Sunday at SDCC

Sadly our time has come to an end...

The last day is always so bittersweet. You can feel things start to wind down and slowly return to "normal". I spent my last day alone -Brandon was down for the count. I really wanted to catch the Supernatural panel in Hall H, but didn't have it in me to stay the night and wait in a monster line. Luck was once again on my side!

I managed to literally walk right into Hall H and have a seat, just minutes before the panel started. It was great to see "my boys" again and the gag reel never disappoints. I love how witty and fun the actors are, I love the interactions with the audience and I love how they truly appreciate their fans. 

Misha Collins was seen in the early morning handing out coffee to fans who had camped out overnight. He worked with RandomActs.org to brighten up hundreds of fans and thank them for their dedication.

 Article and image from Storify.com 

As soon as the panel was over I got an alert from the Nerd Machine that Zachary Levi would be doing a Smiles for Smiles ( where you can get a picture with him for a $20.00 donation to Operation Smile). I literally RAN over to Nerd HQ to try and get in line before they capped it. I had been trying to attend a Smiles for Smiles session all week, but never made it over before they closed the lines down. I made it there with a few minutes to spare!!!! I was so pumped to be able to meet him and get a great pict as well. When I got up there, they were saying that Zac had lost his voice and couldn't talk with people. That actually spoke volumes about his character though...he never HAD to donate his time and take pictures. So doing this and feeling crappy made me love him even more.  

It's a photo of a photo, but you can see how awesome it is. 

When it was my turn I thanked him for singing for me during his panel. He remembered me and said he was honored :) Then I asked him if I could pinch his face for the picture and he told me to "pinch away".  He was so awesome, humble, kind and amazing. That picture is framed and on my desk at work. It makes me smile every time I look at it.

On my way back to the convention, I stopped to check out some of the exhibits in the lot next to the buses. I had just enough time to catch the Sleepy Hallow ocular rift experience.

my best "decapitated" look

This guy took the hair pulling a bit too far.

 Then I headed into the exhibit hall and worked my last shift at Artists Alley. Said my goodbyes and then it was all over. In the first few min after they announce that the hall is closed, it is strangely quiet. Then it's like they flip a switch and the vendors start packing up as fast as possible. Everything must go! It goes away just as quickly as it appeared and I am left standing there already longing for next year.

Since our flight home wasn't until the following day and Andrew was FINALLY back from deployment ( he arrived that day); we met up with him and hit the beach. We were all exhausted and ready for some time to just sit and relax. We had an early dinner and headed to bed relatively early too.

Next time, I'm spending more time here.

Until next time San Diego! 

Saturday at SDCC

Today was the greatest day in the history of days...

Seriously I must have cashed in on all the good karma in my life because I cannot even begin to believe how lucky I felt this day! 

We started out hitting the exhibit hall floor the second it opened and made a bee line for the Marvel booth. The Avengers cast was going to be doing a signing later that day and I wanted to get a ticket to see them SO BAD! We managed to get a place in line about a 100 deep and had to pull a ticket from a bowl to see if we won a pass to the signing. Brandon went first and ended up with a Thor trading card :( sorry Brandon no signing for you. I went after and pulled a ticket for the Ant Man signing later that day. While I admit I was disappointed that it wasn't the Avengers, I was excited to see the Ant Man cast. I love Paul Rudd and it would be pretty awesome to meet him. SO... score one for the day! 

Next up, we waited in a nice long Starbucks line. This gave us some fuel to hold us over for our second attempt to go on the Gotham zip line. They opened at nine and we got there about 9:15. We were told it would be about a 3 hr wait. Yikes! I still wanted to go on it, so we decided to settle in and enjoy the wait in the awesome San Diego weather. After a bit, Brandon went to go grab a drink and I was holding our spot in line. The girl behind me let out a soft shriek and ran off. This had my attention. When she returned she was telling us how she had just spotted Mark Sheppard and Misha Collins walk by! She was denied a chance to talk to them by the security guard and bummed she missed the chance. After looking at where she went, I saw that they were still there!! SO, buh bye zip line!!! I wanted to see if I could meet them. There was literally NO CROWD around them at all and I wanted to seize the moment. by the time I got there they were into a building for a press thing, but I figured that they would have to leave sometime! I picked a spot on a close bench, ate some lunch and waited....

Then to my surprise, more people started showing up for their press obligations too! There was a fair amount of security by the door, but the celebs were happy to stop and take pictures, sign autographs with the few people waiting by the door for them. O.M.G I was so excited! I first got to meet the one and only Chris Parnell! The cast of Archer was making it's way out of the building. He stopped, took a picture with me and even made some small talk. SO AWESOME! 

Why yes, this IS Cryil Figgis.

Then more people started streaming in and out and I seriously felt like I had hit the jack pot! I was most excited to meet my Misha and Mark ( who were sincerely kind to everyone there). It was so exciting for me to see who was arriving next. 

I just love this guy.

