Anthrocon was amazing. <3 I got to meet some of my East Coast friends I've only talked to online, I drove across the country without getting pulled over once or having any mechanical failures as my car rolled past 200,000 miles. The trip itself was grueling, spending 3 and a half days on the road each way, BUT I DID IT! ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.

From Oregon, I drove down to Kentucky to pick up :iconDustythePony:, and then made a stop in Ohio to visit my best friend :iconIceshadow: for a couple hours. Turns out Dusty and Icey could be long lost sisters. XD From there, we made the final push into Pittsburgh, and arrived at around 3 AM. We were supposed to crash in Dusty's friend's room for the night, but we ended up hanging around the lobby because they were out cold. But, my room at the Doubletree ended up being ready at around 8 AM since it wasn't used the night before, so we were able to check in early and get some sleep in before heading to Registration. Somewhere around noonish, our roommate Lonewolf666 arrived.

Our first con, FC2011, we ended up spending all of our time in the panels, and at RF2011, we spent all of our time with friends. This time, we decided to do a bit of both. We looked through the schedule and picked out the panels we were most interested in, went to those, and hung out with friends in the meantime. I got to meet K2 shorly after we got to the con early Thursday morning, then ran into her a few more times in the course of the convention. I brought her a bottle of tequila in trade for a badge, and I'm very happy that I picked out some good stuff!

Saturday was a blast. From about 10 AM to noon, Anthrocon had it's first furry car show, which I participated in, and ended up being on video explaining the aerodynamic modifications to my car. Some people really loved the homebrew aero treatment and dubbed it the "duct tape hybrid." XD

Anthrocon was also the first time that I drank alcohol. I brought some 99 proof black cherry schnapps with me, along with some Baley's irish creme for Kat. I was planning on getting drunk for the first time, but I only managed to get tipsy a couple times. Unfortunately, I couldn't get everyone to my room to drink, so my plans for a room party ended up flopping. My father was a really bad alcoholic, so I've always hated booze and what it does to people, since it turned him into a raging asshole. Since I was afraid I might end up like him if I drank, I wanted to be surrounded by friends in a positive atmosphere. Unfortunately I was only able to be around one or two at one time, so I didn't go any farther than maybe a few shot's worth.

Also caught some of the shows, like 2's rant and Uncle Kage's story hour. After that, my faith in the fandom has been restored. Getting to watch Sardyuon's juggling and balancing acts was breathtaking.

Though there was one thing that bothered me... The con shirt. Who the heck thought a FIRE TRUCK was an appropriate design for a "Fast and Furrious" theme? At least the con badge had it right. >< Plus, I wasn't able to get one of the general Anthrocon shirts made for Pittsburgh, since those sold out in record speeds.

All in all, the con was absolutely amazing, and well worth the trip across the country. Unfortunately, we ended up not taking very many pictures, but the memories will last a lifetime.