Air (Museum) Attack on the Way to Portland

This morning we got under way earlier than expected, even after stopping for breakfast at the Madras Black Bear Diner (#17 in the passport book), then set off for Portland. Just a few minutes later, Lisa spotted airplanes and a sign for an air museum that we hadn't heard of before. I told Lisa that we had lots of slack in our schedule for today, so we could backtrack to the airport and check it out.

( Waylaid by an Air Museum )

We would have liked to have spent more time at the museum, but Portland beckoned, so we set off once again west on US-26.

( Volcano Ahead )

Passing through Gresham, Lisa spotted another Black Bear Diner, and we stopped there and had lunch (stamp #18 in the passport). I ended up having to explain the BBD Passport Program to the cashier so she could find the stamp for their location.

( Portland, Ho! )

We met many regular Westercon attendees in the lobby of the hotel, and met up with Linda Deneroff and David W. Clark. Linda, David, Lisa, and I went to a Japanese restaurant a few blocks from the hotel, not greatly assisted by me misreading the directions and walking us the wrong way, but we got there in the end.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, where the typical Night Zero pre-con festivities were under way in the lobby bar.

( Plush Conspiracy )

So we're all settled in and ready to get started with Westercon. Fortunately, we don't have early-morning commitments on Friday, so we don't even have to set the alarm, and that's good because despite having taking three days to drive the 600 miles from Fernley, we're tried and could use some sleep without having to worry about packing out of a hotel room tomorrow morning.

Westercon 69 Day 1: It's Official

Westercon 69 is now officially open, as Chair Lea Rush opened the convention at ceremonies this evening. Programming, exhibits, and dealers opened this morning, and Lisa and I spent a fair amount of time at the San Jose in 2018 Worldcon Bid Table.

( Observations on Day 1 )

Lisa and and I went to lunch with scott_sanford, opting for the hotel bar so we did not have to go off site. Shortly after lunch, it finally dawned on me that the material I'd given Scott for the Newsletter was wrong, because the Westercon Business Meeting is tomorrow, not Sunday. Fortunately, the Friday evening edition hadn't gone to press yet and we were able to get it corrected.

Because the Business Meeting is on Saturday while Site Selection continues through Saturday afternoon, the results of Site Selection will not be announced at the Business Meeting tomorrow morning. Unlike Worldcon, you aren't required to officially announce the results at a Business Meeting. If the results are conclusive, you can simply publish them and skip a Business Meeting. It doesn't seem likely that the uncontested election for Denver will result in a replay of the 2011 Westercon Business Meeting, so I'm not expecting to have to call a special meeting for Sunday morning; however, it does also mean that we can't adjourn sine die tomorrow. Instead, we'll have to adjourn "at the call of the chair," with the call expiring if not used by Sunday morning. I don't think it will be a problem.

( Official Opening )

In a few minutes, Lisa and I will begin the process of ferrying the Match Game SF kit from our room on the 12th floor down to the function space on the ground floor where tonight's show will be. This may prove to be a challenge, given that the three elevators that serve the high tower in which we're located are already showing the strain of coping with what looks to be the biggest Westercon in years.