I would have really liked to re take this picture,
but we ran out of time.

James Spader stopped by, took pictures with every single person there. THEN he waited around and just hung out with people for about a half hour. It was surreal.

Didn't I just see your face on the side of a bus?

I thought my day couldn't get any better, when the cast of ORPHAN BACK showed up ( minus Tatiana Maslany though). I must have died and gone to heaven. I didn't get a picture with each of them, but I am pretty stoked about the two that I did get! 

It was difficult not to pinch him, he's so cute.

Look at that smile! 

I managed to see the cast of Resurrection, the cast of Archer, the cast of Orphan black, and even Mike Tyson before I had to leave to get to the Ant man signing! For someone who loves celeb sightings, my day couldn't have been any better! 

The Marvel booth was packed as always and having trouble directing people to the right place to line up. We had to stand around and wait for the line to get figured out, then we were good to go!

My new BFF, Paul Rudd just waiting patiently to meet me

Once the line started moving, it was my turn in no time. Paul Rudd was super nice and a lot of fun to talk to. Michael Douglas just looked shell shocked ( he said it was his first time to Comic Con) and Corey Stoll liked my shirt. All that and I got to see the first peek at what the helmet will look like as well as a personalized autographed poster - that now hangs in my classroom-. 

Brandon and I were both ready for a rest, so we went out and grabbed some lunch in the Gas Lamp. We had plenty of time to talk about the crazy day we just had, eat some food and let our adrenaline settle for a bit. 

We headed back to the convention center and were able to squeeze into Hall H so see some panels. I LOVED the women who kick ass panel and really enjoyed the conversation as well as the perspectives from the panel. Then the Marvel panel started. Oh Robert Downy Jr, how I love you! He came into the hall throwing roses and dancing for the audience. The whole cast was there and we got to see some exclusive clips. I love how the people that I just met came out to thunderous applause (James Spader will be in the Avengers Age of Ultron and after that session Ant Man came onstage). 

There was a 2hr wait between the Marvel panel ad the DC one. We were done with waiting and like thousands of our Hall H friends decided to head out. Although the DC panel had some great swag for the audience, I wish they had just gone back to back. Most people had been either in line or in that room for over 24hrs at that point. 

We had passes to go to a MGMT concert that was being held on an aircraft carrier that night, but we were too tired to go - my age finally caught up with me- so back to the room and bed time for me! 

WHAT AN AMAZING DAY! I never did get to go on that zip line though...

Friday - Day Three of SDCC

I love this place

Yes I really do! The costumes, the people, the events even the crowds are like nowhere else. 

Friday was a fun one for us. We got up early enough to avoid a rush of people, but late enough to feel rested.

We started the day with out a big agenda and wanted to just see what happened. Brandon and I went to check in with the staff at Artists Alley. It was nice visiting with some familiar faces and talking with the artists.

One of the ladies there had received a ticket ( wrist band) for a Hunger Games signing later that day, but wasn't going to be able to make it because she was working. We came up with a plan that I would go to the signing for her and give her the poster afterwards. This worked out great because I enjoy meeting the celebrities more than the posters anyways and she likes the posters more than meeting the people.

Wrist band of awesomeness

When our shift was over, we went outside to go try and get on the Gotham Zip line that was near the Hilton. This line took forever and was slow moving. We had been waiting for almost two hours when I had to leave to get to the autograph session in time. -so no zip line for me-

Now Friday was a much busier day than I had given it credit for and the crowds were just huge inside the exhibit hall. We managed to get to the Lion's Gate booth in time for the signing, but I did get separated from Brandon on the way there -note to self, make sure the person you are with isn't holding your phone when you get separated or finding each other will be a little challenging- 

The signing was awesome. I got to meet the new cast members:

Natalie Dormer (Cressida), Elden Henson (Pollux), Mahershala Ali (Boggs), Evan Ross (Messalla) & Wes Chatham (Castor). 

They were all so hurried to sign and get the line moving that I couldn't exactly speak with each cast member, but I did get a chance to talk with Natalie Dormer - who was sort of snarky with me about how far I traveled ( Yes, Natalie I realize that Oregon isn't as far as wherever you got your accent from) - and the boys on the end where so sweet and nice I could have pinched them. Wes Chatham ( who plays Castor) and Mahershala Ali ( who plays Boggs) just held onto my hands and were asking ME questions about my experience and whether or not I was having a good time. 

Seriously THE nicest guy!

They were both just talking and laughing with me far and above what the rest of the cast did. So thank you to both of them for leaving me with a smile on my face after meeting them.

Next we worked our shift then got ready to go over to Nerd HQ for the Maze Runner panel. We got there with enough time to look around HQ and grab a t shirt. The panel was great and I loved hearing about the movie. I had read the books and was excited to learn more about the film.

Great seats and great people!

We hit up the Gas lamp when the panel was over. Enjoyed some good food and drink. Walked around and saw some cool stuff and people.