Thursday

Our drive down to San Diego. Overall, we made pretty good time and we were excited to be on our way down there.

Then we RAN to the Nintendo Lounge so a very special little boy would get to see what he had been waiting for.

Then we walked over to the Vikings area so Ian and I could go raid a village with shield maidens by our side! SKOL!!!!!

 Then walked over to the Sega Arcade to play more games before heading to the hotel to rest up for a few days of adventure.

 Link to my gallery of Thursday pics on Google+

Friday

Dawn has this amazing ability to function on little to no sleep, and when Comic Con comes around, she is always on a mission! This years mission was The Walking Dead panel. She was in line for Hall H by 4AM. (Yes, Hall H is officially that ridiculous at this point.) Ian and I met up with her early in the morning as well to get our badges and make sure we were there for the panel too.

‘The World’s End’ panel with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright. The movie looks hilarious, cannot wait to see it.

‘The Walking Dead’ panel!!!! Along with hearing from the majority of the cast, we saw scenes from the next season. Bring on the zombies!

Next up, ‘Vikings’ panel!!! The cast were great to see in person, and seemed to have great chemistry with one another. They showed footage from Season 2 and I think my jaw stayed open for a few minutes afterwards. Huge huge huge season to look forward to! After the panel, we raced outside to try and meet them as they left, and we were in luck! We met Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha), Travis Fimmel (Ragnar), and Clive Standen (Rollo)!

One of the highlights of my Comic Con experience this year was meeting Katheryn Winnick. Not only did I get a picture with her, but I was also able to tell her thank you for portraying such a strong female character on the show. She seemed truly appreciative of the comment.  (We need more of this!)

Dawn and I both got our picture with Travis Fimmel. A friend of mine commented that he and I could be brothers; I’ll take it! haha.

And finally, I was lucky enough to also meet Clive Standen! He really seemed like he was having a great time at Con meeting the massive amounts of fans that came out to support their work and the show.

I recorded the cast introduction:

and the entire panel (without footage, since that isn’t legal):

Link to my gallery of Friday pics on Google+

Saturday

Dawn went off to a few TV show panels, while Ian and I headed over to the Nintendo lounge. He loves it there!

The happy guy playing the new Mario game for about the 400th time. haha.

 The big man with his friend Prill from Nintendo. She is very nice and remembers him at every event!

Even the photographer working for Nintendo commented that this was the best picture he’d seen all weekend! I have to agree, our little Viking rocks.

Then we went out to the exhibit hall again for a while. Had to get a picture of this; Minecraft + Lego + Ian = awesome.

Great costume from Popcap promoting their new Plants vs Zombies 2 game.

Dawn and I waiting in line for Hall H again. Tried to get in for the Thor panel. Unfortunately, we didn’t get in.

Amazing special effects makeup on display!

And finally, an extremely impressive Lego ‘The Hobbit’ display.

Link to my gallery of Saturday pics on Google+

Sunday

Walked around the exhibit hall and saw more great cosplay!

Killed a couple of zombies at The Walking Dead booth.

Then we met up with a couple of Ian’s buddies.

Next, it was off to the SpongeBob panel. During a sing-along, one of the people from Nickelodeon approached me and asked if I would be captain for Team Patrick. I had no idea what this meant, but of course I said yes. Later found out what it meant – getting up in front of the entire ballroom with Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star) and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob) to dance!!  What the heck,,, when in Rome, right?!! Ian wouldn’t come up with me, but his buddy Corbin did and we made a great team. About half way through I look over and Dawn is in tears she’s laughing so hard! Ian said I was really goofy. Mission accomplished. After I asked Bill Fagerbakke to take a picture and later realized (when I actually looked at the picture on the phone) that Tom Kenny photo-bombed us!! How many chances do you get to say you were taking a picture with Patrick and SpongeBob photo-bombed you????!!!! After the panel we even got to talk to them again for more pictures and they signed shirts for us. Definitely another major highlight of Comic Con this year. (We have video of the dancing, will post it as soon as we can)

Next, it was back out to the exhibit hall. We even got to sit on the Star Trek Bridge.

Finally done, and extremely tired….

Link to my gallery of Sunday pics on Google+

July 22, 2011 – San Diego, California, U.S. – Dressed as ”The Mario Brothers,” Kris Freedain, of Laguna Niguel, enjoys a moment with Ian Freedain, 7, while taking a break from Comic-Con International 2011 at San Diego Convention Center on Fri., July 22, 2011, in San Diego. Over 100,000 people are – Alamy Stock Images at Dijitalimaj.

I don’t actually remember seeing this back then, but what a fun time we all had. Also, looks like this is a ‘stock image’ site; weird.