Mountains are pretty from an airplane

Yay! I'm home! It was nice to go back to Minnesota and all, but I was ready to not be traveling anymore. So my a-fore mentioned plans for nerdiness got rained out. We were really looking forward to going to the Minnesota Renn Fest but it was just too gross out. For those who've never been, the Renn Fest in Mn is one of the largest in the country. The shops and food make it worth the trip, even if you aren't into the silliness of costumes and fake British accents. But it's not exactly modern, or, you know, paved. When it rains there are few places to hide and the ground quickly becomes a muddy mess. So we saved our money and went to Fogo de Chao instead. The part of me that used to be a vegetarian is horrified. The rest of me was very happy.

I also made it a point to go to the comic shops in the area. It was a mixed bag to say the least. I don't want to speak ill of anyone, but lets just say I like my store a lot.

Also, Dreamhaven had moved. That store was like some kind of nerdvana. We used to go there for signings and rare books. They had all the cool photography books as well as collectibles and a huge used sci-fi/fantasy section. As we approached the (now old) location I could see empty racks in the windows. I almost had a heart attack. We stopped and I grabbed the flyer with the new location and we set out on our pilgrimmage, with a side trip to the Spyhouse. We found the new location, still in process of unpacking. I talked to the owner and he seemed so down. The new store has a lot of potential, but he was saying he was tired and ready to retire. We looked around for awhile, found Eric's books on the shelf, and then left. The owner's weariness took the wind right out of me. I wish him well, because we love Dreamhaven. If we didn't live 1400 miles away, we'd still be regulars.

All in all it was good to visit, and great to come home. Things have changed a lot. Many of our old favorites are gone, but there are some newcomers that we will enjoy next time we visit (ahem, Jake O'Connors, ahem).

I also read a lot of good stuff in the last 2ish weeks. I won't have time to cover it all in the podcast, but I'll hit the highlights. Check back here later on this afternoon, for the comic-y goodness.