San Diego

Cory and I at Balboa Park at night.

We absolutely loved Balboa Park... spent 2 days here, walked around 36 miles (!!!). The architecture was stunning and the weather amazing. We went to 6 museums and the famous Zoo. Favorite museums: Model Railroad (world's largest!) and the Science Center (static! tornadoes! space!)... probably both intended for a younger audience, but we loved it. Also, this Gem exhibit was breathtaking.

Hippos at the Zoo! 

The hippos were quite graceful underwater and almost entrancing. Other animals of note: the sun bear (hilarious), the black panther (majestic), and the orangutans (intriguing). We spent a full day at the Zoo, and while I enjoyed it, I have mixed emotions. I appreciate the opportunity to see these amazing animals and know that they were being kept safe and healthy, but it was really sad to watch many of them pace back and forth endlessly, looking for a way out, and to see animals that were created to run and fly being cooped up in tiny cages, resigned to their fate as an exhibition.

A typical Cory pose at Coronado Beach

Our last day before we had to start setting up for the convention was spent on Coronado Island. We took the ferry over, rented a bicycle-built-for-two (surrey, not tandem) and biked all over the coastline. We had intended to actually get in the water, but as it was a bit cold for that, Cory just stuck his feet in.

Crowd at Comic Con

Here is a shot of one of the many aisle at Comic Con, crowded as always. Not being a fan of the crazy people myself, I only left the booth once on the first night, had my fill of being shoved around, returned to the safety of our booth and never left it again except to use the restroom. This is why I could never live in a city. The convention center is huge, and with all the people, it can take 30-40 minutes just to walk from one end to the other (with no shopping breaks). Cory and the other guys were able to make some great connections and show off their work, and we all had a blast.

If you'd like to see a few more pictures, my FB album is here, and if you're into nerdcore, Cory posted a video of Comic Con here.

Highlights and random things:

- We ate the most amazing food. Every day. All the time.

- I was licked by a random child at the zoo. This freaked me out more that it needed too.

- I shared one hotel room with 6 guys. Enough said.

- I almost fell into a Japanese water garden at Balboa Park, but Cory caught me just in time.

- The absolute best part was hanging out with friends we rarely see. We miss them already.

- Give me a few days to recover, and I'll be ready for next year!