Hi there, guys, how are you? I'm writing today to share my experiences of this past weekend in San Fransisco while attending the amazing Browncoat Ball. Since my site will be down while I switch web hosts, I uploaded the pictures to Picasa (which you can see here), but I can't directly link to them, so I'll include links to the individual albums.

Thursday Night - Arrival

We arrived in SFO around 6:30 PM after an uneventful flight, got our luggage, and found how just how expensive taxis in SF are ($36 for a cab ride? WTF?!). After checking into the Marines Memorial Club Hotel, we relaxed in our room for a bit and took a nap before Jessica, Elizabeth, and James (SF James, not SoCal James) picked us up to take us out to Oakland. It was there that we arrived at the Parkway Theater, which was showing Serenity that night. Here I saw a lot of my old friends again for the first time in months, so all the hugs and handshakes were wonderful.

Now the Parkway is a neat theater. You can buy all sorts of food there, as well as beer and other types of alcohol to take into the theater. On the front/lower level of the theater are several couches (which were all filled by the time we got there). The upper levels had lounging chairs and tables. We sat at a bar in the front of the upper level while we waited for our food. We mingled a bit, and I got my vest for the Ball that Arielle made for me. Once the movie started, it was wonderful...seeing it on the big screen again with a bunch of Browncoats. I'll never get tired of that. Once the movie was over, we mingled a bit more before being driven back to our hotel for some much needed rest.

Here's the Album for Our Arrival Night

Friday Day - Shopping & Drinking

After sleeping for a while, we got up and headed over to mission street for some last minute items for Kelly's Zoe outfit that she would wear that night. This was a neat place, but I didn't take any pictures of it because it wasn't really "picturesque." Kelly got some Jeans and some other stuff she needed, but we didn't find a good pair of boots, so Kelly used what she brought with her (which worked out fine, in my opinion. We then got some lunch at this very popular Mexican place who's name I forget, but probably had some of the best burritos I've ever had in my life. Once we were done with all this, we arduously awaited a cab to take us back to our hotel. I think Eddie Izzard is right, SF only has five taxis.

Once we got back to the hotel, we went up to the top floor where guests were given free drinks for two hours during their happy hour. It was here we met several new and awesome browncoats such as Tim, Kathy, Michael, Barbara, and Norm, and these became our drinking buddies for the rest of the weekend. We actually had a blast sitting around and talking and drinking for a couple of hours, and our waitress was a real hoot, bringing us refills before we even knew we wanted them. She was like a ninja! Overall, this really helped loosen us up for that night's event.

Friday Night - The Empress of China

This was the first official night of the Ball festivities, and we had a ballroom set aside for us at the Empress of China restaurant in Chinatown. Kelly and I strove for a "we just walked off Serenity" look, I was dressed as Wash and she was dressed as Zoe (which works out nicely, don't you think?). The variety of outfits that night was impressive, ranging from Firefly/Serenity costumes to semi-formal Chinese wear. The entertainment for that evening was dancing and a professional fan dancer, which was neat.

The night began with us sitting at a table with several of our newfound Browncoat drinking buddies, so we laughed and talked a LOT. ;) We were then served food in a family-style setting, including rice, sweet and sour pork, beef and broccoli, and so on. The food was pretty dang good, and we were all fairly filled when they were done. I then went to get us some drinks, and found that they were watered down and expensive, so we didn't get any more. ;) We were already feeling good from happy hour anyway.

Once we were done dinner, we mingled with other Browncoats, marveled at a lot of the outfits, and watched folks dance. We also took part in one fairly simple dance, but overall we stood around, watched others dance, and talked quite a bit. I also got a lot of pictures. There were a few Wash's and only a couple of Zoe's (Kelly included), but overall it was a fantastic evening.

About 11:00 PM, the night was over at the Empress but not for us, so we walked back to our hotel, hoping to find a liquor store along the way (which we didn't). Once we got back to the hotel, we met up in the Blue Sun Suite with other Browncoats to watch a bit of Firefly, but eventually we got too tired and decided to go back to our room and go to sleep. Overall, it was a very successful day.

Here's the Album for The Empress of China

Saturday Day - San Fransisco Bay Boat Tour

After getting up WAY too early for a Saturday, in my opinion, we got some free breakfast at the hotel (which was awesome, by the way) and met other Browncoats on a bus out front of the hotel to be taken to the pier area. Once we arrived at the pier, we had about an hour to kill before the boat left, so we walked around, talked, looked at the sea lions (they're SO CUTE) and tried on some silly hats and a place, I believe, called Krazy Kaps.

Eventually we made our way back to the boat wherein we met up with some of our new friends from the previous night, like Tim, Gabriel, Barbara, and Norm. We lingered on the boat for a bit until it left port, and marveled at the beauty of the bay. The weather was clear, so we had a GREAT view of the bay itself, as well as the city. During the ride, Gabriel treated Kelly and I to a White Russian for each of us, and they were GOOOOOOD. They were tasty AND strong, and after two of them, Kelly and I were fairly buzzing (as if this voice post wasn't any indication). ;) Kelly and I had a wonderful time, since we were kinda blitzed, but overall the boat ride was a blast.

