Worldcon 2016 Day 1

I'm here! WOO! That's my badge. It's real.Hello, Kansas City! Hello, MidAmeriCon2! I got checked in, got badged,  hung out at the Wordfire Press booth for a couple of hours and sold a thing, then had dinner with my friend Bill who made this WorldCon visit possible. And I got to meet Bill's friends Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. I did not faint or have twitchy convulsions of awe and geek overload at the introductions or at any point afterwards. Be proud of me. I am. They are wonderful, kind, ineresting, neat and all around superlative people.We did not dine at the BBQ place I found randomly on Google. (Somehow I got put in charge of finding a restaurant.) ANYWAY. Tim Kaine was eating at The Freight House--or so we were informed--so it was full. And there were guys with Secret Service vests frisking everyone, and 1.5 hours was Too Long. So... Ended up right next door at a great German restaurant I wish was closer to home. Yes. I went to barbecue country to get delicious kasespatzle. (German version of mac & cheese, heavenly stuff.) I'll mention the restaurant name when I remember it. The restaurant host and our server were both big science fiction & fantasy fans. Travel day summary: pretty successful start.Here's the booth. Wordfire Press. Home of great authors. I know Mercedes Lackey will be there, and Kevin J Anderson, and many more. (If you haven't read anything by Dave Butler or Quincy J Allen, I recommend them both, btw)Come visit if you're at the con. I have purple hair. Hard to miss.