Riley's Report....... August 24, 2001 I was excited, but I wasn't. Relaxed since I'd just spent 3 days in San Diego at the beaches and zoo. The drive up to LA seemed to take forever! We left at 6 am, so I could get to the airport to meet Lee's (Leepeace1) plane. Of course, her plane gets in early and we arrive just in time. Lee grabbed my hand and held on, I could feel her heart beating so fast. I began to get excited we were going to see Adrian!!! Confusion at the hotel about our rooms, but then dear Elaine (walch45@cillnet.com) saved the day. We'd met at the Denver Con last year, so it was nice to see a familiar face. We stored our luggage in her room until ours was ready. Elaine and her daughter had arrived Thursday. Then off to Register. We all got goodie bags...info on the programming, a fantastic Highlander backpack (courtesy of Bill Panzer and the Highlander store), our ID tags, a Highlander brochure that described all the participants with great color pictures and a new Tracker picture.My T-shirt and Gala ticket were there too. Now it all felt real!!!! Then, we were off to find Julia who was arriving from Louisville, KY. We'd never met, and the only description I had was tall, redhead in her Matrix outfit. Oh God….amidst all these women..it seemed impossible. But, as we headed to the check-in desk, there she was! Just as she'd described, It was the long coat that did it. Then we heard the Kentucky drawl in her voice…yep, it was her. We were all talking at once in our excitement..this was Julia's first Con and let me tell you, she had the luck of the Irish. She won two (2) autograph lottery tickets…one for Adrian and one for Jim Byrnes. Lucky woman. Since the Con promoters knew that there was no way all of us could get lucky enough to get an autograph, they set up a lottery system. You each got two (2) tickets and were to put them in the box for the actor you wanted an autograph from. If you wanted more tickets, you could purchase them at $2.00 each. I know some people spent $40 or more buying extra tickets…and some were lucky enough to get to be one of the 100 selected. One lady got in on 4 different sessions, 2 just for Adrian. We got Julia registered and finally got our rooms. Even though she was lucky in the autograph lottery, she drew the short straw and got the chair to sleep in. So, there was some justice. It was a nice huge chair with ottoman, so don't feel too badly. Lee, myself, Julia and Elaine had lunch in the hotel restaurant. Fabulous fish buffet where we picked on the waiter and devoured the food like starving women. Then it was off to discover what was there to see. The dealer rooms were packed, the PEACE table especially. People buying up copies of past PEACE magazine issues, jewelry, shirts, photos, posters. Money flying everywhere. Of course, I had to dig out my wallet too….and not just once. There were lots of things scheduled for we fans to do, but it seemed not enough time to do it all. You just had to pick and choose what was most important. Some of those who came in Thursday were kept busy by taking a tour of LA. They even got to see PEACE offices and……the house where Adrian used to live!! Made me wish I'd gone in a day early. After changing clothes, off I went at 3:30 to spend “An Hour With…Stan Kirsch.” Dragging what seemed like the heaviest cameras in the world and loaded with disks and film, I was ready. I found my seat in anticipation. I must say, that having a Reserved Seat was nice, but, seemed so far away… clear off on the right side, but on the inside aisle. Many people grumbled about the fact that General Seating got better seats, unless you were right up front. Didn't seem fair somehow. The room lit up with camera flashes and there he was! Stan was adorable as always, full of energy and bouncing around. I was so busy watching him, I barely paid attention to the questions. I do know that some people wrote them all down and I'm sure they'll appear on the Web complete with answers in the near future. I was too busy trying to get pictures. Security was much looser this time, and they even allowed you a bit more time to crawl down the center aisle to get close up pictures. Still, if you stayed too long, they'd come after you. I got pretty good at crouching and waddling up to the front. The floor was slick and if you worked it just right you could sort of slide on your knees a bit closer to the stage. I know we must have looked like inhuman creatures creeping up there. The nice thing was, that there were empty seats closer to the stage and if no one showed up, the security would allow you to hop over and fill them up. It was a mad dash for those better seats! Next came a screening of “Band of Brothers” and a commentary by James Horan. I was exhausted by my picture taking, so skipped this event and wandered around the hotel meeting other fans. At 5:30 I headed back to the Grand Ballroom for a treat. Readings from “An