draw poorly.  Readings during con dinnertime--they scheduled me for 5:30 today--usually attract even fewer people.  When the reading is by me, I'm lucky if anyone who didn't arrive with me shows up.  Today, I was fortunate enough to have two people attend.  Both listened to the entire story--I read "All That's Left", my piece in Onward, Drake!--and both were gracious and interested.  My thanks to them for coming.

I headed from the reading to a local shopping area that included a movie theater.  After some decent ice cream--better than Jake's but nowhere near as good as Jeni's--at a Kilwin's, I caught The Transporter: Refueled in a Regal cinema with VIP seats.  The movie was exactly what you'd expect--big on action, little on smarts--and though not as good as the original, strong enough that I had a pleasant time watching it.  The seats, though, were fantastic, with huge cupholders, swinging trays, and the ability to recline almost to horizontal.

Afterward, I went on my usual evening walk.  Based purely on the size of the crowds in the Hyatt's lobby

and the Marriott's atrium

I believe Saturday night was the biggest night of the con.

Tomorrow, I will do a little con stuff and some work--but only after I sleep a very great amount indeed.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 3

Krog Street Market was such fun the other day that we ventured back there today, this time with Publisher Toni along.  We enjoyed cheesesteaks again at Fred's Meat and Bread, and then grabbed scoops of good but not great ice cream at Jake's, a local place that makes its own ice creams.

Today's big con activity for me involved spending a few hours shambling through the dealers' rooms, an activity that, combined with the incredibly powerful funk of thousands of fan asses in one place, left me sweaty and in need of cleaning.

Dinner took us to a nearby modern Mexican cuisine place, Alma.  The meal was fine, tasty but nothing to write home about.

The Hyatt's lobby was the busiest I've ever seen it,

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almost as congested as the Marriott's atrium.

Tomorrow, an early brunch, a panel, and more!

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 2

My first panel started at 11:30 this morning.  Titled "Definitions," it was to be a discussion of exactly what science fiction is--and is not.  Instead, we five panelists discussed the origins of the genre, the roles of myth and fantasy, genres as marketing categories, and pretty much whatever else came our way.  The audience of about two dozen folks seemed happy enough and asked plenty of questions, so on balance it was a decent hour.

For lunch we headed to the adjoining (via another enclosed walkway, of which downtown has many) food court for some tasty and fresh Middle Eastern food at Aviva, a place we'd discovered previously.  From the long lines to get in, it's clear that everyone now knows about the place, but I'm glad; the owner seems great and produces very good food.

I spent the next several hours wandering the art show, talking to a couple of artists, and taking in the SF and fantasy art until my eyes were ready to melt in my head.

Dinner was a second delicious meal at Kevin Gillespie's excellent Gunshow.  The chefs were more on their game than they had been on Wednesday night, and every dish we sampled was at least good and often excellent.  The scallop on a farro and vidalia kinda-sorta risotto delivered on every possible front, with multiple textures and tastes and wonderful blending.

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I could eat that every day for quite a while.

I'd show more dishes, but the hotel bandwidth is so overloaded that it's taking minutes to upload each photo.  Suffice to say, the plating on each was lovely, and the taste was better.  Once again, I highly recommend Gunshow.

Later in the evening, I wound my way on my usual course through the Hyatt and the Marriott to take in the crowd.  Tonight provided superb people-watching treats, with many more different costumes than I could possibly identify.

The Hyatt lobby was nearly full.

The Marriott's main gathering space, its atrium, was almost ready to burst with fans mingling, talking, and having a good time.

Tomorrow, I plan to sleep late and perhaps hit the dealers' building.  (At most cons, there's a dealers' room; here, it's multiple floors in a building.)

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 1

After a long sleep, which I desperately needed, I spent much of today catching up on various types of work in my hotel room.  That's not an ideal way to spend a big chunk of a con day, but it was necessary today.

