Day 9: Jensen and Jared and the End.

Breakfast with Jensen and Jared, and Tonya snagged us the front/center table. Which makes up for the LAME fruit/cereal breakfast. *eye roll* At least I got coffee.

The boys came on stage to room of maybe 100 people and goofed off for a good half hour, during which I took... 154 pictures. Wow, that's sad.



They retold Misha's story but it didn't quite mesh, so I guess there's been more than one phone prank on Misha. lol. Jensen talked about his directorial debut and Jared spouted whatever came to mind. Not that I was listening. ;)



At we all left to start photo ops. Jensen's were first, and I waited for Tonya in the J&J line downstairs. Then we both went through line for our pictures with both Jensen and Jared, and then BACK down in the pit to wait our turn for Jared's picture (Tonya let me get a pic with her because she had two Jared tickets). Everything went smoothly and nothing remarkable happened. I stood on the line, put my arms around the guys, and looked at the camera. Wham Bam.



When everyone had finished photos, Jensen and Jared took the stage.




The convention sort of died when they left. Brock Kelley (Young Dean) had the next panel and it was pretty sad. He was a convention newbie and a lot of people had left. His answers were short. Conversation was lacking. But it's not his fault he got the shit spot of the weekend. Probably the reason there were any people at all was because Jared and Jensen's autographs started next.

I had each of them sign their photos. Boring. I told you I was really unprepared. While we were waiting in line, Sandy showed me her awesome Misha photo:

I love that smirk. :D

After autographs, we suffered through John Marcynuk's presentation on choosing and dressing sets for Supernatural. It was interesting enough, but felt like a college lecture. If Creation keeps inviting him back, I hope he loosens up and get more animated.

During the panel, I noticed the 15 foot banner next to the stage that each guest signs after their panel. Look at what Jensen and Jared did to my man:



*tries not to laugh* Poor Misha. This banner was auctioned off for $425.

To celebrate our survival of Creation Entertainment's 2010 Supernatural Vancouver Convention, Sandy, Theresa, Marie, Tonya and I treated ourselves to some Italian. I ordered whole wheat linguine with pesto, and it was perfect.



Back at the hotel, Tonya and I declined visiting with the girls in their room because we had to pack. Our alarm was set to go off at 4:30 am, and we needed SLEEP. Tomorrow we had to check out of the hotel, drive back to Seattle, return the Kia that wished it were a real car, get a taxi to the airport, then sit on a plane for 3 hours. *groan*

The convention was good. There were glitches, but it's understandable. And Canada was great. I loved all our sightseeing adventures and it really is a beautiful country. I hope I can come back one day. Overall, it was a great experience. But I don't want to go back to work...

MISHA

Day 8: Saturday

Misha...


Misha...


The morning started at 9:30 with Fred Lehne (the Yellow-eyed Demon) taking the stage. Rumor has it that he'd been having personal problems and was showing up to conventions drunk and even offending fans, so he'd been left of the roster for the past few conventions. When I saw him in Chicago, it was evident he'd been drinking. But today, he seemed a lot better. Very put together and pleasant--but still with that edge that makes him great.



After a short break, Rob Benedict (Chuck the Prophet) took his turn in the spotlight. The guy has come a long way since I first saw him trembling on stage in Chicago. He's got quiet confidence now and holds his own pretty well. It's impossible not to love him.



At 11:30, Matt came back!! I have no idea why he was scheduled twice, but WHO CARES.




Clif Kosterman (Jared and Jensen's bodyguard) appeared next. I really find it a little... desperate that he has his own panel, but for whatever reason, he actually has a following. Don't get me wrong, the guy was nice enough, but come on. I didn't even take his picture. *shrug*

After lunch, Samantha Smith (Mary Winchester) answered questions. She's very likable and filled the time well.

THEN.

