A new strain in the pandemic, seemingly impossible-to-find fights as close as a week out, and the feeling that we’ve never been to a con before… This is Comic Con 2022.

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Like most things, Comic Con is quickly becoming a benchmark in my timeline of “pre-covid do-you-remembers” and what the addition of COVID means for the future and our outlook beyond the next week. Since the pandemic began, Paige and I have travelled a handful of times, all in midst of mask mandates and major pushes for the general traveling public to be as careful as possible, but this time feels different. The convention itself has required some seemingly stringent COVID procedures to even be able to access the con, but with no risk management/mitigation on the part of airlines and the general public, I definitely feel an unprecedented level of anxiety setting in with the preparation for our arrival in San Diego.

As with previous Comic Cons, we’ve scrolled through the programming schedule looking for panels and features that catch our eye, and we think we’ve got a pretty decent lineup in the works to make the most of this first in-person convention back, but it’s also been wild to watch some of the major industry players pull themselves off the convention floor and announce in the eleventh hour that they’re reevaluating their approach to Comic Con completely.

Which is understandable, but what does that leave for those of us that were still holding on to the idea that there might be some comfortable familiarity to be found among the booths of the convention floor?

For Paige and I, there’s a whole wave of emotion building with our chance to return to San Diego and I’m a little nervous about which emotion is going to be at the front when the wave finally comes crashing into shore.

One extraordinary opportunity for us is the “awarding” of the Hilton Bayfront in this year’s hotel lottery, and we aren’t totally sure what to expect after so many years happily staying out at the Best Western, but it means we’re next door to the convention and don’t need to ride the shuttle in and out of the city to be able to access the programs or our room. Paige also happens to have Hilton Diamond status right now thanks to some strategic use of her Hilton Rewards American Express Card… so we’re crossing our fingers that we can make the most of this shift, even if the convention itself experiences the same hiccups every other business has been forced to face in returning from the pandemic shutdowns.

…thanks to some strategic use of her Hilton Rewards American Express Card…

In the end, I’m writing this post nearly a week out from our checkin at the Hilton, with a ton of questions and anxieties still to be managed, but I can’t express how much I am actually looking forward to taking a step away from the hermitage that has become the stay-at-home life I’ve adopted in trying not to get sick. With so much opportunity to actually enjoy some time away, there’s a lot to be excited about, and I hope all of the anxiety and wait is worth it.