Ready... set...

For those of you who read Screw Bronze, you’ll know that Beth has a dream to go to Sakuracon in Seattle April 2-4th. Cheryl and I would love to make the dream come true (we want to go too!) and think with your help we can make that happen.

A few of her readers have emailed her to ask how they can help. So we thought it might be useful for everyone to see what our expenses are. I’ve also put deadlines next to items if applicable.

Convention Tickets - $150 by March 8th – Beth committed to sell books on Amazon/ebay to pay for these.

Hotel – 3 nights - $520, $30 parking – reserved! It’s Easter Weekend so we wanted to get our room before it’s too late. We’re staying at the Holiday Inn in downtown Seattle. It’s far enough away from the convention that it’s relatively quiet and will give us a good night’s sleep. It has suites and depending on the room type, free continental breakfast. It is also more reasonable than most other hotels.

Coho Ferry - round trip (Victoria – Port Angeles) - $151 – reserve ASAP! This year we need to take NDY, Beth’s power chair as she’s too weak to hold herself up all day. NDY will give her full back and head support and also has tilt and recline in case she has seizures or is too weak to stay upright. With a minor tilt she is cradled in the chair. We need to take our van as NDY won’t fit into Cheryl’s Jeep. We take the Coho ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles and then spend the night at Cheryl’s. Then we drive across the Olympic Peninsula and catch the Washington ferry to Seattle. The Coho has a limited number of reservations for each sailing and as this is Easter weekend we want reservations. The alternative is to arrive at the terminal and park the vehicle the night before and then walk/roll down the next morning several hours before the ferry leaves. This would really wear Beth out.

Gas - $60 – we’ll pick up the cheaper American gas in Port Angeles.
Washington Ferry – round trip (Bainbridge – Seattle) - $40 – need to take this ferry to get from the Olympic Peninsula to downtown Seattle.

Parking – $24/day reserved at least 30 days in advance (March 1st) at the Convention Centre = $75. This will cost about the same or less than getting a taxi that takes the three of us and NDY, Beth’s power chair. Having it at the Convention Centre means if the noise and people get too much for Beth (or Cheryl or I for that matter) we can sit in the van for a while and chill out. I need to check, but it may even let us come and go multiple times a day which would mean we could go back to the hotel for naps and return in the evening.

Food - $200 – we will buy groceries at the grocery store nearby our hotel and this will cover most of our meals. We usually have take out one night for a change.

Costume for Beth – to be determined – but it’s gotta be hot! Suggestions are welcome. One reader suggested this black lace dress with a corset bodice. Beth would also like me and Cheryl to dress up a bit. She has offered to share her hair accessories with me. We’ll see how that goes.

Spending money – Beth and Cheryl want to go back to the dealers who were selling $2 and $5 manga as well as the art books and sellers of Japanese merchandise. Last year Beth found some great gifts that she sent out over the course of the year – items (clothing, stationery, etc) with Boots the cat were really popular.

If you would like to help out, please let me know at linda.mcclung at shaw.ca or use the donate button to the right. If you are planning to join us at Sakuracon, could you email me as well so I can keep track so we make sure we don’t miss anyone?

Cheers