Separate Ways again- The Con and Beaches- Saturday, July 22, 2006

Once again, on Saturday, we went separate ways. I returned to the Con and Julie and the girls went to beaches.

The Con can be a bit over whelming. Julie dropped me off early so I could try to do a few things. I had a few setbacks and the crowds were starting to get to me. I realized that having a plan kept the day interesting yesterday, so once I got back in the grove I started having more fun. I originally wanted to go to the big masquerade that they have on Saturday night, but when I realized it didn't end until 11:30 PM (long after the last "Coaster" train) I decided I didn't want to fight the crowds to try to get tickets. Besides, I certainly was seeing enough interesting costumes through the day. I rode the Coaster back to Carlsbad, where the hotel is. While the Con has been a great experience and a lot of fun, I'm not going back on Sunday. I getting less and less "bang" for the work I've got to put in-- searching for people to autograph the comics I brought or sitting in on panels. Two days of it has been plenty.

Julie and the girls spent part of the day on the beach near our hotel. We have been pretty careful with sunscreen on this trip. We found that we really like a spray that seems to work well and go on easily. We're out of it right now, so Julie tried some other stuff she had. It didn't work and the girls got a little red- especially Julie. The girls also went to see the movie "Monster House." It's an animated movie that is a *little* bit scary, but Anna seemed to like it and was excited to tell me all about it.

Separate Ways- The Con and Legoland- Friday, July 21, 2006

Friday was our day to go separate ways- I went to Comic Con in San Diego and Julie and the girls went to Legoland.

Comic Con was a blast! It is enormous and confusing and intimidating and exciting. I can't believe the size of the convention center and the number of people and things to do there. I got start the day off by going to a panel with the most famous comics person ever- Stan Lee, creator of Spider-man and a host of other characters for Marvel comics. I spent the day bouncing between panels like that one and exploring the con's exhibition floor looking for autographs. I met up with Tony at the DC comics booth. The only way we ever could have found each other was meeting at that pre-arranged place and time-- the crowds were gigantic. We had lunch together, and then split up to do the things we wanted to do. We met again, but we eventually got separated and I wasn't able to find him.

Meanwhile, Julie and the girls went to Legoland, near our hotel. They tell me it was fun, but a little disappointing. When there were size restrictions on rides, Emma couldn't go. Anna could, but only if she found someone else to ride with her. But while they were forced to skip alot, they still found a lot to keep themselves busy. There were many places to explore and fountains to play in. Since it was "Legoland," there was a section of model buildings along the lines of Tivoli, and Julie liked looking at those.

I had ridden into San Diego on the "Coaster," a commuter train that runs along the coast. I misjudged the schedule, however, and Julie and the girls came to pick me up at the end of the day. Traffic in San Diego seems worse then Los Angeles, but she has been able to find me using walkie talkies each night.