Cookout in Nashville: Day 1

Vivian and I headed on down to Nashville last weekend to attend the annual Comic Genesis cookout. This has been an annual get-together for the comic geeks on Comic Genesis for the last six years, and I was able to attend in 2006 and 2007. Last year I was a little busy starting a new job, moving to Omaha, and getting married, so I wasn't able to attend. It felt good to catch up with my awesome web comic friends once again and introduce them to my new wife.

We had a special new member at the cookout this year: Beth and Ryan Kolter's baby boy, Tristan. The Kolters have hosted the last five cookouts in St. Louis, Missouri, but their new baby has been keeping them busy, so they passed the mantle to "Aggie," artist for the comic American Gothia (above left, with Tristan). She lives in Nashville and coordinated much of the cookout and associated activities for us, including arranging the hotel rooms, catering, and activities for us while in town.

Tristan definitely stole the show while we were there.

Most of the other attendees were still arriving on Thursday, but we still managed to find some time for some sightseeing. Several people suggested we check out the Opryland Hotel located next to the Grand Ole Opry, so we managed to stop by before dinner. The place was very impressive. We had just enough time to visit the lavish garden in the center of the hotel, which had a running waterfall had a rotating cafe.

We dropped by the Opry Mills mall afterward to have dinner in the food court and then go hunting for some toys. We wound up going by a local Wal-Mart to buy some dart guns to play with tomorrow. Vivian and Hogan also got the chance to try out a couple foam swords before we headed back to the hotel. We're like a bunch of big kids when we get together.