While the stage was being reset, MISHA PHOTO OPS began. I'd bought one way back when I agreed to come to Vancouver with Tonya, and then when she was trying to buy me a Jared and Jensen photo op (because I was lazy and missed the sales and she's just good like that), she wound up with a package of photo ops including Misha, so I might have accidentally bought that one from her too. So I had TWO photo ops. Whoops.

I'd been trying to figure out what to do with the second one; I wanted one 'serious' picture and one 'goofy' one. Although I can sometimes be clever like that (see: the 'I Found the Shoe!' pic of Jared with Tonya and I), I had not come up with any great plan. But the answer had been staring me in the face the whole time. Little C, the beanie bear that had been posing in all my pictures throughout our sightseeing! The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. More than anything, I couldn't wait to show Caroline, who gave me Little C. *giggle*

On meeting Misha: I am an idiot. I get anxious, then speak without thinking. In Chicago I said something very cutting to him, though of course he blew it off. This time, I was just an idiot.

The lines for photo ops are VERY long, and inside the room there's a table where you can set down your things but other than that, you must stay on the tape line and go to where they tell you, NOW, and don't move unless they tell you. It's a very well-oiled machine, and it has to be in order to crank through 400 girls in an hour and a half. It also means there's no room for error. You get three seconds look stand next to the celebrity and look at the camera, and then you're being called away to collect your shit and get the hell out.

I told the gatekeeper to Misha that I had two tickets, which she took, but when I tried to give her Little C she just stared at me and told me to go. The PHOTOGRAPHER came forward and said, 'You want one with the bear and one without.' Yes, that's what I wanted. Misha said hi and reached for Little C, so I handed him to him and lost track of what he was doing because of the HURRYUPANDLOOKATTHECAMERA panic. Just as the camera flashed, Misha jumped and caught Little C as he started to fall backwards off Misha's shoulder. The photographer came forward again and told me to watch my gum. Did that mean my gum was showing? Misha said 'That's okay, I have gum too,' to which I said 'Okay, I'll just swallow it,' and put it under my tongue.

Look at the camera and smile and FLASH and our arms fell off of each other. Misha said to the photographer, 'You made her swallow her gum, that will be in her stomach for 7 years now.'

And I replied...

"It's okay, it'll come out eventually."

*headdesk*

At least I can say that I made Misha laugh.



At four, Misha began his panel, during which I took 200 pictures in an hour. He told us how Jared tried to prank him but failed, and the rest of the time, non-answered questions in the way that only Misha Collins can. I love that warped sense of humor. The curse words. The way he'd had his jacket on inside out all morning (including photo ops), and then spilled water on his thigh when he sat on the bottle. Confidence is attractive. So are blue eyes and scruff.




When Misha left (and the room refilled with oxygen), Demore Barnes (Raphael) took the stage for his first convention appearance. Because his work on Supernatural placed him in scenes with Misha, the two had become friends and boy did it show. He'd definitely caught the Misha virus and had the same sharp wit and twisted sense of humor. There was no stage fright in Demore. He owned the room.

But... I'd killed my camera batter and didn't get a picture...

Russ Hamilton (the locations director) gave a presentation of mostly the same stories we'd heard on the tour Thursday. He told us that they'd been filming right across the street from the hotel on Thursday (hiding in plain sight, the devils) and asked if whoever stole the location arrows would please return them as they cost money. ;)

Cut to autographs. Again, I was ill-prepared (and really, what can top an autographed model Impala ANYWAY??) but had decided to have Misha sign the cover of my iPhone. Hey, it was the best I could come up with. And I like it. I'm thinking of naming my phone 'Misha'.



Tonya and I headed out for dinner and wound up at The Winking Judge Pub, where neither of us drank. I had another go at 'Award Winning' fish and chips but was disappointed once again. Tonya had some great-looking chili.


