Eureka DragonCon 2023

I was not as prepared for this DragonCon as I could have been. That is what happens when you are lazy and you’ve been to the same convention a few times. You take short cuts. Also, I was trying not to take time off from work. If you take too much time off, people start wondering if they need you. I only took Friday off.

If you remember, last year, my trip was cancelled because the flight crew ‘timed-out’ and there was no replacement crew. The next available flight was late Saturday. Which translates to…no DragonCon in 2022. I was not a happy camper.

This year, no issues. I booked an earlier flight. It gave me more opportunities to catch another flight if I got caught in the same dilemma. I took an early afternoon flight instead of the evening flight. I got to Atlanta without delay.  From there, I got an Uber to the hotel. That ride was quicker than expected.

I stayed at a hotel a couple of miles away from the convention. It’s cheaper and quieter than the host hotels. It’s a nice. Not too fancy and the location is nice. The uber ride back and forth to DragonCon isn’t too expensive. After checking in, I called The Wife to let her know I was alive.

Next step was to get my badge. Online, I saw a lot of horror stories about an hour or two wait to get a badge. My experience was different. The only way the badge pick up could have been faster was if I ran. I had no delays. This was much better than 2022.

While I HOPED to get a little time in the Walk of Fame (that’s the autograph room) on Friday, I had not expected any quality time there. Maybe a quick visit to get the lay of the land. Maybe pick up an autograph or two if the line was short. Since things were moving very smoothly, I walked to the Marriott. With my want list in hand, I dove in. I got most of the people I wanted Friday night. Really. I was happily surprised. I think I spent a little over 2 hours in the autograph room.  I even met up with a buddy and checked in with him. He busily working through his list too.

The negative: I was in work mode. I wasn’t chatty. I was on a mission. I was working through my list to allow my more time for Saturday and Sunday. The point, a lot of these posts will be brief.

As you know, DragonCon usually brings in several actors from the same show. There is a synergy in that. It generates more excitement and cast members that don’t often make appearances turn up. Eureka was one of this ‘reunions’.

I absolutely loved Eureka. I have been fortunate and gotten several cast members in the past. And with this DragonCon, I could add 3 more.

Everybody loves Fargo, right?  Neil Graytson was the first I got. He was friendly and we did chat. I printed this photo. I’m not sure if he had the same one on his table. We both pointed out the dog. No animals were harmed in the making of the photo. He suggested the quote and adding S.A.R.A.H. which I forgotten he had voiced.

I also printed a photo of Jordan Hinson Danger. It was the same trampoline gimmick with her in the air, just like Neil. I switched to her table photo. Neither of us liked the trampoline photo. Her air was unflattering. She was friendly and I met her baby for all of 2 seconds. If you know The Wife, she asked if I had any photos. If you know me, I would never think of taking baby pictures. The Wife then asked how old…again, if you know me, the age is ‘baby’. 

The last actor from Eureka was Ed Quinn. He asked where I got the photo I printed. He remembered the shoot. He asked for it to be on his table but no one could find it.  He called over someone and told them my photo was what he was asking for.  In the chaos of handlers looking at the photo, someone asked where I got it, but no one wrote down my answer. I’m sure Ed never got that photo.

AH