Baycon, San Jose, CA May 2008

helix90 and I went to Baycon in 2005, and 2006, and I had been a few times back in the 80’s. It usually falls on or near my birthday, so it’s a nice way to celebrate. During the con, I wore all my steampunk outfits to essentially be a walking billboard for Steamcon. It worked quite well, and we met lots of folks interested in the event. helix90 and I both got hall costume award ribbons. We chatted with Tim Powers and his lovely wife Serena. She was very taken with my wardrobe and might be working on an adventuress outfit. She already has a pith helmet.

The con was in a new (to them) hotel this year. We weren’t using all the event space, so there were other people as well, which caused a few odd moments. I had a lot of mundanes approach and ask me what we were doing. They all seemed charmed by the outfits.

I found the rooms of the new hotel less than desirable. They were “Danish Modern” and had almost no storage or surfaces. With so much costuming it was awkward. The “art” hanging in our room was bordering on creepy. The staff although often overworked were very enthusiastic about the con and con-goers. One manager told us that it was the best weekend she had ever had there. She was even collecting ribbons. I gave her several and she hugged me and told me she loved me. It was very sweet. Another young woman working in the bar was fascinated with us and kept coming back to chat.

The masquerade and amateur photo pit had a lot of small problems so we decided to give them a miss. We attended a few panels, but nothing outstanding. Mostly we sat in the well located and comfy bar and watched people go by, took photos, and had many great conversations with fascinating folks.

The theme of the con was “pirates in space”, but most folks who dressed were just the old fashioned kind. One group of especially young and busty pirate gals walked by and I just had to say “Oh look, pirates of the Barbie Coast!” I think I need to do a cartoon of it.

The dealer’s room was large, but not well laid out. I found the perfect pair of goggles for a new outfit I was wearing and helix90 got a bowler hat to complete his. There was a new dealer, Samiah . It was their first sci-fi con. They had really gorgeous pirate coats and a few other designs. I got a sheer purple striped wrap around dress. It shows off a really amazing amount of cleavage. I wore it that night and ran into another amply endowed friend. Luckily the overhead-cleavage-cam was on hand to record the event.

We planned an extra day to run off to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom afterwards. Since we were only there to see the animals, and not ride roller coasters, we avoided most of the crowds. The weather was lovely and I of course forgot to put on sunscreen. I got a slight burn on my forehead. I found a few fabulous pins in the clearance section. And despite there being absolutely no room in our luggage for them I had to get the Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy pillows.

That night we met up with a friend for dinner and then went to the Glass Cat for Death Guild, their Goth/Industrial night. It was awesome. I wish we could manage that in Seattle.

It was a good con and meeting great people made it perfect. I think we managed to get more supporters for Steamcon and we definitely made some good contacts. Ah, now for the post con depression to kick in.

Baycon Gallery, all photos by helix90
Con report later...