Dragon*Con 2008 - The Drive

What is potentially the worst thing about Dragon*Con is the travel.  I live in Oklahoma City, which puts Atlanta some sixteen hours away by car.  I've been on a lot of very long road trips in my day between cross country moves as part of my father's military careers and various vacations.  On the whole, I do prefer the road trip to flying, especially in this day and age of airport "security." There are a few things that make the trips bearable, or even fun.  A comfortable ride, of course, is a must, especially for someone with long legs like mine.  With only three of us traveling together, we were able to go for a sedan rather than a van, but we got one with more than enough room for all of us and our luggage.  Good company is also imperative.  If you don't get along with your companions, every waking moment of the trip will be a nightmare.  Fortunately, Chad, Lizzi, and I get along very well indeed.  This is especially important in the small hours of the morning when everyone's punch-drunk from exhaustion.  We did get extremely goofy from time to time, and we laughed a lot on the long drive. The final thing that can make or break the long trip is entertainment.  We all brought our iPods, of course, so there was no question of having plenty of music.  We also wound up with a rental car with satellite radio, which was pretty cool.  In a stroke of incredible coincidence, we went surfing through the channels looking for some strange late-night radio show Chad and Lizzi were familiar with, and wound up catching Dr. Phil Plait in his appearance on Coast to Coast AM. We also took the opportunity to try out a new podcast.  A little while before we left, J.C. Hutchins had twittered about the awesome website for The Leviathan Chronicles, saying it was the future of podcast fiction sites.  I was pretty impressed with the site (though I was annoyed I couldn't find a way to turn off the sound) and downloaded the eleven episodes to check out on the trip.  Chad and Lizzi were interested as well, so we piped it through the car's speakers when we were all three awake. The Leviathan Chronicles turned out to be much more than a simple podcast novel.  It's a full on audio drama, with a large cast and great sound effects.  It describes itself as the "adventures of a young immortal who is caught up in the middle of a secret war and must discover why her race is suddenly dying off."  An interesting premise, to be sure, and one that turned into a thoroughly enjoyable story.  And, apparently, a very large one.  Christof Laputka is planning some fifty episodes, divided into two seasons, which means I'll be listening for quite a while.  I'm looking forward to the ride.