Heroes Con was excellent this year! They expanded the size and changed the dynamic a bit, but it worked for us. Many of the artists that were there were not having good sales – we think because of the faster flow of people. That, and the floor being twice as big was a bit disorienting for many attendees. I dunno, I think it’s just growing pains and everything will get back to normal next year.
Our con roomies, the Burnses were awesome as always (Harley and Sinestro in the pic below). We got to hang out a bit more this year than last and I got to ogle Miracole’s new Fusion! It’s a very very nice car!
We shared our table with the Coffee Bruin and his posse. I got to see Suzann and Dave a couple of times for a change! Yay!! The art auction had REAL auctioneers this year and it was a riot! I’ve never been to a real auction before and it is SO exciting! Good thing I didn’t have a bidding number or I’d own all the things! Ha! All in all, we had a great time and did well at this con. We <3 Heroes Con. Best comic con on the East Coast in my opinion.
We then went over to Wilmington NC for our 4 day vacay. It rained like crazy for the last bit of the drive over, which sucked, but we finally got there. We stayed at Stemmerman’s Inn, which was awesome. It’s in a historical building and very well run by innkeeper Michael Pryor. He’s the BEST!! My review of Stemmerman’s is on Trip Advisor. We were steps from restaurants and bars as well as Cape Fear River front which has a huge riverboat (The Henrietta) and the Battleship North Carolina. The view from the back deck was spectacular.
We checked out the Battleship – not for the fat and out of shape! LOTS of climbing. This ship, though small, is much more challenging to explore than the Yorktown in Charleston SC. They have a water taxi that takes you on a short cruise around the riverfront area then drops you off at the ship. When you’re done, you take it back to the dock. Fun!
We also checked out the Wilmington Railroad Museum, which is all about the Atlantic Coast Line, but really, GO for the TRAINS! They have elaborate model trains set up in a huge room. All the model train scales are represented and it’s amazing!
Other than those touristy things, we just hung out, ate and shopped. We ate at Dixie Grill for breakfast, Smoke for dinner, Black Sea Mediterranean Grill for lunch and had a drink at Slainte bar. We also had some yummy ice cream. All my reviews of these places are on Yelp.
We stayed an extra day at Stemmerman’s, then headed to the beach for one night. Wrightsville Beach is OK. We stayed at the Silver Gull, which was nice. The biggest downside of Silver Gull was that it’s right next to the public pier, so the beach was packed. We didn’t mind, we sat on our balcony and watched the people while drinking beer. When dinnertime rolled around, we went up to “town” and ate at King Neptune. It was OK. We walked on the now deserted beach when we got back and got some lovely sunset shots. The water was a bit chilly and the beach was covered with shells. Not big whole shells, but shell fragments. Made for unpleasant walking. Not sure what the deal is with the shells, maybe there was a storm or something.
THEN. Then, on our way home on I-95, we got to stop at the wonderland of kitsch South of the Border!! OMG! It is pretty much a CITY of quasi-Mexican tourist shlock. They have everything! A motel, steakhouse, amusement park, gas station, several tchochki shops and more! As Nick put it, “It’s a cornucrappia!” Indeed. And wondrous. I wish I could’ve seen it at night with all the neon lit up. WONDERLAND. We ate bad food, got a couple of pressed pennies and bought some really not bad home decor. Truthfully, it was the highlight of the trip for me. I just LOVE roadside cornucrappias! :)
Nick will be posting all the 500+ pics he took over at his gallery over the next week. Keep an eye out at nickmizgala.net.
Overall, it was a great trip! I managed to beat back the con crud that tried valiantly to get me. Today is our last day of vacay and I know Nick is not ready to go back to work. We have to stay home due to the Jenn Air repair guy, so we’ll just tool around here and futz. It’s been an excellent week!
Seriously, how do we NOT know each other personally? I know the Burnses! Not super-well, but we’ve spent holidays together. How weird.
As a kid, I used to insist that my parents stop at South of the Border on the way up north on our summer vacation trips. It makes me both happy and kinda sad that it’s still there in all its racially-questionable glory. :)
Ha! No idea! We should endeavor to meet up sometime! We live in Decatur, which is why we don’t see the Burnses as much as we should. It’s a damn long drive and the current 285 construction is a nightmare. That, and Miracole is working herself to death right now (Nec. Roughness shooting). Shoot me an email: misangela at gmail
Ohhh. I thought you were talking about the Wilmington Railroad that’s 10 minutes from my house here in Delaware. I was about to bust a cap in yo’ ass for not telling me you were around. LOL!