So, after seven years, I finally made my way back up to the bay area with Anjel for FC 2017. It was an amazing trip, where to begin?
We met up with an old friend of Anjel's whom we roomed with and who was super awesome enough to drive us around to see a bunch of awesome stuff in the area. The last time I made it to FC in 2010 we only stuck around San Jose, which was really fun and cool enough. But this time, oh man...
So, right after we get off the plane we discover that the hotel we were at was having power outages, so instead of lingering around to wait, we decide to go to a rainforest an hour away to hang out with some coastal redwoods. It had been raining hard for a few days prior to our arrival, so the forest was all wet and primeval, with all kinds of moss, bromeliads, and fungus everywhere. In addition to the awesomeness of the redwoods themselves, the place was full of mushrooms (and banana slugs!). The idea of being in a desert in the morning and a rainforest a few hours later was definitely cool too. I also remembered from my various research on certain things that there were Psilocybe mushrooms that were native to the environment. And, after looking around for a bit, I finally was able to make my first Psilocybe mushroom identification in the wild, with Anjel's help (either azurescens, or cyanescens I suspect). And no, I didn't eat any. Sorry to disappoint. We did, however, eat a Sushirito afterwards, which was this California-as-fuck combination of sushi and a burrito that was deceptively amazing, despite being located in the most painfully ritzy shopping mall I've ever been to in my life. But, Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley, so what can you do, right? :D
We also wound up going to San Francisco a couple of days later, which was completely awesome (aside from killing the lower half of myself on the crazy hills). It was also my first time, and I've been wanting to go there my whole life. Between Star Trek, my dad being in California in the Navy in the 70's, and my fascination with 60's counterculture, it's definitely been on my list for, hell, decades at this point. Anyway, we start the day in SF in Japantown where I had to get Kitsune Udon (because of course I did...), and then we wind up walking to Golden Gate Park and eventually (and best of all) Haight-Ashbury, where I had more people try to sell me weed, acid, and mushrooms than ever before (I also didn't get any, because no one should trust street acid these days, among many other more logical reasons). It was awesome, and I felt about as at home there as I did at the con, ha ha. The Haight was great, and I most certainly will be back!
Anyway, as for the con, it was really fun, as I remember FC being back in the day. Between the space, the people, and the really professional and friendly staff (the con chair made a fantastic effort to talk to us a few times in order to get feedback on making the con better, among other things), it was great. We went to TonyaSong's really informative panel on Native American cultures. We also caught both of her, PepperCoyote, and Fox Amore's shows, which, as a furry who is dabbling in music, I certainly appreciate, even though I play a different style. It's nice to see that there is a big place in furry for music these days, and it inspires me to keep working on my own stuff too. Plus, the 18+ show of theirs was really fun too. You always can tell a good furry party by how soon it takes for someone to start swinging around a 3-foot rubber horse cock. In this case, it was after about an hour. ;3
And, since this was probably the most fun aspect for me, I can't forget to mention that Anjel, after two years of work, was able to finish my Triad fursuit head (aside from a few more slight finishing touches). Literally, finished the night before the con. And, after years and years and years of getting stoned and fantasizing about this while I listen to my favorite music, I can finally do weird things like:
As to the running theme of "going down" in those videos, well, you might have to consult Freud on that, lol...
The first (Zappa) one was a homage to the awesome time I had back at FC in 2010 when we all got fucked up and recorded me singing that outside the hotel not long after I got my first tail at a con. Anyway, I assume that this is going to be my thing at cons now, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this in the future, ha ha. I also wound up doing it to P-Funk in the fursuit parade, which was fun as hell, and, corny as it sounds, a dream come true.
Anyway, the whole con was great, and hanging out in San Jose and the Bay Area with a bunch of furries after graduating with my Bachelor's in a tech field was pretty inspiring too. So, now that I'm back, I've gotta get down to business finishing this comic, getting back in touch with the fandom, and doing my web dev shit so I can pay those bills and go to more cons. Oh, and also, work on my Patreon (shameless plug: https://www.patreon.com/triadfox) too.
Anyway, thanks FC and Nor-Cal for a great con, and I'll be seeing you again next year, with any luck. ;3
Sounds like one of the better FCs, at least for you! And it's neat that you got to visit a rainforest as well - I remember my own trip to the Eden Project (a local re-creation) fondly.
Sounds like one of the better FCs, at least for you! And it's neat that you got to visit a rainfores
