The tenth edition of Furry Fiesta moved to a new hotel this year. I had a blast as I usually do.
THURSDAY: I left home just after 4 AM and got to the hotel around 7 PM. I stopped for breakfast in Raton, NM, then drove southeast to Dumas, TX to refuel. While searching for restaurants in Amarillo, the name of one really caught my eye: Furrbie's. I had a reuben sandwich and onion rings for lunch there. I refueled again in Wichita Falls, then picked up dinner from a Whataburger drive-thru.
I was feeling tired after registration, so I went up to my hotel room for the night. My roommate, Victor Redtail/Sawblade5, had been downstairs and came back to the room around 10:30 PM.
FRIDAY: After opening ceremonies, I got lunch from SoCal Tacos, one of the food trucks set up outside the hotel for the convention. Lunch was a steak burrito "Cali-style," meaning there's guacamole and French fries inside. I went to Alexander James Adams' performance. I wanted to get into suit Friday night for Matthew Ebel's set at the dance. Unfortunately, I got sad and took it off when I had trouble getting the tail on my belt. Ebel did a different type of show this time: electronic dance music. The audience was seated far away from the stage for some reason. I started to feel depressed during the show as my mind wandered, so I returned to my hotel room.
SATURDAY: I went on the second of two furry-exclusive tours of the Reunion Tower observation deck this morning. I wore my jacket with my fursuit head, hands and tail. The morning was foggy, but I was able to get a decent video of the downtown Dallas view from the tower. During my few past suiting opportunities, I couldn't get the fursuit's foot paws on, so just wore shoes with the rest of my full suit for the fursuit parade. The cold, foggy weather killed my desire to go outside to the food trucks today and tomorrow, so I just had lunch both days in the hotel cafe. Bucktown Tiger arrived at the hotel as I was having dinner. He invited me up to his room to chat, then we went to the Foxes And Peppers concert. After the concert, I bought Pepper's new album "Muh" and a "Foxes and Peppers [FaP] fan" badge. I finally got to meet Romeo Rabbit in person since he attended TFF this year.
SUNDAY: The larger ballroom was reserved for another group today, so the closing ceremonies were held in a smaller room. The event was streamed via Twitter for anyone who couldn't get in. I wanted to spend at least an hour in suit at Sunday night's dances. I only lasted about 30 minutes, spending at least half of that time in the headless lounge next door. Without my glasses, it was hard to see in the darkened dance room.
MONDAY: Sawblade and I checked out of the hotel at 10 AM. I had forgotten to ask the hotel clerk for the con's parking discount. I wanted to head home, so I just paid the regular price for parking and headed home. In Wichita Falls and Amarillo, I stopped for meals at Dairy Queen restaurants. The DQs in Texas have a line of state-exclusive items like street tacos; a chicken fried steak finger basket with fries, cream gravy and Texas toast; and a chicken fried steak sandwich called "The Dude." My phone's GPS ignored the more convenient I-27 and U.S.-87 route north out of Amarillo. Instead, I was directed up a couple of smaller roads to the northwest. My cell phone couldn't get a signal during part of this route. However, from previously looking at a map, I knew the road I was on would reconnect with U.S. 87 in Dalhart. This unintended detour and taking shorter rest breaks shaved about 90 minutes off my trip time.
Next year's Furry Fiesta will be held at the end of March. This year's attendance was 3,866. Hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer to make the walk to the food trucks more pleasant. I found footage of my suit in the parade. A few people took photos with me, but I haven't found any of the pictures yet. I hope I'll be in the mood to suit more often next year.
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