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I loved Conflikt. It was hard at times, because the boys - especially Drew - had a hard time with it. Drew wanted to be at the concerts! Except he didn't want to be quiet or sit still. I was trying to balance letting him hear with not disrupting for others, and I hope I managed to keep him from disrupting for others. Compounded by the fact that if he hadn't been disruptive to others before, he sure was when I removed him from the room. Kid can howl.
But the con itself was wonderful. I got to see people! And say hi to and hug friends I get to see far too rarely. Some of them I saw only briefly in passing, and some I ran into repeatedly all weekend, and both were good, though of course a weekend in which we all magically get all the music *and* all the time we want with all our various friends (and they with theirs and so on) would be lovely...sadly, still short on the magic wand for that.
Loving the new hotel. NOT liking the prices - the restaurant there is to be avoided vigorously. I am pretty sure it would be cheaper to walk to the airport and eat in a sit-down restaurant at airport prices. The hotel rooms aren't cheap either. They're nice. They're just not cheap. Very happy with the space we had, the comfort level, etc. (Not thrilled with the view of the pool, but that's because it was out of order as they waited on a part and Drew kept seeing it and wanting to swim. Which reminds me: I owe him a trip to a pool here in the next couple weekends, since I told him we'd do that instead.)
The convention space is glorious, especially as it's not near hotel rooms at all and not subject to the "keep it down, darnit!" rules that apply there. The rooms seem to be really well soundproofed overall, and they were *all together on one floor*. Yay! And comfy.
Small niceties: I never tried to get water at any point without *getting water*. I so dislike when water services run dry, and if these ever did, it wasn't when I was there.
Okay, this is where my friends who have been in filk longer get reminded that I haven't, since I am clueless so often. That's okay, I have new music.
Had not heard Heather Dale perform. Or Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. Or in fact pretty much anyone who was the "main act" - although certainly many of those performing with them I had heard previously, at other Conflikts mostly. Let me put it this way: shiny shiny SHINY concerts.
I was lucky. I had backlogged "treat money" (work bonuses), so I pretty much bought whatever struck my fancy, music-wise. This probably made several performers I hadn't previously heard quite happy; it certainly made ME quite happy as now I have lots of lovely music.
I deeply wish Scott had not been back in the room with the boys for the Bohnhoff's concert in particular, as I believe he would have LOVED it. But I can't wish we had traded places, because I also loved it. I just wish Drew had been in a concert mood! (Ian was asleep, but he could probably have slept even through that concert. Ian can sleep through just about anything if he must. Except being set down when he wants to be held. Baby who can sleep through loud noises or parental dancing nonetheless wakes as soon as gravity shifts as though one is leaning to set him down. I swear it's a superpower.)
Bid on various things in the Interfilk auction, but idly. Got outbid, as you might expect, for idle-interest bids. Would not have been sad to win any of them. Was not sad to not-win them either. WAS sad I forgot to bring anything to donate to the auction, but the idea I had this year will still be nifty next year, so.
I really miss the streaming for members that was done last year, and hope it will be possible again in the future. (One or the other of us watched so many concerts from the room last year. It made a huge difference in how doable the con was with kids in tow!)
Pre-registered for next year. Home. Mostly unpacked. Laundry partially done. Routine house stuff I'd normally do on the weekend mostly done. Grocery shopping done.
And I should now stop writing this and go get more laundry done. :P I *swear* there was something else I meant to talk about in this post, but it's eluding me now like an elusive thing.
But the con itself was wonderful. I got to see people! And say hi to and hug friends I get to see far too rarely. Some of them I saw only briefly in passing, and some I ran into repeatedly all weekend, and both were good, though of course a weekend in which we all magically get all the music *and* all the time we want with all our various friends (and they with theirs and so on) would be lovely...sadly, still short on the magic wand for that.
Loving the new hotel. NOT liking the prices - the restaurant there is to be avoided vigorously. I am pretty sure it would be cheaper to walk to the airport and eat in a sit-down restaurant at airport prices. The hotel rooms aren't cheap either. They're nice. They're just not cheap. Very happy with the space we had, the comfort level, etc. (Not thrilled with the view of the pool, but that's because it was out of order as they waited on a part and Drew kept seeing it and wanting to swim. Which reminds me: I owe him a trip to a pool here in the next couple weekends, since I told him we'd do that instead.)
The convention space is glorious, especially as it's not near hotel rooms at all and not subject to the "keep it down, darnit!" rules that apply there. The rooms seem to be really well soundproofed overall, and they were *all together on one floor*. Yay! And comfy.
Small niceties: I never tried to get water at any point without *getting water*. I so dislike when water services run dry, and if these ever did, it wasn't when I was there.
Okay, this is where my friends who have been in filk longer get reminded that I haven't, since I am clueless so often. That's okay, I have new music.
