BotCon Part 1 : The Flight

My baby is a superhero. Honestly. I was REALLY nervous about flying with him. All for not, he slept the whole way to TX. Not to say that I didn't inwardly freak out every time he made a peep, just awaiting his inevitable freak out...that never came. The secret really is nursing on take off and landing, keeps their little ears from popping, and then they knock out from being what I like to call "milk drunk."

Once we got to the airport in TX there was a very nice driver waiting for us with a sign and everything! I felt very fancy :) Hasbro put us up at The Omni Hotel, Dallas. It is BRAND spankin' new, and really beautiful.

I have heard my whole life of "southern hospitality." It always seemed like some abstract defunct term used to describe sweet old women who baked pies that cooled on window ledges. Coming from SoCal, I'm a BIT more used to the "I'm not really a waitress I'm an actress, waiting for my big break, so I'm going to halfway ignore you the whole time while I get your order half right and still expect at least a 20% tip," kind of service. But, not in TX. Everyone we met was so pleasant. Concierge, bellhops, doormen, waiters, waitresses, drivers...everyone was quick with a smile, and ready to point you in the right direction. Dallas is a really beautiful city, the skyline at night is beautiful, and it all seems SO CLEAN. LA is a DUMP compared to Dallas. Really. I don't really know what I was expecting, but I know it wasn't that. I truly enjoyed my experience in the Lone-Star State.

Once we checked in and got settled, we headed over to the Hyatt. I always love walking into "Con" venues. You instantly know you're in the right place, people rocking TF shirts, discussing which "Prime" is their favorite, and commiserating about the under-appreciation of Dinobots. We were meeting up with Rik Alvarez from Hasbro, who has become a friend since I met him at last years BotCon. We met up for drinks in the hotel bar, where I was shocked to recognize so many returning people from the year before. The great thing about a convention the size of BotCon is the familial feeling one gets when you become a returning attendee. You recognize faces, fans, and, at the risk of sounding cheesy feel kind of at home with your fellow geeks :) I was introduced to Kelly Vero, head writer of the upcoming Transformers Universe, who has quickly become one of my favorite people. She is a riot, and rocks some amazing super blonde spikey hair that I'd always secretly want, but never have the balls to carry through with. Rik is the one who made the amazing tribute video for my father, (which we will talk more about in Part 2: The Hall of Fame).

All in all, day one of our travels was great: great flight, great service, great food and great friends. I can't wait to tell you all about the HOF ceremony. I just need a couple days to get all of my feelings in place. It was a beautiful and emotional night. What I can say is that it was unforgettable and I really know how loved my father still is, nearly 18 years after he left us.