After the boat ride, a few of us went to a local eatery (the name of which I forget) to get some lunch, which was pretty tasty but took way too long. ;) After lunch, we took a cab ride back to our hotel where we both slept off our liquor. I apparently didn't drink enough water (I thought I did, but I was wrong) and so I had a slight hangover when I woke up. Thankfully, it eventually went away before the ball started.

After going to happy hour again for a short spell, we went to some ballroom dancing lesions and learned one particular dance very well. When that was done, this only left about an hour and a half for preparation before going to the Ball itself. Kelly and I went back to our room and got ready for the big event.

Here's the Album for The Boat Tour

Saturday Night - The Browncoat Ball & Club Swig

Once we were ready for the actual Ball, we went up to the ballroom floor and were amazed by the wonderful outfits we saw. Our outfits were fairly unique, so I'll explain. Kelly was wearing a custom made Zoe Mourning Dress made by our friends at Wardrobe Replicas. I was wearing an Asian-style suit with a unique Hawaiian-print vest that my friend Arielle made me, in the style we hoped Wash would wear to a formal event. I think both of our outfits were awesome, but I'm a bit biased. ;)

The variety of the outfits we saw were amazing. Some of which were taken directly from Firefly or Serenity (such as a few Kaylee dresses and Kelly's unique Zoe Mourning Dress), but for the most part most of the outfits were unique, original and inspired. Some of the outfits were actually made by Firefly's costume designer Shawna Trpcic (who LOVED Kelly's dress, by the way).

Once we had the initial meet and greet and some light food, the ball itself began, with many people announced in the same way they announced guests at the ball in "Shindig." Kelly and I were announced, and we made our way to our table. There we sat and talked for a while until we waited for the buffet line to die down (Browncoats are hungry folks). Once we ate, we walked around and mingled a while and watched the dancing. We actually danced three times ourselves, and even though I'm a little clumsy, we did okay. :)

At our table, our new friend Gabriel actually brought some Mudder's Milk that he made himself, which was a total hit. It was good too, and full of protein. We have the recipe now, so let me know if anyone wants it. ;) Eventually a line formed around the table to try out the Milk, and everyone loved it. Gabriel is a total hoot too. When Arielle's dress ripped, he helped her out of the hoops and put them on himself. It was hilarious.

Another funny thing occurred later that evening. My friend Denise decided to dress up as our friend Erin from San Diego as a total joke. After coming in her formal outfit, Denise ran to change into her "Erin" outfit. She then proceeded to find games and powder his bald head with a large powder puff. It was totally hilarious, but it's one of those things wherein explaining it doesn't do it justice. :)

I have to stop for a second and just say how beautiful Kelly looked during the event. I had a hard time breathing because every time I looked at her my breath was taken away. I never thought I would be so lucky to have such a wonderful, beautiful, and sweet woman in my life. The fact that she makes a perfect Zoe to my Wash is just icing on the cake.

Anyway, back to the Ball itself. It went by way too quickly. Everyone looked wonderful, we danced and had a wonderful time. I can't gush enough about how well the actual Ball went. There was dancing, LIVE music (which was awesome), food, drinking, and comradarie. Overall, the Ball itself was a smashing success.

Here's my "Best Of" Album for The Browncoat Ball
Here's the Full Album for The Browncoat Ball

After the Ball ended, we went back to our room to change and met some Browncoats in the lobby to make our way to a local club called Swig. We walked down there to find the place totally packed, and we were a bit confused as to where we needed to be until one of the Ball organizers came by and showed us the room we had in the back. The room in the back was nice, but it was small and stuffy and had no ventilation what so ever, so we didn't stay there too long. We were pretty exhausted anyways.

Here's the Album for Swig

Sunday Day - Chinatown Tour & Leaving

Sunday was our last day in SF, and it began early. After packing, checking out and getting breakfast, we met other Browncoats in front of our hotel around 11 AM. Then we were taken on a fascinating walking tour of Chinatown. I'll tell ya, the Chinatown in SF is HUGE, incredible, and beautiful. We saw parks, temples, a fortune cookie factory, and a TON of people. There was a big street festival going on, so we had a hard time getting around at times.

We spent about two hours walking around Chinatown and being shown some great stuff. Once we were done with the tour, we broke for lunch, and joined Stephen and his fiance Lori, as well as Denise and Thad, for lunch at a great Dim Sum restaurant of which I forget the name of. After lunch, we walked around, did some shopping, then went to the airport and headed back home.

Here's the Album for The Chinatown Tour

Conclusion

The Browncoat Ball was one of the best events I've ever been to...ever, Browncoat related or not. Big props need to be given to the organizers for a fun and fabulous time, and it's something I know I'll never forget. I hope you enjoyed my recap, and I thank you for reading. Have a shiny day!