Lunch proved to be several culinary treats at the complex of restaurants in the Krog Street Market.  Sharing food made it possible for me to sample both some very good dumplings from Gu's

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and a cheesesteak sandwich from Fred's Meat & Bread.

The dumplings contained a tasty pork stuffing in a package with just the right amount of tooth and a pleasant sauce.  I opted for the chili sauce on the side, because the heat options for the dumplings ranged from hot to thermonuclear, and I was in the mood for mild.

As for the cheesesteak, well, before I can comment on it I must point to a recent short post on culinary mysteries in which I wondered why it was impossible to get a good cheesesteak outside of Pennsylvania.  I must now recant that part of the post, because I am here to tell you that the cheesesteak sandwich at Fred's is every bit as good as the very best version you can get in Pennsylvania--or anywhere else.  The roll is different from the one that most classic PA cheesesteak shops use, but it's tasty, isn't too thick, and has just the right amount of crunch.  The meat and cheese inside the sandwich are absolutely perfect, a tasty combination of high-quality beef and light cheese.  They also didn't skimp on the meat; every single bite contained a good quantity of it.

I may well go back to Krog Street just for that sandwich.  If you want a fantastic cheesesteak sandwich, go to Fred's.

I have to give a special nod to the water station at Krog Street.  Sarah would love it:  you may choose chilled, un-chilled, or sparkling water.

I opted for chilled, but I know Sarah would love the sparkling option.

After registering for the con, I spent most of the rest of the day finishing up some work.

Dinner took us to a nearby restaurant, Sweet Georgia's Juke Joint, for some decent live music and a perfectly adequate meal.  I won't seek out the place again, but it was a reasonable choice in an area thronged with fans.

In my late-evening wandering, I once again visited the prime zones for people watching.  The Hyatt's lobby still had some open space,

but the Marriott's atrium was in full fan swing.

Tomorrow morning, I head to my first panel!

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 0

After a little over four hours of sleep, I forced myself out of bed, showered, and began the car trip to Atlanta.  I didn't have to drive for most of it--I was behind the wheel only the last hour and a half--so I was able to doze fitfully in the car.  The rest helped.

For lunch we stopped at Tony's Ice Cream Co. in Gastonia, a place that Sharon, a friend and colleague, had told me about.  I'm going to write a separate entry on it after the trip, but suffice to say for now that I'm really glad Sharon pointed out the place to me.  If you want good, not fancy, cheap food and ice cream, and if you find yourself anywhere near there, don't miss Tony's.  

After settling into the hotel, doing a little work, and napping, I headed out for dinner at an Atlanta favorite of mine, Chef Kevin Gillespie's Gunshow.  I've mentioned this place in previous blog entries (and will do so again soon, because I'm heading back there Friday night), so I won't go into too much detail on it.  The basic premise is one I've not seen elsewhere:  the chefs who cook the many dishes on the menu come to the tables, present the food they just prepared, tell you about it, and see if you'd like to order it.  If you do, they put a tally mark next to the item on the menu.  If you don't want it, they mark off that item.

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We sampled quite a lot of the menu, and every dish was at least good.  None blew me away, though the duck confit was probably the closest.

The lone dessert we shared was the best I've yet had there, a take on rocky road.

The marshmallow layer was thick, smoky, and easily the best marshmallow I've ever tasted.  The burnt caramel foam on top played perfectly with the marshmallow.  All in all, it was an exceptional dish. 

As before, I highly recommend Gunshow.  

After dinner, as has become a DragonCon tradition for me, I took a walk through the Hyatt and the Marriott for some people watching.  Because the con does not officially start until late tomorrow afternoon, both lobbies were relatively empty.  

Relatively.  

The Hyatt, for example, featured two remote-controlled droids,

and at the bar plenty of people were getting their drink on.

Over at the Marriott, which connects to the Hyatt via a human habitrail, the main atrium was empty by con standards but hopping by most other measures.  

Tomorrow afternoon, the con starts in earnest.