Home Again

Above, yours truly and friend.

I finally made it home to New Mexico yesterday.

My flight was supposed to take off around 10:00 yesterday morning, but it was delayed for three hours. It seems that getting to a place from home has been effortless, but getting back home has been a different story. This happened several times in recent years.

After landing in Albuquerque, I drove the motorhome from there to Jamestown. I made two stops: one for fuel and the other for food. 

After unpacking, I decided to go to bed. I was worn out and ended up sleeping for 10 hours.  

As for G-FEST, I had a good time. It looked like it already outgrew the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. My guess is that we had around 7,000 attending.

Friday Night At Red Bar

Above, last night at the Red Bar.

Since last night was Friday night, I decided to head down to the Hyatt Regency's bar called the Red Bar for a little nightcap.

I ordered a Margarita and chatted for a while with a lady bartender.

Then, I succumbed to temptation and ordered another Margarita and an order of quesadillas. I have to say that the drink and snack were quite good. The buzz from the drinks would guarantee that I would not have to wait very long to fall asleep after I got back to my room.

Above, the quesadillas and the second Margarita. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As I was heading out, the hostess was talking to some people waiting to get into the bar. I said to them, "I wouldn't argue with her. She's hot!" (Well, she was.) She gave me a nice big grin.

Made It Into The G-FEST Dealers Room, Etc.

Above, yours truly with Roger Wyatt.

The line into the G-FEST Dealers Room finally died down, so I was able to make it in and browse around.

It is hard to believe that I was at the "ripe old age" of 45 when I attended my first G-FEST in 1999 in Burbank, California.

Although I am in relatively good health at age 70, the old stamina is not there anymore. I have to sit and rest periodically (especially my feet). 

The new convention hotel, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, is much bigger than the Crowne Plaza, but it appears that the convention is getting too big for even it. I am only guessing, but it looks like 7,000 (or more) attended today. What's next? A football stadium? 

I would also guess that the attendance was helped by two Godzilla movies, Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, in generating more interest and more fans. 

One thing I also noticed, in looking over the toys the dealers had on display, there are a lot of of them on the tables I already have. 

The photos herein are what I shot today. It is a good thing that my phone takes good photos as I found that Canon Powershot S3 camera is not working. I just get a black screen. It is known as the "Black Screen of Death". Maybe I can find a repairer. I decided to use it instead of my Canon Rebel as I have some downloading issues with my computer. 

Above, a fan-made Mecha-Godzilla.

Above, Boris Karloff as the Monster in the Dealers Room.

Above, yours truly and a friend.

Above, lots of toys at the Radioactive Toys tables.

Above, Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man in the Dealers Room.

Above, Dojo Studios Godzilla suit. 

Now At G-FEST 2024

Above, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What seemed like a longer flight than three hours, I made it to Rosemont (outside of Chicago) for this year's G-FEST.

Above, a view of the lobby from the 8th floor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The convention moved to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare out of necessity. It simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Hyatt, as one might expect, is a lot more luxurious with prices to match. Since G-FEST is only once a year, I'm not complaining. I saw few people I recognized. 

Above, the dealers setting up their tables in the Dealers Room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I am up early as I went to bed early, plus my inner clock is out of whack. 

Above, having an after dinner stogie.

G-FEST officially starts today. The Dealers Room will open at 10:00 this morning.  

G-FEST Weekend Weather

Above, Memory Lane: yours truly with Haruo Nakajima at G-FEST in 2008.

It looks like it will be warm in the O'Hare International Airport of Chicago vicinity during G-FEST.

The temperatures will be in the 80s with chances of thundershowers. I remember one year we had a big thunderstorm at G-FEST. It was so intense that it seemed as if King Ghidorah was just outside of the hotel. Maybe we'll have a nice light show outside during the usual "Godzilla Blood" parties.

According to the National Weather Service, the weather at O'Hare (the convention hotel, the Hyatt Regency, is nearby):

Today

Isolated showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 85. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 67. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light south wind becoming south southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.

Saturday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 93.

Sunday Night

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. 

