Wizard World Portland Comic Con '13

Instead of going to the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle that we've been to for the last two years this year we decided to check out the local Comic Con scene. My dad found a Groupon for discounted admission to Friday of the Wizard World Comic Con. We knew it wasn't going to be as big but we still wanted to see what it was like compared to Seattle's. My dad also found out that the people that run Emerald City's Comic Con are now in charge of the Rose City Comic Con that this fall. So instead of doing two days in Seattle we decided to do two separate days at  two different Portland Comic Cons. Also as a bonus we didn't have to spend money on hotels since it is just across the river.
All in all we had a blast! "We" include myself, my dad, Connor and Katie which is a perfect sized little group. Most people wouldn't think of us as die hard comic nerds but there are some great other things about Comic Con other than the nerdiness and adoration for fantastical worlds and characters that wouldn't necessarily come to mind first. The thing that I fell in love with when we went to our first Emerald City Comic Con was the art. Getting to go from table to table and see different interpretations on beloved characters and different styles just fills me the happiness that led to me become an art major. I love getting to flip through different artist's portfolios, talk to them about techniques and get to see the faces that go behind the amazing pieces of work before me and just chat or joke around with them. We get to meet and interact with such interesting people who's passion has directed them to this world.
The second thing I love is the costumes. Some may make fun of these people and think they're "nerds" and not in touch with reality or they need to grow up but I don't see that. I see people who have gotten to know characters and worlds created in such a great way that they've fallen in love with them. Nobody would make fun if these people were dressed up as strictly literary characters. I just love that these people love these fantasy worlds so much and that they get a chance once a year to be awesome to a select crowd of people for looking like that character. Also it's a fun puzzle trying to figure out who each character is or what they're from.
The third thing I love about these conventions is the panels. Unfortunately there weren't any on the day we went that interested us enough to go but it was okay with us.

Pros to this Comic Con:
-THE CROWDS- We knew it was going to be smaller so we were totally prepared. But smaller has some benefits, as in we didn't have to stand in a mass huddle of a couple hundred people waiting to get in the doors just to get our ticket with a giant smelly guy trying to make friends with us or a backpack jutting into my face for an hour. We got our tickets easy enough stood in a line but it was fun because it wound around the room and went upstairs so we got to watch passerby's costumes while we waited. And going around from booth to booth was SO MUCH BETTER. Usually it takes a little effort to get through each lane and you sometimes have to wait at certain booths for lines but this was so low-key that we got to move around at our own pace without feeling pressure to move on.
-DISTANCE- I already mentioned this but it is nice saving money on hotels and going to one that was closer to home. That way we don't feel too guilty for how much money we spend on art.
-SEEING FAMOUS PEOPLE- At the Emerald City Comic Con the whole lower level is devoted to the celebrities that come and that you can meet and take pictures with. But there behind curtains most of the time or they are just really far away so you see them but don't really see them. Well the celebrities at this Comic Con were just out in the open. They still had their lines and tables they were at but we got within a couple feet of them. Highlights were Lou Ferrigno and Henry Winkler (in a cute pink sweater) who Connor got a "How's it going?" from! So cool to see them being real people!

Cons to this Comic Con:
-SIZE- Emerald City is rather grander and a lot bigger. Which just means more artists you get to see and more to do.
-PANELS- This was really just because we went on Friday (which was the only day our Groupon was good for). I think there were some on Saturday that we would've gone to. But again we were totally okay with not going to any
-MINI-VACATION- There is something nice about taking a mini-vacation to Seattle, especially going to Pike's Place Market. But this way I didn't have to deal with the stress of having to take time off work.

Again we all had a blast and left with a little less cash but a few personally prized additions to our own Comic Con art collections.

but now the part you really want to see, the pictures:

Portland Expo Center

Dad (and character from the poster behind us): Expert level photobombers

 

That kid's Assassin's Creed costume was quite impressive and he's hanging out with Link!

This is mainly what we do at these conventions. Flipping through portfolios and seeing different art on display (this guy only had b/w comic book panels for sale)

Connor and Daredevil

For lunch we walked down a block to Subway which we thought was a better idea than paying $9+ dollars for a sandwich inside the center

Darth Vaderess Punk Rock Version?

Every so often an artist would come over and sketch on the windows of Zipcar as part of a promo

An awesome little Megaman

Me and cool blue haired Asian fairy

With the only member of the 501st Legion (charity that dresses up as Star Wars characters and give proceeds to Children's Hospital) that was available for pictures

Lou Ferrigno! (you were terrible on Celebrity Apprentice but man you got muscles!)

The best picture I could get of Henry Winkler (he's the one in the pink sweater) because pictures weren't really allowed but I was being sneaky

My first print that I fell in love with at first sight. This artist creates images using text from the books/movies. SO NEAT!

Doctor Who Tardis in the Clouds print (the line is from the scanner, it was too long to fit)

10th Doctor "Mew" (Connor got the whole set of all Doctors as cats!) I just couldn't not buy this print

Happy Valentimes

Cody used to joke around with me whenever I asked him what he was in the mood for (to eat). Most every time I got this response: "Love Salad!"