One last event: the Dessert Party started at 10:30. Tonya, Theresa, Marie and I say with Vanessa and her friend--It was kind of like a Kazcon reunion! Dessert was a build-your-own sunday buffet but drinks were WAY overpriced (thankfully water was still free). When the guests were done autographing they joined the party and came to each table for a few minutes. Matt was there, as well as Rob and Samantha and Demore. No Misha. *whine* I probably would have made an ass out of myself anyway. Plus you weren't allowed to take pictures during the party.

Our table got to have Matt for a few extra precious seconds of oogling while Creation announced the winner of the centerpiece contest. When Matt left to go to the other side of the room, the world got a little darker. We bailed as soon as each guest had been to our table.

It's exhausting being a fangirl.

Day 7: Thus begins the madness

The fangirls are amassing.

The Supernatural spirit permeates the air and when you make eye contact, there's a nonverbal understanding that you are both here for the same reason.

Jared and Jensen.


Tonya and I met Theresa and Marie in the hotel dining room for breakfast, where we were thoroughly raped. $35 for a ham and cheese omelet, $5 for a beverage, $40 for the buffet. Fairmont Hotel is OUT OF ITS FUCKING MIND. I refused to eat and later bought a muffin and a latte for $7 from the Starbucks downstairs--the first of MANY visits.

The convention officially started at lunch time. The first guest Creation had scheduled was Katherine Boecher who played Lilith.



At two, Matt Cohen who played Young John Winchester took the stage AND MY GOD. The guy sure has gotten hot since playing in Supernatural. The ARMS.


The buzz cut...


Just...



I have a feeling that there will be LOTS of requests for Matt to go to more conventions...



At 4, Aldis Hodge took the stage. I'd seen him before at other conventions, and he's a pretty laid back, interesting guy. Quite a few Supernatural fans watch Leverage, and he had a good mix of questions.



Richard Speight, Jr. (the Trickster/Gabriel) went on stage at 4:30, for what was one of the fastest half hours of my life. He's hilarious; great stories and animation, smart sense of humor and playful. Always a joy.



Jason Manns answered questions at 5:10 to a small but devoted group. The last time I saw Jason, I was a little put off by him. There's an edge and sarcasm there that I can't overlook. He's polite enough, but just... out of place.



After standing in line for autographs (I just had them sign my weekend pass), Tonya, Theresa, Marie and I broke for dinner. We wound up in a supermarket and grabbed some paninis and pasta salad, then headed back for the Jason Manns concert--which none of us were terribly excited about.

HOWEVER.



Everyone was in their seats and waiting when Jason came onstage and told us how he didn't have his guitar, because he loaned it to someone...



Richard Speight and Fred Lehne jumped on stage and sang together, much to everyone's surprise and delight. I wish they'd stayed for more than one song...



Jason then took his seat and got down to business. His songs are slow and acoustic, and only the handful of devoted fans were enthused. I feel bad for Jason and the complete lack of interest from most of the convention attendees. I think he questions he reason for showing too sometimes. But a few songs into his 'concert', a scary drama began to unfold.

A young woman not much older than me suddenly fell to the floor and said she couldn't breathe. Jason stopped playing and asked for a nurse, while the woman said she thought she was having a heart attack. Two nurses came to her side, as well as some convention volunteers. The nurses took care of the woman while 911 was called. Confusion and fear spread through the first few rows, while the rear of the audience had no idea what was happening. The hotel manager showed up at one point, and one of the woman's friends ran and got some aspirin per the nurse's request. Minutes stretched on... There is a hospital literally across the street from the hotel, and it was going on ten minutes since 911 had been called. We began to realize that WE could have taken her across the street by now. More time rolled by. The nurse collected a medical history and kept the woman on her back, feet propped up. Jason abandoned his guitar and watched with concern. What if the woman was dying? What were we supposed to be doing? At last, a pair of female paramedics showed up and everyone applauded as she was rolled away.

Jason tried to finish his concert but the mood was thoroughly gone.

Soon after he left the stage, Creation set up for the karaoke party. The last one of these I went to was in Chicago, in the hotel bar. The place had been packed beyond comfort and it wasn't worth waiting to see Alona Tal and Traci Dinwiddie sing one song. But this year...



