Boston, Massachusetts. Home to the Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins, and a fan of dumping tea into harbor's in the 1770's. Also home to a convention, Pax East. Yours truly has never visited the northeast, so this was all new to me. Btw, for those who do end up reading this, while I won't mention you by name specifically, it'll be pretty easy to figure out who I am mentioning. Without further ado, lets talk.. BOSTON!
Logan Airport is.. oddly big but also easy to get around? The trains are mostly straight forward it seems, at least the times I was on them. The Uber drivers were all fantastic that I had. All great things! But then the night I got in, trains got me to where I could order an Uber then head to my hotel. We aren't going to mention Hertz, because they were trash. The hotel overall I would rate a 4 out of 5. Quite well nicely done, soft bed, but rough on temperature control and the pillows. But overall that leaves everything to that wasn't strictly Pax related, so LETS DIVE INTO PAX!
Thursday, March 21: Cold as all heck. Actually, it would have been fine if it weren't for the wind. A ferocious wind that made it feel so much colder than it actually was. But that's not important because we got to the Boston Conventions and Events Center for PAX EAST! Upon entering, I went to get my badge at 8 am and avoided the line, because that's how we roll right? After sightseeing a bit, I got to meet my first person during the convention, who had the most amazing Kit Kats ever. We met with other friends as well and the group became much larger over the course of the day. It was beyond cool all day, meeting friends, seeing friends again, taking pictures and just overall having a vibe. After about 9.5 hours at the convention on Day One, it was time to head back to the hotel. I got lost in the parking lot but got to get on the road and back for Day 2!
Friday, March 22: First though, a road trip to New Hampshire and Maine was in order. Which I saw both and they seemed really neat. I got to Pax around 10am. First things first: FF XVI panel (and meeting more friends of course.) It was incredible to say the least. I love that the company used Pax as an announcement for their DLC and major information about XVI (and XIV it appears, I didn't attend the XIV panel.) Another fun thing to the convention was just seeing more and more friends and people along the way. This is why I love the video gaming community, because of the friends it can bring about.. from anywhere in the world seemingly. When that singular piece can bring people together in a place like Pax or an event like Reconnect, all things are enjoyable. After seeing more people, and meeting people, I also got to experience Pax's quiet room for a bit of time and I have to say those are absolutely fantastic for a getaway situation. I also got to see the retro game part of Pax, where I got Dark Cloud 2 finally, after many years of searching for it. So that was all by 3pm by the way, so what to do after? Get pizza and then play cards! Which was done for a long while and then it was time to head out and get ready for Saturday.
Saturday, March 23: A day that was.. really really rainy. Parts of the Boston area got three inches of rain that day. Never fear friends, for up north in parts of New Hampshire they had over two feet of snow. You may be asking yourself, "Okay but Folzy, did you not go to Pax this day?" And I respond with, "Yes, you are absolutely right." Where I went was the New England Aquarium. It is nestled down by the harbor, which I imagine would look like a lovely place to be in the late Spring and Summer. I went with a friend, one who taught me a lot about the marine life of the fish and other sea creatures/freshwater creatures that were in the aquarium. I will say I like that they had a gift shop and a cafe area in this aquarium. It really makes it better with those extra touches overall. I liked really all of the exhibits and all the information that they had, but learning from my friend on these creatures is better overall. After the aquarium, I just went to get lunch then after bus shuttles and an Uber, got to the hotel to head home to get ready for the final day.
Sunday, March 24: A day of vibing, a day of emotions, a day of soaking it in and acknowledging the end. I did this with Reconnect sometime around when the group of us took lunch together. I just soaked in how lucky I was to be in the same area as everyone around me. That's just how the day started for me when I got to the Convention Center. I just wanted to soak in the time I had in Boston, and also not want it to end. It also meant I got the last day to meet some new friends before we all left. It's impressive that we go to the last day of a convention and meet new people, like I did at Reconnect as well, but it feels like the blossoming of a new friendship! However, all great things eventually do come to an end. Much like Reconnect, saying bye to my friends (for now) was especially hard. When I left Pax, I honestly got emotional as I walked out of the lobby for the last time, got my Uber and then at the hotel, just broke down. Yes, a lot of it was sadness over saying bye to these amazing people but also joyful tears of the experience of the time at Pax. And yes, I got emotional a few more times after this. After that it was just pack up and head home on Monday.
One thing that I would wonder and what I think a lot of people would ask is: "What would you improve on Pax?" And I think a couple of things are easy. One is wifi strength. At times this was an issue, as it was spotty and not consistent. They need to be better overall on this. The second is food quality. Not necessarily the price, though some of this could be 5 dollars cheaper. However, the quality is.. mid-tier at best for a lot of it and it could sorely be improved. I will easily pay 15 dollars for food that is high quality and good. Not when it is mid-tier at best.
All in all, this is without to say how much Boston meant to me, but more specifically Pax and the friends I was around to see meant to me as well. Everyone I met for the first time but who I talked to from streaming, those who I met from Reconnect, and those who I did meet for the first time without knowing they streamed and becoming quick friends all made everything so much more amazing. From of the bottom of my heart, with my whole heart, I want to say thank you to all of the people I met at Pax. You are all phenomenal people and deserve the best. Until we meet next time friends!
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