Alternative Press Expo 2004
Ah, San Francisco. Jewel of the west, city of my desire, and home to the
rockinest comic convention in all the world. 2004's Alternative Press Expo was a
supreme blast, and both Nan and I feel sorry for all who weren't in attendance. Here's
a rundown of our trip out to what stands out as our best "vacation" since
our honeymoon.
Thursday - 02/19/04
This was the travel day. We flew out of Dulles really damn early. So early in
fact, that we boarded the plane with only about three hours of sleep in the previous
24 hours between us. The flight was empty enough that we were both able to spread
out to other rows to lay out across three seats for napping. We slept through "Stuck
On You", the in-flight movie. Neither of us were sad to miss it.
A quick hour-and-a-half layover in Salt Lake City, and we were
back in the air to San Fran. Less sleeping this time.
(Note to smokers: Both Dulles and Salt Lake City have smoking areas in the terminals
PAST SECURITY. Those of you who smoke and fly know how important this is when flying.
Also, Charlotte's airport allows you to smoke in the bars, which is better than the
usual glass boxes found in some airports. But we didn't fly in or out of Charlotte
this trip, so who cares?)
We landed at SFO around noon and headed over to get our rental
car from Enterprise. Those fucking pricks at Enterprise wanted a $300 dollar deposit
for a $125 rental. I argued about this for a while, pointing out that nowhere in
the reservation I made online is this pointed out and that their stupid policy was
going to wreck our entire week. (The card I was going to use had $200 available credit.)
Luckily Nan had just gotten a new Credit Card and we were able to get the
car ... after an hour of waiting for one to show up.
Actually, our cheap as shit car NEVER showed up, so after another quick "discussion"
with the Enterprise folks about their "professional" and "customer
satisfying business practices", we got ourselves a free upgrade. Hot damn, there's
nothing quite like driving around town in a Chrysler Sebring Convertible with the
top down. I felt like a pimp.
After a quick stop at our hotel, we headed over to The Isotope
to see if anything was going on yet. Sleep deprived and suffering from travel fatigue,
Nan and I made one hell of an impression. (I think Ryan Yount of Scurvy
Dogs fame thought we were stoned...especially since we were both complaining
about being so damn hungry.) Dinner was Noriega Teriyaki's incredible sushi, and
after a groggy second stop into The Isotope, we were done for the night.
We slept for 12 hours.
Friday - 02/20/04
Leaving aside the fact that I love my wife, and that I enjoy her company more
than anyone else's in the world, the reason I am most glad that Nan could make the
trip this year is that she actually made a plan for seeing all the sights (both touristy
and not) in San Francisco. Last year, I came out alone, and my entire sight-seeing
experience consisted of me getting lost as fuck, randomly driving around, and somehow
going to Oakland. (This adventure can be read, in its entirety, in my 2003 APE report.)
We got up somewhat early, ate breakfast at the IHOP down the street, then hopped into our big white pimp-mobile and headed for the North Beach area. We looked out across the bay at Alcatraz, named the Sea Lions on Pier 39, and made the pilgrimage to Ghiardelli Square. Nan rode on the (apparently) famous double tiered merry-go-round, we took pictures at the crookedest street, walked on the Golden Gate Bridge, and all was right with the world.