The karaoke set up was on stage and if you wanted to sing, you put your name on a list. But ALL FOUR guests (Matt, Aldis, Richard, and Katherine) that presented that day were on stage with you, singing back up. They were HILARIOUS.



This set up was SOSOSO much better! Everyone had a BLAST.



Late night... Tonya and I didn't get to bed until 2am.
Tomorrow... MISHA!!

Day 6: Supernatural Location Tour

Goodbye, North Vancouver Hotel. Wish I could say I'll miss you.

Tonya and I woke to the alarm clock and packed our bags. Today we would transfer to the Fairmont Hotel in the center of downtown Vancouver. The bus for the location tour would be leaving at 9, and if we were lucky we could get checked in to our room before that. After settling the bill and suffering through one last pathetic excuse for a breakfast, we hit the road.

Traffic going over the Lion's Gate bridge was not as bad as we'd anticipated, and Mrs. GPS took us straight to the hotel with no problems. And WOW, what an upgrade. This was the convention hotel, and clearly very ritzy. And we were able to get a room! We found the parking garage and got to the room and unpacked and by the time we went outside, we were just in time for the tour bus. A rare stroke of good fortune!



The tour was led by Russ Hamilton, Supernatural's location manager and his assistant, Al. It was obvious he loved his job (and all it's perks) and did a fantastic job entertaining us between stops. He told us some great behind-the-scenes stories as well, and it really opened my eyes to all the work that goes on to make a tv show. Very high pressure, high paced 'shell game'. Gotta be able to think fast and plan on things going wrong--and be prepared to fix them. Long hours.



First stop was the house from the episode 'The Magnificent Seven':



Next (sort of) was the field behind the house, where the standoff between Lucifer and Micheal in 'Swan Song' was filmed:



Then we stopped at the place where Jensen directed his first episode (not yet aired), but couldn't get much else information...



Across the street, next to a quaint little park, sits the house from Croatoan (and part of it will be shown in Jensen's episode):



A little further down the road we stopped at another location for the Jensen-directed future-episode, a shut down pier that Russ had been waiting to use for a very long time. It will be used for a Bobby scene.



It was now lunch time but the catering company was AWOL, so Russ's assistant took us down the road to an intersection where they'd wrecked a semi. By the time everyone got back to the bus, lunch had arrived back at the pier.




We had soup and sandwiches (not bad, but too much food for 50 people!) and even cookies and brownies for dessert. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Our next stop (and my favorite by far) was the 'Metro', a swinger's club where 'Hammer of the Gods' was shot. What a cool, sexy room...



Across the street sits a hotel that was used for a future-episode...



Next we headed to Fraser Park, where different spots have been used in about 20 episodes. Russ led us past the bridge from Hook Man and to the spot where Dean surfaced from his grave and told us how they had to haul in their own dirt so as not to 'destroy' the land, and also had to work around the eagle nests in the adjacent field.





The last stop was the Burr House, where the Thanksgiving scene was shot in 'Dark Side of the Moon'.



I kept wondering what it would be like to have a scout knock on your door and ask if you'd let a production crew film a TV show in your house. Each of the places we went were functioning and had residents. We saw (and talked to) the occupant of the Croatoan house. He had a German shepherd chained in the back yard that was clearly disturbed by the group of girls taking pictures of the house. I would be too...

The tour was interesting, but don't know if I'd do it again. But it was one way to see more of Vancouver...

Back at the hotel, Tonya and I met up with Theresa and Marie and ate dinner at Earl's, a Vancouver (Canadian?) favorite. I ordered fish and chips (advertised as world-famous) but it just didn't measure up to a meal wrapped in paper, by the sea, while fighting the wind and the seagulls...



The four of us wound up in Marie and Theresa's room afterward and we chatted pretty late, mostly about hot guys. Tomorrow the guests start to arrive...