When asked what love salad was he told me it was basically a salad of lobster and steak (Cody's two favorite things to eat) but really minus the lettuce. Of course he never got his wish and we'd end up going to Quizno's or choosing something else. 

But I also ladies probably know MEN ARE SO HARD TO SHOP FOR! Girls have items that can be collected such as jewelry, accessories, shoes etc etc and they never really can have enough because there's always something new and super cute. Well men aren't so lucky. Cody basically has all that he "needs" other than things that cost $100+ so shopping for a present that is meaningful and also something he would actually enjoy getting. So for Valentine's Day I figured I would just make Cody his favorite meal. We both had to work Thursday so I figured a night in was best. I had Friday off so we were going to go out to dinner then (and skip out on all the Valentine's Day date crowds). I also got lucky and got off work early so I got to drop some V-day presents off to my family because my mom used to always do a little something for us so I thought it was about time I returned the favor. Then I got to come home and relaxingly make a meal full of love for the one I love. And I found some hilarious flutes at the dollar store. I think it was the best purchase of the day!

Birthday at the Beach

For Cody's 24th birthday his parents lovingly gave us a two night stay at the beach! It was our first over night trip we got to spend at the beach, just the two of us and I loved every single minute of it. We chose Lincoln City which is one of our favorites.
I found a sweet little hotel that will probably be our go-to place for Lincoln City called the Coho. Our priority was just having a view of the ocean from our room because really what's the point of staying at the beach if you can't see it right? I haven't stayed in a hotel with as good of a view of the ocean as we had. Literally our window in our room (which was pretty big) was just all ocean. And you could open up the window from both sides so we got to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the waves.

cute modern decor / yes that was our view / on warmer days they light fires in the evening time

the view from the window also the tide pools we went to

Our first day was spent mostly at outlets. I literally can't buy clothes at full price because I know I can get good deals other places so outlet shopping is my favorite. And Cody found some good birthday presents for himself. We stopped at the Woodburn Outlets first on the way down, grabbed lunch at Mo's in Lincoln City and were entertained by some sea lions messing with seagulls in the bay that the restaurant is on then hit the Lincoln City outlets. We were waiting to go to the hotel until later to try and get a good deal on a room. It's a little trick that Cody learned from his parents.

The next day we got up semi early/early for us (8:30) so we could go down and get our breakfast and make the most of the day. Next to Lincoln City is a little town called Depoe Bay.

 

One of my favorite parts is to see the spouting horns. The town is basically one street with some cute beach-y shops on one side and the other side is a wall of rocks, that when the big waves come rolling in, crash into it and they "spout" up. You actually want to be there during bad weather because you'll get bigger waves and bigger spouts so us going during the winter months is really optimal. But really when you're at a Northwest beach there's only like a month during the year where you have a really good chance of it being sunny. So really when it's gray and on and off rainy you feel more at home at the beach than if it was 70 and sunny. It's something that I've grown to love about our beaches. It's not the classical go swimming and sun bathing at the beach experience. It's the wear a couple of layers and maybe risk numbing your feet for a while walking in the water experience.

Depoe Bay Bridge

isn't that just the cutest birthday boy you've ever seen?! / we found a whale!

After that we walked just a block down the street to a little Thai place Cody had been wanting to try. Thai food may possibly be my favorite cuisine for several reasons. One- I have never had bad Thai food. Two- You can expect to pay the same price it seems, no matter where you are (about $8 for lunch a little more for dinner). Three- It always has a light healthy feel to it (unlike Chinese where sometimes you feel like poop afterwards). And four- It makes my husband happy.
After lunch we took advantage of our hotels jacuzzi and sauna and pool. We had the place to ourselves which is always nice not to have echo-y screams bouncing off the walls as you try and relax. Then back to the room to just hang out. We watched another movie and tried really hard not to just take a 3 hour nap.
Then at long last we made our way out to the beach. We would've gone down earlier but we wanted to see that tide pools that are there and low tide wasn't until 1:34 so we waited until later to go to get the most out of it.

beach access road / oceanlake sign / looking out to the great abyss

Cody and I have a little joke about when we go to the beach that our love brings the sun out. Every time we go it's always a gray cloudy day but as soon as we get onto the sand the sun comes out. No joke. We never really expect it but it always happens. So of course the whole day we were out it was rainy and drizzly and a bit cold but once we went down to the tide pools the sun came out.
I've been to the tide pools a bunch but I love them the same every time I go. I really love all the different textures you can find.

like these (click to enlarge)

We also happened to go right around sunset so that made for some pretty awesome pictures.

Like this one

this was a hermit crab i tried to pick up until i realized there was a homeless crab attacking my hand/the crab with the shell; see if you can spot the one without a shell

cool story: we saw this seagull with something in his mouth and watched as he would fly up about 10 ft then drop his catch on the sand and then on the sharp rocks until he got it open and ate it / the muscle he broke and ate the guts out of

 Then to end a perfect day we ate at Cody's favorite beach restaurant called Pier 101 that is known for their fabulous seafood and prime rib and also the place we ate minutes after we were engaged. It's the thing that made this trip a little extra special. A little over a year ago those tide pools were the exact place Cody proposed. It's nice to go back to places and see how far you've come. And I'm excited for all the other times we'll get to go back to places like this and have more adventures and memories to look back on.