Sunday morning! The last day of the con. Definitely a bittersweet day, but we didn't have time to focus on our feelings when we still had so much to do! First order of the day (after another breakfast of pop tarts, of course) was getting into our last costumes of the con, the "Silver Millennium" versions of the Sailor Senshi, as seen in the S season of the anime ending. After that we had to make sure we had to pack up everything we wouldn't be needing for the rest of the day, scour the room for any costume (or other) bits we might leave behind, and since we try to be consider hotel guests, pick up after ourselves as much as humanly possible.

On our way out of the Dealer's Room, we ran into our friend Robbie, who I hadn't seen since Katsucon 2008, and I hadn't even known was going to be attending the con! We were able to spend a few minutes catching up before we had to go our separate ways. The good (and bad, in a way) thing about Sundays is that everyone is more or less on their way out, so everyone is looking for everyone else, so you get a chance to say goodbye. I found Beverly Faerie again, and finally got a picture with her. One of my few regrets of the con is not getting a chance to spend more time with her, but I guess I have yet another excuse to get out to Colorado again, now don't I?

We pinged Eurobeat King for a last time to see if he was up for doing one last photoshoot of us in our Silver Millennium costumes. It just so happened we caught him as he was finishing up with another group, and didn't have another shoot scheduled for awhile, so we made our way back to that grassy lawn that we had tried the day before. Security was nowhere in sight on Sunday, so we got some wonderful photos, both on the grass, and then under and around some of the trees that ringed both the neighboring building and the con itself. Eurobeat King is both a wonderful photographer and a wonderful guy in general, and it was nice to see another familiar face when I was so far from home. Thank you so much, E.B.K. The photos turned out fantastic, as always.

I wasn't sure when my next meal would be, so around noon or so we bought a few sandwiches from the hotel lobby's Starbucks (as well as a Colorado souvenier for Louis) and decided to take advantage of the still-holding lovely weather and grab some seats and eat outside. We found a spot on the stones that lined the walkway outside of the hotel, and just enjoyed each others' company before we knew we'd all have to go our separate ways, and again, talked, ate, and cosplayer-watched, and let the time slip away.

After eating, we decided to meet up with Lada, Koi, Rachel, and Max again, and we found another sunny spot on another patch of grass right outside of the hotel, and it felt like the Sunday of Katsucon 2008 all over again; that feeling of talking, laughing, but all the while marking time, as one person after another realizes they have to go, and drifts out of your circle. Lexi and Fitz were the first to go as they had an earlier flight to catch. I hate that its so long between visits, but the good news is that both girls are very fond of New York City, and there's a good chance I'l see them on my home turf again sometime soon. I can dream, at any rate.

Now, while I had traveled to Colorado in a sailor blouse and a pleated skirt, I realized a Grecian toga would be a little more attention getting than I was comfortable with; plus, those dratted laced up sandals were pulling their usual trick of falling down around my ankles every five feet, so I really wasn't in appropriate traveling gear. The time for the shuttle to arrive was getting nearer and nearer, and our hotel room was far enough away that judging time in my head made me fear that I wouldn't make it in time. Luckily, Steph's car was close by in the parking lot...

I changed into "civilian gear", got my luggage, and dashed to the front of the hotel just in time to see my shuttle to the airport pull up. A part of me was impressed at how efficient their service was, of course, but I couldn't help regretting that it hadn't been at least 15 minutes late to give me another 15 minutes with my friends...but then, I suppose that if it had been 15 minutes late I would have wanted a half an hour, and so on, and so forth.

The very last memory I have of the convention proper was looking out of the window as the shuttle's door slid closed and the driver started to pull out of the driveway. I saw Patti and Steph standing there, and they each made a little heart with their hands and held them up as the shuttle drove away, though I guess I couldn't swear to that in a court of law as the opposition might point out that it was hard for me to be sure of what I was seeing with tears obscuring my vision.

There isn't much more to tell. The shuttle gave me the same exemplary service I had experienced on the trip to the hotel on my way back. I got to the airport with time to spare. The airport was easy to navigate, getting through security was a breeze, and the wait times were exactly as predicted. The flight itself was rather smooth, and while I'm still a novice enough flyer that any turbulence makes my palms break out in sweat, when I saw the two older ladies I was sitting next to continue their conversation as if nothing were going on, I figured I had nothing to fear. La Guardia looked exactly as I had left it, and really the most difficult part of my journey was trying to get a yellow cab to bring me back to my home in Queens.

There are so many people I want to thank that I barely know where to begin. There were a lot of new people that I met for the first time that I had never even talked to before that I ended up feeling very friendly with. There were people I had known for years online that I was meeting in person for the first time that made me feel at home. There were people I had hung out with before at conventions that I hadn't seen in a while that made me feel as if I were part of one big happy family.

There was Steph and Patti, who I count amongst my best friends, who made the entire trip possible, who sent me back to New York feeling like a new woman, a very loved and very thankful woman. And of course, there was my wonderful husband, who was not even technically a part of this convention, but who was on my mind and was waiting to welcome my home at the end of this journey, without whom I wouldn't have had the courage to go.

This was a con of many firsts for me. This was, believe or not, the first time I've flown by myself before. (I haven't flown much at all, to be honest.) This was my first time out to Colorado--heck, this was my first time out further west than Pennsylvania, in a manner of speaking. This was certainly my first time being a mile above sea level (I live on the East Coast, after all). Despite having just written three pages of a con report, there was far more than I could ever hope to describe, and all in all, I'm very glad I went.

I've been cosplaying for almost ten years now. And if you read other people's con reports of NDK 2010, you'll read mixed reviews. I can't speak for their experiences. I trust their judgment; to be honest, a lot of what I've just related isn't even necessarily "con" stuff, it's "hang out" stuff, it's more like we just happened to be in costume while we were hanging out. Maybe it's because I'm not a "real" cosplayer, who doesn't make her own costumes, who doesn't compete, who has barely any interest in guests or panels. But like any vacation, any trip, any party, or any day, the external influences of a convention do not make the convention. They affect it, certainly. But for me, what makes a con are the people. And I don't know if I'm lucky, blessed, or what, but for me, I've met some of the most wonderful people in the world through this hobby, and this con was just another wonderful weekend with them.