Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

When I got to the office this morning, Lisa was already here. She got restless early this morning and got up early to push to San Mateo. This is not a problem; she needs to repack my van, moving some stuff that's heading back to Oregon later to hers and moving her stuff into mine.

I realized when I sat down at my desk that I forgot the nice broad-brimmed hat that I prefer to wear when I'm out in the sun for any amount of time. Darn! Still, it's not important enough to justify going fifty miles out of my way back to the apartment to retrieve it. Better to just buy another hat, or get by with the cap my company gave me when they changed the corporate name from CNF to Con-way.

We left San Mateo about 90 minutes or so later than I originally expected -- about 3:30 -- which means we got tangled up in commute-hour traffic. We could use the carpool lane, which helps as long as the lane exists, but when the lane ended at Gilroy, traffic clogged up until the Highway 25 interchange. Then it was a lot of cruise control and watching other vehicles pass us since I was sticking to 55. (I went 65 -- or less when traffic was heavy -- while in the carpool lane.) We also took a side-trip to a back road that followed the railroad tracks north of King City, simply because we had slack time in the schedule. This, along with one rest stop, meant that we got to the hotel in Paso Robles about 8 PM.

This is a nice hotel. It would probably be called a mini-suite at a convention center-type hotel. There's a refrigerator, microwave, and sink. Internet access is free and wired, so it's faster and more solid than wireless. I really would like a room like this at a Worldcon.

As we checked in, the front desk staff reminded us, as they had the people ahead of us, that the hotel is right next to the railroad tracks. I said, "Good! Can we get a room overlooking the tracks?" They looked at us strangely, but I'm used to that. The last time we stayed at the Nugget in Sparks, we asked for a room overlooking the railroad yard so we could watch them switch cars in the yard. I doubt they get too many requests like that.

After checking in to the hotel, we walked around the area a while, to get the kinks out of our legs and because we need the exercise on principle. There is a big rib joint just across the road from us, but it was very loud and very busy, so instead we got take-out from Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell, along with drinks from the mini-market down the street, and went back to the room, ate dinner, and relaxed. My only disappointment was that the TV's channels were not those listed on the card by the set, and did not include any way to watch the Giants-Dodgers game. (Got the result on ESPNnews -- Giants beat Dodgers, hooray!)

This was the short leg of the trip. I would have gone to SLO but that hotel costs twice as many Priority Club points as this one. Tomorrow we have a longer journey, but we still plan on taking things relatively easy.

Good thing I have good internet here, and probably will in Moreno Valley tomorrow night. Otherwise I would not have known that I may be part of the L.A.con IV Opening Ceremonies after all. But I need a brown coat like Sparks wore at the Interaction Closing Ceremonies. Eek!