This past weekend I was able to attend my 41st Anime Convention: Sakura-Con in beautiful Seattle, Washington. I had never been to the West Coast or that high up North in general so this was definitely a new experience for me. I departed from San Antonio International Airport Thursday morning at around 5 a.m. to arrive at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and make my last stop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Once in Seattle I was greeted by where he picked me up and took me to get some food. Once we arrived at the venue, I unloaded my stuff and by the way, I was still in T-Shirt and shorts, so I was really cold when I got there. Once we got the room taken care of, I noticed a Tachimukai cosplayer from Inazuma Eleven roaming around the lobby. Unfortunately I was not in cosplay and with the weather being so cold, I was debating whether or not cosplay would be a good idea in the end. For the most part on Thursday I was able to tour most of downtown Seattle and get to know my surroundings. Pre-reg line was extremely short and there was no problem in obtaining my badge. Pretty much, I was completely looking forward to the new experience, new faces, new friends and much more. My main goal that weekend was to find and since I have previously interacted with both here on DA.

The time change was also felt. Since my internal clock is so used to Central Standard Time Zone, switching to Pacific Time Zone would be a challenge for this Texan. Friday Morning arrived and I was able to change into Inazuma Japan's Endou cosplay. Seeing that it was cold, I was wearing a hoodie, but underneath, I was still wearing soccer shorts and socks. The weather was making me shake and I was freezing the entire time. Fortunately, we made it to the Old Seattle Marketplace by Pike Street where I was able to indulge in some Russian Breakfast and made a stop to the original Starbucks Coffee Shop. Once we had breakfast we headed back to the convention center where the fun began. Because this was my first time in Seattle, I was more interested in being a photographer rather than being a cosplayer. Friday was a fun day as I was able to take part in a photoshoot but also be able to photograph a lot of cosplayers. One neat thing I noticed about this convention was that the busy walkways were labeled as no-stop, no-pic zones. If anyone would stop or take pics, security would ask them to keep moving and quite frankly it was amazing since the traffic was intense and the "X" areas were vital to keep the flow moving. I was also pleased to run into , and which are what I call my Texan Con Peeps since I usually run into them in my home state of Texas. Despite the weather, my first day was a huge blast.

Saturday, I was on my quest to look for my two new cosplay friends and I was not going to give up on the search. Seeing as I previously admired their work, meeting them in person would be a great thing to do. All day I roamed around the con and eventually ran into and immediately had to take a turn around on the escalator to meet with her. Rather than being creepy about meeting her, I kindly asked her if I could get her photograph.  Upon pulling out my camera, I introduced myself as   and that is how she was able to recognize me. We had a nice chat, I complimented her work and then took a picture with her entire family. After that mesmerizing event, I proceeded on to look for . I felt like I was having bad luck until I ran into a Tidus cosplayer. I took a picture of her and then moved on. It was not until my memory clicked in that I remembered it was her. I ran back and asked if it indeed was her and sure enough I was correct. Once I knew it was her, I proceeded to interact with and chat with her. She was very fun to be with and definitely was a pleasure to meet them.

After meeting them and I took some time to head to the Seattle Space Needle and see the main attractions of the city. It was a lot of fun to experience the coast and see things I never thought I would see in my lifetime.  After spending time away from convention grounds, we took a monorail back to the location where we decided to get stamped for the evening panels.

One thing I liked about Sakura-Con was the fact that those interested in going to adult panels were to go to a table and show their ID and in return, the staff would stamp the attendee's wrist. That saved time and manpower in the end as it can get hectic checking badges and IDs at the last minute. This was pretty useful since I got to see Todd Haberkorn's not so kid friendly adult panel. That was a lot of fun, but indeed the day was coming to a close.

On Sunday, I had no time to do anything as I had an early flight back to Texas. I went off to the Exhibitor Hall and said my goodbyes to and to . It was indeed fun to see them again and took a train to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Once there, I said my goodbyes to and checked in with TSA. Once inside, I waited and boarded my flight back to Texas. Once in Texas, I changed planes in Houston where I was able to head to my final destination in San Antonio.

Also, I enjoyed giving my friend   a few Doctor Who gifts. It seems he loved them!