As mentioned over the last few days, we went to Worldcon or NASFiC eight of ten years in ten years between 2000 and 2009. I had gone to Worldcon or NASFiC (and in 1979 I went to both, one of only two people to do so that I know of, the other being my college roommate who introduced me to fandom and conventions in 1978) twelve times in the twenty-two years between 1978 and 1999. But in the 2010’s? Nada.

By 2020 of course we were dealing with COVID and lockdowns and travel restrictions. The 2020 Worldcon in New Zealand was cancelled in the real world, but held virtually. We had serious plans to get to the 2021 Worldcon in Washington, D.C., but COVID was still an issue, they had some serious problems with their hotel shutting down, the convention got moved to December, and we ended up not going.

By 2022 most of the travel and other COVID restrictions were gone (we can debate elsewhere whether that was wise) but it was time for us to get back on the Worldcon trail.

2023’s Worldcon is in China and they’re having some issues that have caused them to move it to October. There are also many folks in fandom, including a number of prominent authors, who will be skipping the Chengdu Worldcon due to various human rights policies and violations by the Chinese government. But, with Worldcon out of North America, there was a NASFiC, which brought us to Winnipeg six weeks ago.

Next year Worldcon is in Glasgow, Scotland, with a NASFiC in Buffalo, NY. We would like to get to Glasgow having never been to Scotland, and a trip to Buffalo might also be nice. We’ll see.

2025’s Worldcon location will be determined by Worldcon members voting at Chengdu. So far only Seattle has a bid to host the convention. We like Seattle.

As I learned at my first Worldcon in 1978:

FIAWOL = Fandom Is A Way Of Life = can be true

FIJAGDH = Fandom Is Just A God Damned Hobby = should probably be true, but too often isn’t

FIJAGDWOL = you do the math, but it’s the greatest truth of the three

The 2009 Worldcon was in Montreal. Despite the “less than optimal” experience visiting the city in 2004, we went back for Worldcon. And had a really nice time.

The convention was fine with the convention center directly across the street from our hotel, so there weren’t any long walks to get anywhere. I have some nice memories of that con.

We did touristy things, saw the city, ate a lot (didn’t have poutine – still haven’t, which is sad), and sat and watched fireworks every night as there was some sort of huge international competition a mile or so away from the hotel and the view was great from the rooftop lounge area on the convention center.

Thus began, for reasons that weren’t entirely clear at any point, the interregnum, a period of twelve years where we didn’t go to Worldcon or NASFiC. We had gone as a family eight of the previous ten years and we went to other science fiction conventions, but the 2010’s had other plans for us. We traveled, some years a LOT, but it was more for family events, weddings, NASA Socials for me, a wonderful international trip (search this site for “Shanghai,” “Seoul,” or “Kyoto”), an eclipse, and some football games. But no Worldcons.

C’est la vie!

The family trip to the 2004 Worldcon was memorable for some good reasons but also for a handful of lousy ones.

Worldcon was in Boston, a city I dearly love visiting, having spent a lot of time there when I was in high school in Vermont. Prior to going to Worldcon we stopped in Vermont and saw family, which was great.

In between there was a trip to Montreal, which was fine right up until the moment when we came back to our rental car, found the windows smashed out and my briefcase and our luggage gone, and had to deal with the French-Canadian authorities and rental car folks to get a replacement car. Not the greatest first impression with the family for Montreal. (For what it’s worth, Worldcon was in Montreal five years later, in 2009, and we were back and had a great time.)

This bridge, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, familiar to anyone who’s driven through Boston, is infamous in our family. We’ve driven across it over, and over, and over, and over, back and forth, trying to get from downtown to Logan International Airport. “But Paul, I’m very familiar with Boston and you don’t go over that bridge when going from downtown to Logan,” you’re saying.

I know!

Thus, the problem.

Favorite author John Scalzi had a nice post on his website today about his first science fiction convention, twenty years ago today.

As I was recollecting yesterday, Labor Day weekend has quite often been our family vacation weekend at Worldcon, and it turns out we were at that convention in Toronto as well.

In addition to just traveling for the convention, we also go for ballgames, amusement parks, and other touristy activities. If you go to Toronto and get down by the ballpark, look up!

You never can tell who might be heckling you.

While Mr. Scalzi was reminscing on twenty years, I started thinking about my first convention. It was fifteen years earlier than… No, wait, it was twenty-five years earlier?

That can’t be right! I’m not THAT freakin’ old! That would be forty-five years ago. 2023 minus 1978 is … forty-five years.

Shazzbott!

At least three years later I had a better camera.