Flagstaff Con Day 1: Travel

This year's Starmen.Net convention was planned by me, which pretty much just means that I found a place that can fit a couple dozen people, figured out how much it would cost to stay there for a week, then convinced people to send me money to cover that amount.

This year it was in Flagstaff, Arizona, a part of the state that looks very different than the rest of it: green, grassy hills, lots of trees, and temperatures below 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. After months of planning this convention for literally minutes each month, it was finally time to go check out this house we were staying at.

Of the 21 people going to this house, eight of us already lived in Arizona, so we planned to simply drive there. Laura and I drove separately so that we could each pick up a couple of people at the Phoenix Sky Harbor on the way north.

I drove with my roommate Jeff, and we picked up our Canadian friend Kevin and a newcomer to the con, Angela. Laura drove up with our friend Paul (who flew to Tucson from Ohio the day before) and picked up a Marty, a map enthusiast from Wisconsin, and Eyes5, a skilled doll-maker and seamstress from Vancouver.

If you're familiar with these people, I apologize for the descriptions.

Anyway, some other folks drove from various places, from places like North Dakota and Kansas City, to attend this vacation.


I had the distinct pleasure of introducing several people to Raising Cane's on the way out of Phoenix.

The house itself was pretty nice. On the first floor was a large, lovely entry hall, the master bedroom, an antechamber-turned-bedroom, a sitting room, a living room, and a large kitchen, in addition to the garage, a utility room, bathrooms, etc. The second floor had three bedrooms--two with queen-sized beds, one with a couple of bunk beds--a projector room, and a game room. The projector room and game effectively became bedrooms as well, though, since most of the activities seemed to be happening in the living room. There was a balcony on the second floor that looked out over the living room, which added to the house's opulence.

Being the Con Dad, I got to claim the master bedroom, which also featured a large, walk-in closet and a huge bathroom, which contained both a large tub and a shower large enough for two shower heads and a bench.

The day was spent simply saying hello, catching up with people, going over the rules of the house, and, of course, starting a game of EarthBound.

The EB naming system was filled out thusly:

Boy: Marty
Girl: Marty
Friend: Omnit
Other friend: arian
Dog: Marty (I think?)
Food: Marty (probably)
Favorite Thing: Sorrow

WOW (WOW wow ow ow ow)