Oregon Trail: Ames Edition

09.07.26

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It’s that time of year … DragonCon season.

DragonCon (if you’re not familiar I highly suggest looking it up) was a little different for me this year. New and more extensive responsibilities AND I had to fly across the country (AGAIN) to attend this year instead of driving.

This makes 3 cross country trips to date this year, with one more looming in my future.

The road to DragonCon was a little hectic. The additional responsibilities meant more pre-con work than I was anticipating, but at least I know for next year and can plan ahead. Way ahead. And maybe take a little extra time off around DC just in case.

But it wasn’t just the responsibilities. There’s always that mad dash before any vacay to tie up loose ends at work and make sure everything is absolutely perfect. Clean apartment. Fresh sheets. All the supplies. And … shopping for baseball bat sized suitcases?

I had to go on a last minute hunt for a new suitcase because – SURPRISE – my prop baseball bat definitely didn’t fit in my usual suitcase. I ended up having to buy a 30 inch (? Maybe?) suitcase so my 32” bat would fit diagonally in the case. I spent the Sunday before my flight wandering around Marshall’s with a tape measure and a calculator to figure out the dimensions I needed for my 32” hypotenuse.

Yeah. That’s right. Suck it grade school math teachers who told us we’d wouldn’t always have calculators on us. This kid definitely made use of my calculator and some triangle math in the middle of the store.

I’m happy to report that everything fit fine and my suitcase was only like 5 pounds overweight. Which Delta didn’t seem to care about.

Well.

Almost everything fit.

Appa, in fact, did not fit. And he has NEVER missed a DragonCon since I acquired him at DragonCon in 2022. We were not about to start now.

But hey, sky bison plushies count as a personal item, right?

I’m not ashamed to admit that I lied to two Delta cabin crews, telling them I was transporting him for my “niece”. (I don’t have a niece)

I only feel a little bad about it. But they were good sports and made my “niece” (me) very happy. I was also lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me for the first leg of the journey which made for some hella cute photos.

My layover was in Salt Lake City where I tried dirty soda — YUCK — but also cinnamon sugar “beignets” from the dirty soda place — YUM — even if they’re not real beignets. Appa found an allosaurus. And we had a generally pleasant time while finally getting to eat some breakfast.

After that it was onward to Atlanta and DragonCon. I deeply regretted leaving behind all that glorious humidity-free west coast, but I supposed the trade off was being able to reconnect with my besties, and join all my DragonCon frens for what I knew was going to be a lot of work but also a lot of fun.

DragonCon and I are both turning forty this year. Crazy, I know. But I think that made it a little more special, maybe? I also cosplayed for the first time ever (!!!) which was way too much fun even if I was an absolute party-pooper and had to call it a night at 10:30pm. My knees and my back were not thrilled with me.

Words cannot express how fun this all was, and how ecstatic I was to not only get to do more impactful work but to also see it all come together.

AND … more than anything …

I GOT TO MEET TWO BEAUTIFUL HUMANS whose artistry and craft alongside the tireless work and talent of many others basically saved my life when I was a teen.

No, I’m not exaggerating. I wish I was.

When Farscape tumbled into my life I was neck deep in loss, grief, pain, and suffering from undiagnosed, untreated, and ignored mental health problems. I was gaslit by most of the adults in my life into thinking there was nothing wrong with me and that I was just being dramatic. I was also punished for things like self-harm and disordered eating instead of being offered help. There was no one I trusted, and yet this show came into my life and gave me a place to hide from all of this trauma.

I mean “hide” not in a bad way — but as in it gave me a place where I could wrap myself up with my favorite characters and just breathe. Be me. And find ways to dampen all the noise in my brain.

Being able to tell Ben and Claudia that in person, and to have Claudia share similar experiences and validate mine … there just aren’t words. I felt so seen and my inner-teen felt just as seen, and loved, and a little bit healed. I’m still not sure why or how but I’m leaving Atlanta feeling a bit lighter (even if my suitcase is about 8 lbs heavier, lol).

I also spent some time visiting with other fun guests including some boys from “The Boys”, and got autographs for a few acquaintances from Michael Ironsides and RDA (who I’m not supposed to call Richard or MacGyver unless I want a pack of SG-1 fans coming for me). More to come about some of the non-celeb guests I got to hang with who were equally interesting and amazing and talented. Just not in this post.

I’m also SO PROUD of one of my close friends for being amazingly creative and bringing to life the absolute BEST puppet versions of Carter and O’Neill from SG-1. She looked absolutely thrilled, and gorgeous in her custom skirt. And so did her pal who joined us this year.

I’m also just reminded, every single year, that found family is where it’s at. Yes, you’ve got the family you’re born with. But when they let you down (or at least some of them let you down), there’s always your found family to help pick up the pieces and remind you that you are loved. My DragonCon fam is just that. A found family who’s there for me whether we’re in the same zip code or not, and who are just as neurospicy and awkward as me.

Right now me and Appa are 32,000 feet in the air, flying over … somewhere. North of Salt Lake City but South of Helena? We’re headed to Seattle to catch one more plane that will take us home …

… Our West Coast home. Because that’s home now. 😊 In the land of wildfires, library cats, aggressive turkeys, no humidity, and Bigfoot.

Later gators,

Ames