My trip to Anthrocon 2001

Well, it only took five months, but I finally got around to working on my photos and log for Anthrocon 2001.

First, a couple of things that happened before I left. Market Square Arena in Indianapolis was imploded on July 8, 2001. Also, the Warner Brothers Studio Store in Circle Center Mall closed at the end of the month. These are pictures of the store front they had (photo1), (photo2), (photo3).

Monday, July 23, 2001
This was not a very eventful day. I left home around noon to begin my trip toward New York. Michael Mink called me on my cell phone, and we made some plans to meet when I would arrive in NYC the next day. I took some of the less travelled roads instead of the interstates. After a short delay at a railroad crossing because of some railroad work (train-1), (train-2), I continued driving until I reached Cleveland, Ohio, where I stopped for the night.

Tuesday, July 24, 2001
I continued my drive to NY, using the Interstate system this time. About 2/3 of the way across Pennsylvania, my car engine started running hot. After driving awhile with the windows open and the heater running to help cool the engine, and a few stops, I finally arrived at Newark, NJ. I began looking for the motel where I had a room reserved. Thanks to their location with a sign that was difficult to see, along with an overabundance of one-way and no-left-turn signs, I didn't get checked in until about 30 minutes *after* I was to meet Michael. I contacted him when I got in, and we agreed to meet about an hour later. That is when I made my next mistake. I drove through the Holland Tunnel and intended to follow the directions he had given me. But I made a wrong turn after leaving the tunnel and eventually wound up in Brooklyn (I really learned to hate one-ways and no-left-turns.) After I had missed our second appointed time, Michael called me again, and eventually talked me back toward my original destination.
Once I found his place, I parked in the garage around the corner and we met outside. I delivered my Freakazoid tape to him and we had a late dinner at a nearby deli. During dinner, we talked about several things. He mentioned that my visit was the fourth "Mini-Mink-Mania" he had in about three months, the others being visits by Chilly, Sheila, and Egg. He also asked me to pick a few things at Anthrocon for him. Afterwards, we returned to the Mink Estate where he gave me a brief tour, and we logged in at the #warnercafe for a bit. Finally, I decided that I should attempt to get back to my motel, so we said our farewells. Thanks to a map that Michael had given me before I left, the trip back took only a fraction of the time of the trip over.

Wednesday, July 25, 2001
Pictures:
  • New York City panorama
  • (photo1) (photo2) (photo3)
  • (photo4) (photo5) (photo6)
  • (photo7) (photo8) (photo9)
  • (photo10) (photo11) (photo12)
    • I rode the ferry from New Jersy's Liberty State Park to Ellis Island, where I looked around for a couple of hours, and then continued on to the Statue of Liberty. There was about a two-hour wait to enter the museum in the base of the statue, and tours up to the crown were limited to the 8:30 am group, due to the limited space and the climb of 385 steps. After I left, I went to the Newark Airport to see if there might be a rail connection to NYC. They have a tramway under construction to the rail terminal, but it was not completed yet. I drove around, but I could not find the terminal. I finally decided to give up and get something to eat. After I returned to the motel, I called Michael to find out where the Japanese store that sold Pocky was located. (He had mentioned this treat the previous night and said that it was a favorite among several of the 'cafe regulars.) He told me of a store called the Mitsuwa Marketplace north of Jersey City. I decided to travel up that way to check it out, and got there about 15 minutes before closing. I bought a variety of flavors for myself, along with some for Egg and Michael, and returned to the motel.

    Thursday, July 26, 2001
    It was raining some this morning, so I never got around to touring NYC or the Statue of Liberty again, (and unknowingly missing my only chance to visit the World Trade Center towers.) I drove to Philadelphia, going through some heavy rain on the way. I checked into my hotel, which was about a 15-20 minute drive from the convention hotel. I then went to the Adams Mark, where Anthrocon would be at. While waiting for pre-registration to open, I met Chilly and helped her to carry some things up to her room. We walked around for a bit, and she met some friends that she introduced (and of course, I can't remember names).
    According to some video displays around the hotel, pre-registration was supposed to open at 7:00pm. I went to the registration area at 6:45, but some of the staff members said that it wouldn't start until around 8:00. While waiting, I watched some other furs play a card game called Fluxx, where each card played can (and usually does) change the rules of the game. Boogie, my travel partner from AC2000 showed up and said hi. As 8:00 approached, more furs started to gather in the lower lobby for pre-registration. Finally, 8:00 came... and went, without the lines opening up. After awhile, Uncle Kage, the con chairman, came out and announced that as a cost-saving move, *he* had decided to get a cheaper printer than what had been suggested. As a result, they couldn't get it to work properly. Finally, around 8:30, they announced that those who had sent in their registrations ahead of time could pick up their pre-printed badges and info packets, but that everyone else would have to wait until Friday.

