On the road again: Balticon, day 1

Today, I slept as late as my schedule permitted.  Having the extra rest was grand.  I awoke still tired and could easily have slept around the clock, but I definitely felt better than the day before.

For lunch we headed to The Food Market in Hampden, where we enjoyed a delicious and interesting brunch.  I particularly liked a dish called The Smoky Bowl, which mixed traditional breakfast ingredients--eggs, English muffin, bacon, and potatoes--with a smoky Gouda cheese. 

At the con, I spent time with some friends and also devoted a fair amount of energy to making sure we were all set for the Opening Ceremonies.  It was once again my privilege to emcee that event, which went briskly and well, at least as far as I can tell.  (You'd have to ask the audience to be certain.)

After spending time at the various meet-the-guests events, I headed out to see Tomorrowland, which I will review separately later. 

Tonight, I will once again sleep a larger than normal number of hours, a prospect about which I am unreasonably happy.

Tomorrow, my first panels of the con.

On the road again: Balticon, day 1

Each year, we leave earlier for the drive to Balticon, and each year, we arrive later.  The traffic on I-95 and the D.C. and Baltimore beltways is insane.  Time in the car on those stretches alternates between periods of no-motion and times of fighting with life-threatening traffic.  The drive is never fun.  When I wasn't driving, I worked.  When I was driving, I focused utterly on the traffic. 

The evening contained a fair amount of work but also two fun events. 

The first was dinner at The Food Market in Hampden, a part of this area that I quite enjoy.  I'd never been to this restaurant before, but every dish we sampled was tasty, so I'll definitely go back.

Over the meal, we discussed, among other things, upcoming action flicks we wanted to see.  Fast and  Furious 6 was high on the list because it's due to open this weekend.  As it turned out, the film actually opened tonight here with a single, 10:00 show, so off we went to the theater.  I may write a review later, but for now let me say simply that, as with so many summer action movies, you already know if you want to see this one, and if you do, odds are good that you'll enjoy it. 

Bandwidth here at the hotel is worse than that of any hotel in Europe, so miserable that SpeedTest couldn't even complete--and most fans aren't here yet.  Ah, well; email is already slow and will be getting slower.

Tomorrow, the con begins, and as Master of Ceremonies for the Opening Ceremonies, I get to kick it off.  Should be fun!