August of 2009, just months after finally graduating high school, and I was about to embark on the greatest trip of my young life. The final destination: Indianapolis, Indiana for the GenCon convention held every year for gamers like my friends and I. I’d been told that it was the biggest gaming convention I’d ever see, that it was the greatest, most epic thing to attend. And that year I was going, with my boyfriend, his sister, and our good friend all crammed into a small car driving across the country.
But we didn’t just drive straight there. Oh no. This was to be a grand vacation. From Tacoma, Washington we traveled down the coast towards California. We of course made pit stops all over the place. The convention itself was only four days long, but we had planned our trip to last two full weeks. Most of that being the trip there. One of our first stops was along the coast of northern California. Barely out of the redwood forests, the coast opened up many times, and we decided that it was a good time to take a break from driving and go running around the rocky beach and stretch our legs.
This beach was a wonderful choice as well. There were so many strange things that we found, not to mention numerous things to climb and play on. It was fantastic!
An hour or two passed before we decided to cram back into the car and continue our journey to our campsite at Devil’s Canyon Campground in southern California. And it was HOT. Typical California summer I would imagine. The campground we stayed at wasn’t too far
out of the city, but it seemed like it was a lot farther than it was. Set far into the hills, it provided even more opportunities for climbing and adventure. Which we took to as soon as we set up camp. Hell, we may have even started climbing on things before we set up camp. We didn’t have to wait long for the sun to set beautifully over the hills, which we climbed up the huge boulders to witness. It was a fantastic way to end the day and begin our first night of not having to sleep in the car.
The next day we were bound for Vegas! Unfortunately, I was only 18, so not old enough to really enjoy what Vegas has to offer. Nor did we plan a long stop. We stopped long enough to enjoy some air conditioning and for to of our group to grab some drinks at a bar. But then we were off again, headed for Arizona. Ryan’s grandparents live in Flagstaff, Arizona so our plan was to stay with them for a couple nights as well as visit the Grand Canyon!
The Grand Canyon, one of the 7 Natural World Wonders. Seeing this amazing naturally occurring feature just opened my mind to the greater natural world, and threw open the doors to me wanting to travel the world and see all that it holds for us, before it’s all gone. The canyon was huge. Even knowing how big it is prior to ever seeing it, the sheer massive size of it just blew my mind. It was astounding.
And of course, no pit stop was complete without the boys cli
mbing around on things xD This tower had a bunch of really cool exhibits detailing some of the history of the canyon and provided a wonderful view of everything for as far as the eye could see. The sight was breathtaking.
The next day, with the canyon behind us, we headed south for Texas where my aunt and uncle were living. I hadn’t seen them in years. And with how close my family is, that means a lot. So when we added an overnight trip to my Uncle’s house, I was thrilled. I also got to see all my little cousins, who I 
barely knew at all. We had dinner, showers which at that point were a blessing, and a good night’s rest. In the morning, it was the hardest thing for me to say good-bye after such a short stay. I was hugging my Uncle for so long my boyfriend actually came over and reminded me that we were on somewhat of a schedule. It was hard, but I said my go
od-byes and we parted ways. Though it was entertaining to hear that everyone thought my Uncle was a badass and that he wasn’t at all what anyone was expecting, but in an awesome way. That made me smile for most of the day.
But now, finally, we only had one stop left. Indianapolis. It was a bit of a drive, going straight from the border of Texas to Indiana, but we still made small pit stops here and there. We stopped at the St. Louis Arch and took pictures and stretched our legs. Megan and I made our own arch. No where near as impressive as the actual one, but still made for a funny photo.
Eventually we made it to our hotel. It was a really nice hotel, not too far from the convention center while still having a decent price.
And then our four days of awesome began.
Unfortunately, due to many circumstances, I don’t have as many photos as I wish I still did to be able to show everyone just how awesome this convention was that first year. Things like TerrorWerks, which was a live action zombie shooter, to True Dungeon, a live action D&D run through with actual monsters, fights and puzzles. Lots of games, events, music, and more. It truly is the best four days in gaming.
The trip home was nothing special. We drove straight home after the convention. All of us tired and ready to be home. Afterwards, we all spent some much needed time apart. Spending two weeks crammed together eventually got to all of us and we all needed the space.
Below are more photos of GenCon, from the next two years that I went. Each trip just as amazing as the last. I hope you all enjoyed and maybe I’ll even see some of you next year at the 2013 GenCon.
Just a simple girl, in a simple life, with extraordinary dreams :3
Rainbow Moon Chylde 