This weekend I’ll be making my annual return to DragonCon in Atlanta! It’s a wild weekend full of amazing people and unforgettable experiences. It is also a week-long commitment for yours truly.
My DragonCon week actually begins tomorrow night, where I hop on a plane to fly down to meet up with Garth. That next day we begin our ten hour drive to Atlanta, where upon arrival we’ll set up at the show and check in to our hotel. That’s two days of travel before the show even officially begins for us.
Then there’s DragonCon itself. This is a marathon four-day show, running full days from Friday all the way through Monday. The hours are reasonable for exhibitors, thankfully, but the length of time being “on” and sociable for attendees is a form of exercise. And it goes for four straight days.
That fourth day is the beginning of the second marathon for me. Not only will I be at my table for a full convention day, but then Garth and I will pack up and begin the ten hour drive back. As tiring as it is, I weirdly look forward to that overnight car ride. The bizarro conversations Garth and I have shared after the long hours of DragonCon make the trip go by weirdly but thankfully fast. But I won’t be joining Garth back at his home. He’ll drop me at the airport, where I’ll be hopping on a flight early Tuesday morning to fly back home.
DragonCon week, for me, goes for almost a full week. I leave on a Wednesday and return on that following Tuesday. But as draining as it is, I’m grateful for it. DragonCon has been letting us return to their artist alley for years now, and that’s an opportunity I will ride until it reaches the station… much like I will be doing to-and-from DragonCon.