Friday, August 27, 2010

I'm Here, It's Queer, And I'm Not Used To It

Note: "Queer" as in odd, not as synonym for homosexual.

So I'm in Baltimore. I always feel a little bit uneasy whenever I'm someplace unfamiliar, especially if I'm by myself, but I'm glad that I decided to do this.
Hotel room is pretty nice, but I'm annoyed by the whole nickel-and-dime thing, what with having to pay extra (albeit at a discounted rate) for parking, and having to pay for WiFi. (Srsly, I've been at Motel 6s that have free WiFi...why am I paying for it at a Hyatt Regency? What is this, the time of Charlemagne?), but at least it's very close to the Convention Center, and is actually pretty centrally-located. I'm right near the harbor and the National Aquarium. Not sure if I'll go to the Aquarium or not; it seems unlikely.
The drive here wasn't too bad, apart from the fact that I just don't like driving to/in unfamiliar places. I left home at a good time of day, so there wasn't too much traffic, though there were a lot of slow-moving trucks to maneuver around.
The route was pretty straightforward, for the most part, and the Nav system was mostly dead-on, though there were a couple of places where I could have used some reassurance as to whether I was taking the correct fork in the road, or merging into the correct lane.
After getting checked in and being indecisive about whether I was going to pay for WiFi or just try to use my phone as a hotspot - signal is weak in my room, so that made the decision for me - I headed off towards the harbor to see what there is to see. Mostly just a lot of people, and a lot of little shops and restaurants.
As I'd only had a protein shake, a fiber bar, and a hot dog all day, I decided to stop and eat at a 5 Guys I found in one of the plazas, but as I was walking back to the hotel I discovered that there was a Hooters right across the street. I probably would have eaten there had I known, because why not? Oddly, the waitresses weren't wearing the customary white top/orange shorts combo, but were dressed all in black.
I've spotted a lot of people who are obviously here for the Con, based on the extent to which they look like Kevin Smith.
In any case, I'm thinking I'll head out for another walk around just to check things out.
I'm sure I'll post intermittently throughout the weekend as things develop.

1 comment:

Merlin T Wizard said...

Glad to see you made it alright. Looking forward to your stories.