WONDERFEST 2016

Ok, here is my tale of WF2016 from my own perspective.
For those who do not know, that is me on the right and my daughter on the left.

THURSDAY
Let me just start this off by saying I think this was just about the best it could have been. I'll explain more in the summation at the bottom.
(or you can just skip to it if you want)

As usual, had the car loaded the night before, and got started about 7:30 in the morning.
Uneventful trip down to my daughter's place in Columbus. Got there right about when I though, and hung out there a little bit to get a break from driving.
Also to play with her kitty. Hadn't seen him since xmas and he is so much bigger now. Very playful.
The rest of the trip was by-the-numbers as well. Normal stop in Xenia for gas and DQ. Only traffic of note was a few miles from the hotel because we
got there right around 4 and it was rush hour.
Of course it downpoured right after we checked in. Got caught cutting across the courtyard to get to our room.
Kinda felt great to get drenched though. Nice and refreshing after all those hours in the car.

Here is where things started going right. I had requested room 269. I've been requesting that room since we had it in 2012.
Again, I didn't get it. But I got an even better room 279! Right on the patio. 3 doors down from the Canadian Embassy, and as it turned out
The Tag Team guys had the room I initially wanted on the other side of us. So, needless to say, lots of activity all around us the whole weekend.
After we got the car unloaded and unpacked, we went out wandering and socializing.
Lots of friendly faces out and about. Spent the evening visiting and having fun.

FRIDAY
I got to sleep in. Britny was up and gone by the time I got up. She signed up for the Dino 101 class.
She had already decided she wanted to take the plunge and get an airbrush. When she saw there were still openings for the class she signed up for it.
After I got up, and ate, I wandered around the hotel checking things out.
Poked my head in the various classes going on. (see this page for some pics)
I also got around to unpacking my contest entries and made sure they were ready to go.
After Brit got done, we hung out some more, got our badges, and my contest entry forms, then ran out for dinner.
After that it was time for after-hours activities. Which was basically a rotation through The Embassy, the courtyard, the lobby, and Cult's Suite.
Main highlight, is that I finally got to meet Cliff, whom I have known online since around the turn of the century. Back in the days of the Aurora email list.
Though Brit didn't make it up to the suite that night. But I timed it just right. Got there just after guest Nick Tate got there.


He hung out for like 2 hours just telling stories about stuff. It was great. Just having a few beers and listening to this actor talk about how things used to
be, how things worked behind the scenes, and just generally shoot the breeze.
I think we ended up getting to bed sometime between 2 and 3. Had to get up early to kick off the show the next morning.

SATURDAY
Up and ready to go around 9 so I could get my entries down to the contest room.
Hang out some more while waiting for the dealers room to open to the public. Which, we timed just right. By the time we actually went down, the line was just disappearing into the room, so we didn't have to wait at all. The next hour plus is pretty much a blur. Scoping out tables, running into people.
Finally got to meet Mark from Prehistorix, snagged his new kit. Saw lots that tempted me, but held off for now.
Drop off my purchase then headed to the contest room. That is when I got another great surprise. I start going down the far wall where the crowd was thinner.
And this is what I see!
See that white paper under and behind my kit? Well, that meant that Fine Scale Modeler wanted to photograph my kit!
You could have knocked me over with a strong breeze. So, I ran back to the room, got my pink contest form so I could get my kit and take it over to
be photographed. By the time that was all done, I had just enough time to get up to the Moebius presentation upstairs. Which was the only thing I knew I
had to go to this weekend. I really wanted to see that new Death Dealer kit, and hear about what was in the works.
After that, it was more time in the dealers room. Where Larry at Action Hobbies made me some deals on some Alchemy kits he got from Mike.
Then, on my way out to take those to the room, I ran into Jeff Brown. I had been trying to hook up with him to get the instruction sheet for the kit I got
from him last year, as well as get the trees he produces. We ran up to his room, visited a bit then I dropped my stuff off.
Almost the end of the first day, and all my purchases were Prehistoric Scenes related!
I picked up a couple of small kits before the day came to a close. Then it was back to the room to rest and unwind for a while
While waiting for our pizza we played with some our purchases. Then ate, and back out for more fun with friends all over the hotel.
We started trying to watch the Pens game on Brit's laptop, but the hotel WiFi was crap, and it was just too annoying with all the stops and jitters.
So we gave up after the first period. Again, we got in and to bed sometime around 3-4.

SUNDAY
Needless to say, I didn't get up in time for the 9 AM demo. Don't think I even made it to the dealers room until like 10:30 or so.
Much quieter day. More time to visit and hang out with dealers. As well as look at kits on the tables.
Hit the contest room again for more pictures with less people around. Discovered that 2 of my kits earned a Merit!
Did something different this year. Grabbed my kits from the contest room when the awards ceremony started to beat the rush. Then hit the awards show.
Got there just in time to hear my name called for a Bronze! Holy crap! Britny was getting up to get it for me then saw me. After I got it and got to the seat
she was saving me, she handed me another one that I got for another kit! I was dumbstruck.
Then the icing on the cake. They called Britny as the winner of the voting for all the Dino 101 kits!

After that we had to go to the contest room to retrieve her dinosaur, and I got the 2 merits for the kits that were marked for them.
Back to the dealers room for more shopping and hanging out before it ended. Lots of dealers were already packing up, but we still managed to find a few
things to grab for ourselves.
Then some hanging out at the Embassy, where we met and hung out with another show guest. Kirk Thatcher.
He was walking by, and we said hi, and asked if he wanted to join. He was fun. Also, since he is moving to Columbus, he and Britny had a lot to discuss.
The funny thing was, his talk was the one Britny went to that day. And she had just showed me a bit that he showed the room

Off to dinner, then back to the Embassy. Where Joe, Josh, and I watched Game of Thrones, then out on the patio with everyone else.
Then up to Cult's where we watched Deadpool. Nick showed up during that. (3rd night in a row he was at Cult's)
Back to the Embassy, until that closed down due to Ross's early flight out. Then the courtyard, then off to bed sometime around 4.

MONDAY
Of course, the next morning wasn't as much fun. Packing. Loading the car. Checking out. Last bit of hanging out before hitting the road.
The drive back was pretty uneventful. Just long and boring. But I got home around 6 PM, so it was still light when I unloaded the car.

In summary
Overall, I would have to say, this was an amazing show!
No traffic issues to speak of.
We had an amazing room!
So much fun had with so many people, as well as spending the whole weekend with my daughter (who finally hooked me up with a Four Horsemen!).
Met even more people this year.
Found some great kits,
My contest entries did waaaaay better than I thought they would, heck, we both walked away with awards!
And I still left with a little cash in my wallet.
What more could I ask for?

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