Had not heard Heather Dale perform. Or Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. Or in fact pretty much anyone who was the "main act" - although certainly many of those performing with them I had heard previously, at other Conflikts mostly. Let me put it this way: shiny shiny SHINY concerts.
I was lucky. I had backlogged "treat money" (work bonuses), so I pretty much bought whatever struck my fancy, music-wise. This probably made several performers I hadn't previously heard quite happy; it certainly made ME quite happy as now I have lots of lovely music.
I deeply wish Scott had not been back in the room with the boys for the Bohnhoff's concert in particular, as I believe he would have LOVED it. But I can't wish we had traded places, because I also loved it. I just wish Drew had been in a concert mood! (Ian was asleep, but he could probably have slept even through that concert. Ian can sleep through just about anything if he must. Except being set down when he wants to be held. Baby who can sleep through loud noises or parental dancing nonetheless wakes as soon as gravity shifts as though one is leaning to set him down. I swear it's a superpower.)
Bid on various things in the Interfilk auction, but idly. Got outbid, as you might expect, for idle-interest bids. Would not have been sad to win any of them. Was not sad to not-win them either. WAS sad I forgot to bring anything to donate to the auction, but the idea I had this year will still be nifty next year, so.
I really miss the streaming for members that was done last year, and hope it will be possible again in the future. (One or the other of us watched so many concerts from the room last year. It made a huge difference in how doable the con was with kids in tow!)
Pre-registered for next year. Home. Mostly unpacked. Laundry partially done. Routine house stuff I'd normally do on the weekend mostly done. Grocery shopping done.
And I should now stop writing this and go get more laundry done. :P I *swear* there was something else I meant to talk about in this post, but it's eluding me now like an elusive thing.
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If it makes you feel any better, I only really got to hear Heather Dale and Ben in person for the first time last year. (I'd been told about their music and know a lot of people who adore them, but somehow kept missing them various places.)
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* 2010 - one-year-old - I wondered if we'd be able to make it, as he got a vomiting sickness the week before, but he was better by the con. I don't have strong notes on how Drew did, just a comment in my journal that he "had fun", but my best recollection is that he did pretty well.
* 2011 - two-year-old Drew - did pretty well, but higher energy and dashing about / wanting or needing to be out of con space more.
* 2012 - three-year-old Drew and infant Ian - Drew had a very hard time and wanted to be active. Dancing (fine!), running and yelling (not fine). This was the year they had a live streaming feed for attendees; Scott spent a lot of time in the room with Drew, watching via that feed. I spent a lot of time at the con, holding Ian, who was not quite two months old and was mostly perfectly happy to be held as long as I fed him when needed and periodically changed his diapers.
This year you've seen.
Infants are infants, but the very young (not yet mobile) generally do okay as long as you're prepared to care for their needs. The mobile may need more entertainment, and you have to worry about keeping them from crawling/trying to walk through spaces where they might get run over. This isn't a huge concern at Conflikt, but it might be at some other types of conventions!
Toddlers/preschoolers, most of them I know can't sit still for as long as you'd like. (Drew is worse at this than average, so we'll work with him on it, but...they're littles!) You'll miss a lot unless you have backup plans.
For something like concerts, where you have to worry about noise, it gets rough. I assume panels at other cons would be similarly disrupting, although maybe a little less so. Something like games at a gaming convention - I think you'd have a hard time actually being able to count on staying at the table and playing. Which is why we have not done Gencon since Drew was born.
Well, that and the thought of a 6-8 hour plane flight with one, then two, littles, only to go to a convention we might not get to enjoy. :P
Which brings me to another point: OMG the travel. If it's not a strictly local convention, bear in mind that smalls (especially ones in their first year - this is where the small infant who is largely non-disruptive at the con becomes disruptive to you!) do NOT travel seamlessly by car. They get hungry. They need restrooms. Adults usually plan things out, stick things out, and get there. Kids...not so much. Your drive WILL take longer.
The drive from here to Conflikt should take 3-3.5 hours. Going up it took 4 - but I managed to place it so that the boyos napped more than half of that, and the last half hour Ian was crying and screaming, he was just THAT DONE with the car. (We tried fixing everything else. He just wanted out.) Coming back was 4.5-5 and the last half hour or more was a scream fest. In spite of their falling asleep for a couple hours of it.
Which is still better than July, when we went up to Seattle (which is also where Conflikt is) for a family wedding. That drive took 6-7 hours with all the stops. Ian and Drew, of course, staggered their needs so one wasn't hungry/eating when the other had to be. AUGH!
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I enjoyed being in a situation where I pretty much -had- to make the Bohnhoffs' concert. Their music isn't in my favourite style, but their musicianship is solid enough that it didn't matter that much and it was nice to get more exposure to it.