Hey there, back with the second installment of my Comic Con adventure in San Diego. Today, a look back at my first full day in San Diego (July 23)
After heading out of my friend Lance's place, I was driven out to the train station nearby to head downtown and the Convention Center. This was the unofficial first day of the Comic Con, where we could pick up our credentials for the event and get a sneak peak of the floor for Preview Night before the Con opens up for everyone else the next day.
Since registration wasn't going to be open for a few hours, this gave me the chance to get my first look at the city, which I was looking forward to. Unfortunately, I had missed the train that would've taken me downtown and the next train wasn't going to show for a couple hours.
However, the time I waited down there wasn't a complete loss, because not far away from the train station was this:
:
The beach, which I had never been to as far as the coast was concerned. Very cool.
One of my favorite shots from my trip.
After hanging out there for a few, I boarded the train and made it downtown and then hopped the trolley to the Convention Center. Let me tell you, the Convention Center in San Diego is freakin' huge! It's probably the biggest place I've been to as far as convention centers go. It's two levels high and has a ton of open space and rooms, places that I will soon discover as the Con went on.
After getting in line to get my credentials, I hung around the area for another hour or so before the Center opened up for Preview Night. Trying to get in at that time, along with everyone else, was brutal, but I did make it in and saw how insanely huge the main floor with all the booths and exhibits was. I was told going in that the place was big enough for a football field and they were right. I would find out later during my time there that to cover all the exhibits it would take roughly 3 hours. Crazy.
I then checked out the floor for about an hour or so, staying in line for one of the events that was going on. Then, I headed upstairs to check out the marquee event of the night: a first look at the pilot episode of Fox's Fringe.
Now, this new show, from J. J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) had me hooked from the first minutes on. It was very creepy, very cool and had some good humorous moments. It reminded me of the early days of the X Files with a touch of Lost thrown in. From what I saw a month and a half ago, this made me a fan of the show that now airs Tuesday nights.
As I left the room, I was approached by an online web site to give my impressions of the Fringe pilot. I gave them my two cents in a favorable review. (I won't give you the site name cause my comments didn't make the final cut for their report) Then, as I tried to make my way out of the Center, the place again was a zoo. I barely made it to the trolley station in time to catch the trolley out of the area. My last memory of Preview Night: Being literally pinned to the doors of the trolley as it rode out as I caught the very last available spot.
Overall, a pretty good day and night. Would've loved to had spent some more time around the area, but that's for another day.
Coming up next: The first full day of Comic Con, where I met an online friend, some TV stars and some superheroes.
