On Labor Day weekend, we escorted her Adorableness to her first Dragon*Con, a four day gathering and nerdfest extravaganza of sci-fi, fantasy, art, anime, comic books, movies, tv, books, music and anything else they can squeeze into four large convention hotels in downtown Atlanta. 35,000 people come from all over to wear costumes, buy and sell things, attend panels, party all night and generally celebrate all that is great in geekdom.
We took the Mini Monarch for a test run to the local mall to see how she would handle crowds. She loved it. She already loves restaurants - the hustle and bustle of the wait staff, the constant influx of new customers and the chance to win new converts to her growing army of minions all fascinate her. The mall was even better.
Having confirmed our suspicions that she would enjoy it, we set out for the con. I had to work a full day on Friday so we got a late start and didn't make it to our hotel until nearly her bedtime. We did a quick unpacking and headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner, where the Countess of Cuteness quickly won over the wait staff. They ooohed and aahhed and she showed off for them, basking in their adulation. The late hour did eventually lead to crankiness, so I walked around the restaurant with her. She made friends with a goth woman and watched some Stormtroopers party around the pool. Then we headed upstairs for bedtime, where she fell asleep while nursing. Minion #2 and I watched some con tv (http://web.dragoncontv.com/) and then went to sleep ourselves.
Saturday started at 7am. We had breakfast in a hotel restaurant where again a waitress succumbed to Her Mini Majesty's charms. Then we watched her first parade. She spent some of the time sleeping in the sling but for the most part she enjoyed herself.
We headed back to our hotel for lunch and met up with some friends, then explored the dealer's hall. Her Mini Majesty spent most of the time sleeping in the sling, generating many adoring Ooohs and Ahhs from con goers. Dinner was at the Chinese restaurant where we had our baby shower last year. The Tiny Overlord snacked on sticky rice while we ate, then we attended a panel on machinima (short movies made using different video games.) She fell asleep while nursing that night and slept soundly.
Sunday we all dressed as a pirate family and the Petite Pirate was of course the cutest of all. We were stopped several times so that people could take pictures. We bought a signed print for her room and explored the art room. Another set of restaurants and another set of people exclaiming what a well behaved baby she was. She, of course, merely basked in their admiration.
Monday we spent a bit of time at the con, then packed up and headed home. The Tiny One had enjoyed herself immensely, but she was glad to be home.
