Froggy!

So my guess was right, they sold out online but NOT in person. YAY!! I almost didn't get there though because my GPS needs an exorcism. It took me somewhere strange outside of Loveland and I'm like why am I driving and driving? I thought this place was like 3 miles away. Also weird going along the river (the little miami I think) in Loveland there were the poorest houses ever along the water (I'm used to the rich folk hogging up water front).

I pull over. GPS says now the address doesn't exist (so where the fuck were you trying to take me?!?) I put in the Oasis convention center and boom there it is (with the address it says doesn't exist). I get there 10 to 10, it's already packed so they made money hand over fist.

Let me contrast this with Mothman. Both had speakers but Mothman is a street festival (overcrowded) and vendors jammed everywhere and speakers in the worst places you can imagine (never comfortable but to be fair the town doesn't HAVE nice venues for this) Loveland is only 2 years into this but they have this golf course convention center so this felt like any other pop culture con, comfortable with a huge ballroom over 50+ vendors and nice speaking rooms. I caught all the talks but one (I should have skipped the last one instead of that one)

I don't even remember them all but James Willis (who comes to my library to do ghost talks) gave the loveland frogman origin story, Sherri Brake (another research I've been talking to for years at Mothman) gave one on paranormal research and she broke my heart a little. She said the Lowe hotel in Point Pleasant is closed!! I had planned on a room for Mothman. I am so sad (their web page doesn't confirm this) She also does haunted Ireland trips but never when I can go.

One of the two talked about this cemetery in Centralia WV (not the burning one in PA) and said it had the weirdest headstones ever (which is something from them) I need to figure out how fat that it from me and pay it a visit if I can. There was a talk on UFOs too and one on the Melonheads and Dogman of Defiance OH.

The vendor room was great, TONS of art (No Dana you have no wall space), tons of jewelry (No Dana you have no neck space), tons of stickers (what is it with you and stickers in the last year and you NEVER put them on anything), some gothy art (I do one style of them) authors, comic book authors and more.

I got to take video of Frogman Piper Parade I wanted to be IN it but didn't make it in time (I joined in for the tail end)

I got to talk to the steampunk frogman and it got cut short when I spotted my friend from York. Didn't know Rain was going to be there. It was nice to see her.

I picked up a lot of stickers, stuff for friends for birthdays, some books (including a haunted cemetery book another friend just told me about and this author does ghost tours in Columbus. I need to do this. We talked about doing investigations in Wellston's cemetery) I got a cool felted mothman but what I shocked myself with was a pendant made of an epoxy encased morel mushroom. Honestly the ones in the shitake caps were prettier (let's face it morels look like turds) but this necklace wouldn't let me leave it there. I rather love it (I'm suddenly into mushrooms after a lifetime of not giving a damn, it's like my third piece of mushroom jewelry in 6 months)

I really enjoyed it. I'd come back next year.

I wanted to go to Teak for dinner. However it is in historic Loveland which is a) adorable b)full of unique eateries, bars and shops c) has no parking. There are public lots a couple blocks away but I felt like I was on a merry-go-round, me and several other cars going around and around the blocks with no joy. Finally I swing it into an apartment parking lot and pick another restaurant on my list (what? You don't pick out a half dozen restaurants complete with addresses everywhere you visit?)

GPS says address doesn't exist (screams inside my heart) I put in the name Pacific Kitchen and bing GPS finds it (complete with the nonexistent address) Anyone have holy water?

This restaurant is in a nearby town and it's in a little complex that reminds me of Mystique seaport in that the buildings are done to look like an old world town. The Pacific Kitchen is pan-Asian with little flags by the dishes so you know where they're from (mostly China, Korea and Japan). I picked crab cannollis which turns out to be skinny egg rolls filled like a crab rangoon (yum so damn good) and a Cambodian dish, steamed shrimp stuffed with garlic chili paste over japchae sweet potato noodles and veg. DELICIOUS. I could eat that garlic chili paste with a spoon. The only hiccups were the group of 6 couples and their 6 kids under the age of 3 there for a birthday party (seriously this place has no kids menu, it's expensive, why here?) seated next to me (the babies thankfully calmed down, their parents didn't) and the fact that the shrimp were butterflied but I didn't realize the entire shell was still on (You couldn't see it when you lifted them up) and I got a mouthful of shell on the first one. Lesson learned.

Returned to the hotel to find an entire boy's sports team in the lobby eating about 20 LaRosa's pizzas and have been running and screaming and chanting school spirit songs for the last 3 hours. In my head I'm on the roof with them singing I take one aside and yeet him off and 98 more boys on the wall....

I'm glad I said something about the ice cold shower last night. Oh...you're so far away from the hot water tank you need to let it run about 10 minutes to get it hot. Yep that was the case (but what a waste of water)

Gorgeous needlework, terrified to ask cost

Steampunk Frogman

my weird necklace