    Friday, July 27, 2001
    Registration is going so slow that the opening ceremonies have been set back to 2:30 pm. Chilly had left a note on the message board. I walked around awhile, taking in some of the sights (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5), and met Chris (Foxx) Yost, the author of "Sabrina Online, the Story" and co-author of "Tabitha, the Story". We talked about the stories for a while(Some details of that conversation) , and then he had to go meet some of the other authors of the "Sabrina-verse" that were attending the con. While I was writing these notes down so that I wouldn't have to rely on my (lack of) memory, I heard a very loud belch that drew applause from everyone in the lobby. That sound came from "Indya", (also known as Tigress), who was dressed in a white formal and carried a basket of Pixy-Stix.
    I went back down to the lower lobby to see how registration was going, and saw Uncle Kage on the phone. After awhile, they decided to hold the opening ceremony in the hall, since that was where most of the people seemed to be. Kage climbed up on a table (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5), (photo6), to conduct the opening ceremony while the programming director Sue "Deer" Parkin, stood nearby. He told a story about being locked out his car (sorry, but I don't remember any of the details), and introduced the Guest of Honor, Bill Holbrook, author of "Kevin 'n Kell". After the ceremony, I took a few more fursuit pictures (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), and went in the dealer's room to pick up a few things for Michael Mink.
    Soon, it was time for the "Funday Pawpet Show".
  • (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5),
  • (photo6), (photo7), (photo8), (photo9), (photo10),

    • They were joined by Bill Holbrook, and Dan DeCarlo, (photo11),(photo12), and then Chilly got to participate in a game of "Win Nothing and Like It!"
  • (photo13), (photo14), (photo15), (photo16), (photo17),
  • (photo18), (photo19), (photo20)

    • After the Pawpet show, Uncle Kage presented his story hour, (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), where he showed off his new tiger-striped lab coat, and told stories about furry fandom in the media, buying a sheepskin from the Amish, Doctor vs Doctor, how Dan and Josie DeCarlo met (he was a paratrooper in the war), two chemistry incidents named Susie... the first involving boiling ether and the second mixing Sulphuric acid and Hydrochloric acid, then a story about a pet cat. At this point someone's cell phone rang, interrupting the show. Kage asked to talk to the caller, and proceeded to inform them that he was trying to put on a show and please call back later (or something like that). He then continued with his stories, including a subway manwith a knife and multiplying police, and birds of prey.
    After the Story Hour, I saw a few more fursuits (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), in the hallway, then I went to a gaming session. One of the games was a card game called Apples and Apples. Each player gets five cards that name people, places, things, events, etc. One person is then the "dealer" and draws a card from a different deck which contains adjectives and adverbs. Each of the other players pick one card from their hand which they think would go with the word card, and play it face down in a common pile. The dealer picks up that pile and goes through it until he finds one that he thinks is the best match for the word card for any reason he sees fit. The person that played that card gets the word card -- four word cards win.

    Saturday, July 28, 2001
    I finally met Egg today, and gave him some of the Pocky that I had picked up a few days earlier. I then watched a game of "Whose Sketch Is It, Anyway", with Bill Holbrook, Ursula Husted (Hedgie), Platinum, and Sue.
  • (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5),
  • (photo6), (photo7), (photo8), (photo9), (photo10)
    • (These pictures didn't turn out very well since I was so far away from the stage.) They played several different rounds such as tag-team drawing, story, switch, marketeer, etc. (similar to the "Whose Line Is It Anyway" show). After that, I went to the Artist Gallery and Dealer room, where Dan and Josie DeCarlo got a visit from "Josie" (without the "Pussycats")(photo1), (photo2). Next, I went back to the game room and took part in a game of "Trivial Fursuit", with questions based on anthropomorphics in TV, literature, movies, and furry fandom. I answered three questions correctly, and almost got a fourth one.
    When this was done, it was time for the Masquerade program to start.
  • (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5),
  • (photo6), (photo7), (photo8), (photo9), (photo10),
  • (photo11), (photo12), (photo13), (photo14), (photo15),
  • (photo16), (photo17), (photo18), (photo19), (photo20),
  • (photo21), (photo22), (photo23), (photo24), (photo25),
  • (photo26), (photo27), (photo28), (photo29)

    • Of course, there were always more fursuits in the hall later.(photo30), (photo31), (photo32), (photo33), (photo34)
    I met up with Egg again, and we went up to the internet room to check email and visit the 'cafe. After a while, we left there and met up with Chilly, Zot and Bugzy.

    Sunday, July 29, 2001
    (I didn't keep any notes after Saturday, so there aren't many details.)
    I watched "The ImprovFURsation Show" (photo1), (photo2), (photo3), (photo4), (photo5), (photo6), (photo7), and the fursuit parade in the hallway (photo8), (photo9), (photo10), (photo11), (photo12), and the Sunday Pawpet Show (photo13), (photo14), (photo15), (photo16), (photo17), (photo18), (photo19), (photo20), (photo21), (photo22), (photo23), (photo24). Near the end of the con, Chilly and some of her friends were still working on sketches. During the Closing Ceremonies, they held a Question & Answersession to find out what was right or wrong with the con so next year could be better, and then Uncle Kage received a custom made cel. After everything was done, they started looking for volunteers to help tear stuff down, and I wound up working until after midnight helping move stuff across town.

    Monday, July 30, 2001
    I checked out of my hotel, and decided to check out some of the historic sites in Philly. I saw the Liberty Bell (photo1),(photo2), Independence Hall (photo3),(photo4), some historic documents (photo5),(photo6),(photo7),(photo8),(photo9),(photo10), and the US Mint. When I went back to my car in the parking garage, I saw this sticker in the elevator. I'm still not sure if it was intended seriously or as a joke.