AAR: Historicon Convention 2019: Pictures and such! (Part 1)

I decided to showcase my favorite photo of the show!

      And so another Historicon has come and gone. It was another great wargaming convention as usual. It is hard to mess up fun at this show despite the various complaints every year. I am not saying that some complaints do not have their merit. I just like to this of the statement that the Marines use: "Adapt and overcome!" This year's Historicon was featured in a new venue in downtown Lancaster, PA at the Lancaster County Convention Center. To be honest, I am not much of a fan of downtown venues anywhere in the country. The thought of one way streets and just general congestion bothers me. I felt that this venue might cause more hassle that it may be worth. This was one partial reason why I did not push harder to finish a project for the show. The unknown is scary. Of course, it did not help when last year's PEL had events to promote the new venue like there could be a problem. So was it?
    In reality, this show was pretty awesome all around. If I had my complaints, it was mainly some initial communication issues. We did not know we could park at the venues parking lot for the show. We ended up the first day and a local garage two blocks over. My first thought from walking was that "I should have brought a gun." The walk had some questionable alleyways that could be very dangerous at night. We like to stay at the show the whole day when do, so this was a slight concern. When we started driving to the garage at the hotel, we found ourselves parking at the same spot everyday the rest of the show. The second, issue was that the lighting in the second floor for games needed way better lighting. It was the darkest room at any Historicon I can remember. I think one of the club rooms at the Fredericksburg, VA had one close to it. And the third was related to the Escalator Serial Killer! There were various escalators that were out of order at one time or another. It gave for a good workout, which most of us gamers probability need. The LCCC was set up like a Chutes and Ladders game, but with escalators and elevators. Exception was the "Secret Stair" that my wife found to use that went up nearly every floor.
    For the positives of the show, we were there! One, Historicon is always an adventure for Kalissa and I. Every time, we have a blast. Kalissa ran three games of Ronin and won a PELA Award. Just even got interviewed for her game. Even though, I made the board and painted everything, it was nice to have her choose another game to run and have fun with it. Two, the hotel's food was pretty good. They had helpful staff. There was ice water everywhere! They even silk-lined the trashcans. Yes, that was awesome to me. If there is a "Why the Hell would they do that?" moment, I will be impressed. We had pizza, meatball subs, Italian sausage dogs, and quesadillas!  Three, the vendor hall had lots of room and was back to being attached to the venue's building. Four,  Walley's Basement was in a basement. Five, we had fun! Did we mention that yet?
   We found out that Historicon is going to be at this location for the next two years. I do have a concern about growing pains when it comes to parking and room, but I am optimistic. Kalissa and I realized that the both of us have to run a game next year. After 60 people wondered why I did not run a game and Kalissa's game receiving as much attention as it did, we just have to for the sake of our fans. I will be figuring something out.  Below are the rest of the first round of pictures. I went picture crazy which may have been in the 700 range. Enjoy!