Highway 62

This is a semi-random, stream of consciousness sort of affair. Structuralists will be offended.

1) Please remember that nearly all residents of the city just want you to be a typical tourist: mouth shut, wallet open. Being a comic-related tourist is hardly an improvement. San Diego, as a city, only barely puts up with the comic convention as it is even though it brings a bajillion dollars to various hotels and gaslamp restaurants (and oh yeah, local sales tax.) Don't expect to be greeted with open arms unless you're covered in traveller's checks.

2) San Diego can be surprisingly warm, but it's the humidity that'll get ya. Granted, it's nothing like midwest or eastern seaboard humid, but locals will complain about how muggy it is as you reach for your hoodie. And if this year is anything like last year, you will want that hoodie for walking around the convention center (which is kept at meat locker-like temperatures.) You'll especially want it for walking around after dark, as the bay cools off significantly without benefit of sunlight. It will likely be overcast, but don't forget the sunscreen if you're going to spend much time outside. You will burn otherwise.

3) Food at the convention center is just absolutely dire. Dire. There's plenty of places that are about a ten minute walk away in the Gaslamp Quarter. Brave the elements and mass up, then cross those trolley tracks at the designated time and take in a nice alfresco lunch. As Tom Spurgeon has noted, San Diego does Persian food really well. Try Saddaf (4th and... geez, forgetting the cross street) and Bandar (better google it for the address) to get a good sample. Both have excellent lunch specials, though dinner fare is a little more pricey.

4) Remember, food *then* alcohol unless you have a designated bearer. In that case, go crazy, but make sure the digital cameras are safely away.

5) Bring water, though the drinking fountains are passable, even if they harbor...microorganisms. And on that tip, lots more folks seem to be bringing the Purell. I don't mess with that, as it's just breeding better bugs.

6) Do not park downtown. If you must park downtown, don't park near the Convention Center itself. Park far far away and take a trolley if you have to, unless you've got someone else to foot the bills. I park for free VERY FAR AWAY and take an eight-dollar roundtrip ride on the trolley, going over my pitches in my head. Okay, that last part is a lie. I generally ad-lib pitches, which explains how I got here.

7) If you're lurking around the Hyatt bar hoping to meet your favorite pro, good luck. You can't even hear yourself think in there. Soak in the ambience, but don't hope for an impromptu deal meeting.

8) What happens in San Diego will soon be all over the Internet. Remember that bit about digital cameras? I wasn't joking.

9) Comfortable shoes are a must. The Convention Center is bigger than that fold-out spread from ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER. You'll put on a lot of miles, so do your feet a favor and treat them with a modicum of respect. Unless, of course, you have a bearer or a palanquin of your very own, in which case, indulge.

10) I will offer no etiquette as to how to approach your favorite comics professional, other than to ask that you remember the golden rule. We're all just humans here. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Unless you're a masochist.

That's all that comes to mind. I'm sure there's a lot being left out, but you could probably find that from any of the other San Diego Preparation Checklists you'll see floating around the net this time of year.