CaleCon I

What an incredible experience! My sister, Kaye, and I heard about CaleCon shortly after we had the great good fortune to find our way to Caledon, and we impetuously signed up to go. To us, it was an excellent excuse to meet up for a vacation together, which we never get to do. In the months preceding the actual event, we fought bouts of nerves and wondered if we really wanted to mix SL and RL, but we'd already bought our plane tickets and so ... brand new passports in hand, away we went!

Getting there proved a tad more difficult than anticipated. I shan't go into detail; anyone who has flown much has surely experienced something similar. Suffice it to say we lost a whole day of our precious vacation together due to mechanical problems with my flight. Luckily, we had built in an extra travel day on each end of the weekend, so we didn't miss any of the CaleCon events.

Arriving at the Stone Willow Inn, we immediately bumped into Elrik and his lovely wife, Paeony, as they were heading out for coffee. A bit tired from the drive up from New York, we declined their gracious invitation and headed off to our room for a rest before the evening's festivities.

And what a lovely evening it was! Still a bit nervous, we appeared at the door of Her Grace Eva Bellambi's suite, where we were surprised indeed to meet Her Grace Kamilah Hauptmann, who was not at all what we expected. Then into the suite, where Her Grace hosted a delightful cocktail party, with excellent wine and champagne and tasty little edibles. One by one (sometimes two by two) everyone showed up; there were surprises for most everyone. We stayed and talked for four hours. By the end of the evening it was as if we had all been friends forever.

Saturday morning Kaye and I thought we would go shopping, but first we meandered down to breakfast, joining some of the gang on the patio. Others joined in until everyone was there, and ... again! ... we spent hours just sitting and talking. Shopping could wait -- how much more fun to get to know these amazing, witty, brilliant people! And for a special treat -- a Skype conversation with Des, our beloved Governor, for well over an hour!

In the afternoon, Elrik, Paeony, Kamilah, Kaye and I went to see Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew in Stratford, which was a fabulous, fabulous experience. The best Shakespeare I've seen! The rest of the gang -- or most of them anyway -- went in to Stratford to a tea house and had a lovely time tasting samples of various teas.

We all met up again for our banquet, where the Vicereine of Lionsgate appeared in full lioness regalia, much to our astonishment and delight. We dined and laughed, chatted, joked, and had an all-in-all wonderful time ... and then it was time to dance!

Many of you saw the simulcast and heard Her Grace Gabrielle Riel's broadcast. Kudos to Elrik for getting all the necessary electronics to make it happen and for doing all that set up and tear down! According to Paeony, Elrik is the gadget king, and he certainly knows how to make things work!

We pranced and danced and talked to you good folks. Otenth snuck inworld so that we could pick up the local chat and chat back with you. Gabi did her usual incredible job DJ'ing, as well as interviewing some of us on air. It was truly a marvelous and unique experience. It was fun to "see" your reactions to the simulcast!

At breakfast the next morning., we again tarried, enjoying one another's company. Kamilah presented a workshop later in the morning on animation, but I must confess at this point that I, being by far the least technologically able person there, whined and pleaded with Kaye to pleeeease go shopping with me, which she most graciously did. We trotted off to Stratford, where we found all sorts of delightful goo-gahs to take home.

We made it back to the Inn just in time for Sir JJ's chocolate symposium, where we tasted bits of some of the most amazing chocolate! And all the while, Sir JJ imparted to us the long and fascinating history of that lucious treat. My favorite was the dark chocolate and orange, but there were so many good ones that it's hard to just pick one. Afterwards, we all stumbled to our respective rooms and collapsed in sugar stupors ....

And then came the pub crawl! My oh my, what an experience! Off to Stratford we went, with Her Grace Kamilah and Miss Paeony volunteering to be the designated drivers for the evening. At the Boar's Head we had a lovely dinner, very jocular, and drinks of course. Taking our leave sometime later, we strolled down the street to Bentley's, where more lively conversation (and a bit of tippling) ensued. Then up and off again for our third and last pub (the name of which I simply cannot recall -- too much tippling, perhaps?), where, wonder of wonders, they served absinthe! The more daring of us (and you know who you are) ordered the green fairy, which was served in the traditional way: the absinthe in a glass with an absinthe spoon set across the top. A lump of sugar sits on the spoon and is set aflame just before serving. When the flame dies out, a small bit of water is poured over the remaining sugar so that it drips through the slots in the spoon, theoretically taming the tartness of the absinthe before drinking. I say theoretically because I tasted it and must admit it made my nose wrinkle right up. I was immediately put in mind of that cold-season staple, Nyquil. Thankfully, I returned to my Bailey's over ice.

Then it was back to the Inn and to bed for the pub crawlers. Those of us who didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn the next day met for breakfast in the morning before saying our sorrowful goodbyes.

A few things worth mentioning:

Planning for CaleCon II has begun! Cities are being investigated. There was also talk of Scotland and renting a CASTLE for a future CaleCon event.

Kaye and Soliel, both horticulturists, had much in common and much to talk about over the weekend!

Whenever a topic was mentioned --any topic, any time -- about which there was the slightest bit of ignorance, Sir JJ did instant research and found answers to any questions that arose.

Paeony, Elrik's wife, is a poet!

Everyone was superbly tolerant of my technological ignorance, and I never (hardly ever anyway) felt out of place.

And finally, my quick impressions about each of my fellow attendees:

Otenth -- kind and gentle, with the most amazingly beautiful brown eyes.
Gabi -- determined, capable, and what a great voice! Radio Riel is the perfect avocation.
Eva -- glamorous and gorgeous even in jeans -- but still just one of the gang. So fun!
Soliel -- so full of life, so full of ideas! Someone with whom you could share secrets.
Kamilah -- thoughtful, generous, a lion with a servant's heart.
Elrik -- the techno-dude! smiling always, a good word for everyone, love listening to that charming accent!
Paeony -- A poet with a poet's heart. So sweet and easy to be around.
JJ -- Totally brilliant, knows something about everything or if not can find it in a nanosecond. And has the most delightful smile -- talk about lighting up a face!
Kaye -- Not a first impression because I've known her ... let's see ... my whole life! But fun to watch her interact with people as sharp as she is -- and so witty! Had some of the best "lines" of the weekend.

My fellow Caledonians, if ere you get the chance, attend CaleCon ... it was a magnificent experience.