G-FEST 2024 Kicks Off This Weekend

Above, one of the vendors in the Dealers Room at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

G-FEST 2024 will be kicking off this weekend at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The is the big Godzilla (and kaiju) convention.

This will be the first for me at the new hotel. G-FEST simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza Hotel which necessitated the move to the Hyatt Regency. The last G-FEST I attended was in 2019. Then COVID and other stuff intervened.

Above, yours truly with Jessica Tseang at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Steve Ryfle.

I was lucky to get direct flights to and from the Albuquerque Sunport. The only drawback was that my return flight is in the morning.

As with the Crowne Plaza, shuttle bus service is available at O'Hare to the Hyatt Regency (and back).

Above, G-FEST founder J. D. Lees and the late Akira Takarada at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It will be nice to see the ol' gang again even though we've kept on contact through Facebook. 

Tickets are still available online (or at the door) by going here.

Headed To G-FEST Next Year

Above, yours truly at the 2019 G-FEST with Jessica Tseang. Photo by Steve Ryfle.

Well, I booked my room for next year's G-FEST in the Chicago area.

It is set for next July 12-14, 2024, but considering the large attendance expected, it would be prudent to book the room now (the G-FEST hotel has opened room booking. So I did. It is at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois, which is a new hotel for the convention. 

I attended the 2019 G-FEST at the old hotel, the Crowne Plaza, which the convention outgrew. I am looking forward to the new convention digs.

It will be nice seeing everyone again after five years.

For more information on G-FEST, go here.

G-FEST XXVII A Success

Above, J. D. Lees and yours truly at G-FEST XXV1 in 2019. Photo by Reagan Lees.

From the myriad of postings on Facebook and elsewhere, it appears that G-FEST XXVII was a huge success.

One poster said that the two-year layoff due to COVID-19 "made the show stronger."

I couldn't make it this year as my former roommate, Jessica, will be coming over next week and we will be doing some traveling during her visit to Durango, Colorado and Navajo Lake State Park. The funds are rather finite these days. 

However, I am planning on attending next year's convention. I last attended in 2019. Hopefully, I won't have airline issues like the last time.

From what I have been reading, the attendees liked the new hotel, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois (outside of Chicago). G-FEST simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza, necessitating a move to a much larger venue. When the numbers of attendees were smaller, the Crowne Plaza worked out just fine. But since the numbers grew to over 5,000 or so, that venue would not work out. 

The ballroom used for the Dealer's Room looked enormous. 

I found the architecture of the Hyatt Regency to be interesting, from the photos of it many have posted. Some likened it to the sets of Logan's Run. Yup, I can see that.

Anyway, I am glad that everyone had a great time. 

In San Francisco Then And Now

I came across an old photo of me that was taken in San Francisco in 1978 while I was there for a California Republican Party convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

For the fun of it, I have the photo from 1978 and one from last year below when I spoke in San Francisco at the Japan Society.

The convention, for me, was most notable for being a drunk-fest. Several candidates for state offices had hospitality suites. One would have wine, another would have margaritas and another would have a full bar. And so on. I hit them all.

This led to the worst hangover ever. A former co-worker was attending UC Berkeley and came over to join me while hitting the suites. He also got plowed. He managed to lose a very nice umbrella while in his drunken stupor. I never heard from him again following that weekend. I didn't feel better until I was flying home the next morning.

That's what happens when one mixes and has too many drinks. I never did that again! 

Here's a photo from 1978:

Above, yours truly in San Francisco in 1978. Photo by Ken Huthmaker.

And, a photo from 2015 (a lot more sober) in San Francisco:

The Chief and Me

Rummaging around my old photo albums yesterday, I came across the above photo of former Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police Ed Davis and myself at the Republican State Convention at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. The photo was taken in 1978.

Davis went on to become a state senator in the San Fernando Valley. At the time the photo was taken, he was running for governor of California. The photo was taken in his convention hospitality suite.

Those were the days when we had (somewhat) a viable Republican Party in California. Now it is a virtual one-party state run by left-wing lunatics.