Evening at Joe's” where Jim Byrnes, Anthony De Longis, Ken Gord, Stan Kirsch, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow and F. Braun McAsh each read a portion of the stories. It was so much fun. Poor Stan had a hard time keeping a straight face. The audience harassed him. All the stars were joking around and obviously having a great time. The stage was a bit dark, so the atmosphere made is seem as if you were actually at Joe's. Afterwards Stan held an autograph session. Later that evening Gillian Horvath and Donna Lettow gave fans a look behind the scenes at how Highlander went from script to screen and then answered questions in their Q & A session. By 9:30 we were all tired, but made it to the Sword Choreography Demo with Anthony De Longis and F. Braun McAsh. Well worth waiting for. Those two are fantastic. It's incredible to think of all the long hours put in to make one short sword fight. They showed clips of them practicing long into the night and then staged a demo for us. One of the funniest moments was them talking about how they were staging this fight under a streetlight and how it must have looked to the neighbors who'd probably had no idea what these grown men with swords were doing. Both men were friendly and you could tell they worked well together. Of course, we were all expecting Adrian to pop in for a little fun, but alas, he didn't. Wandering the halls near the Ballroom, we ran into Bob Chapin holding court with other fans. He tirelessly chatted with everyone. Some fans even had “The Hunted” shirts. Bob's new production. For more info, check out www.thehunted.tv  Bob told us he was there for some filming for it. Tired and almost too excited to sleep, we headed for the hotel room, eagerly anticipating the next day when we'd get to see Adrian.

August 25, 2001 Up very early on Saturday, could not wait until programming started. At 10:00 off to the Ballroom again for “The Pen vs. The Sword” with Gillian, F. Braun and Anthony. They are in the process of filming a new TV series called “MythQuest” and showed us clips of one episode which both Anthony and F. Braun appeared in. Anthony played Lancelot and F. Braun was of course, the "evil” guy who kidnaps Queen Guinivere. Much discussion took place about how they filmed the sequences and sword fights. Telling us all the behind the scenes secrets. It was fun and it's nice to know they'll be back on screen soon. I stayed glued to my seat, anxiously awaiting the next session….an Hour with Adrian Paul!!! The Ballroom filled quickly, almost no empty seats. Cameras at ready, we all waited. Suddenly a hush filled the room, then screams and yells. Adrian was on stage!!! Dressed in a light colored shirt and cream pants, there he was. It took a while for the commotion to die down. He paced, he sat, he just filled the room with his presence. People were scrambling to get pictures and the room was flooded with flash, like a strobe light. At this Con I must say the lighting was much better and not so dark, which made taking pictures better. For an hour, we listened in awe as Adrian answered questions from the audience. Sincere in each answer, he was patient and thoughtful. After a while I forgot about pictures and just filled my soul with looking at him. All of us had huge grins plastered on our faces and we must have looked like a room full of Cheshire Cats to him. He talked about "Tracker" and shared several funny anecdotes. One, which had us all drooling in anticipation was about filming in his underwear. Underwear!!!!! Apparently when he is dropped onto Earth to begin his tracking, he comes pretty much in nothing but his undies. Adrian told us they were filming in a field and that traffic was going by. He was laughing as he wondered what the drivers thought seeing a mostly naked man standing in a field. I know if there had been any Adrian Paul fans in that line of cars..they surely would have made a detour! NimNam (Naomi) expressed her sentiments about problems lots of us are experiencing with Adrian's web site on Celebrity Blvd.and  Adrian shared that within a few weeks a new site will be online! Afterwards, Adrian held an autograph session, and those of us unlucky ones who did not have a ticket, wandered past those in line with envy on our faces. Sigh. I went to the Silent Auction room and got close up looks at some of the clothes that Adrian and the other cast wore in the movie Endgame. I held the sword slashed sweater he wore in that great fight scene….I touched the coat he wore in the opening scenes, as well as the one Christopher Lambert wore. It was heaven and about as close as I'll ever get. One thing that was so great, was running into the celebrities in the elevator (4 times with F. Braun myself!) and in the hallways. All were gracious and friendly, willing to let you take a picture or get an autograph. Bob Chapin held court near the Ballroom almost all weekend! F. Braun too. Tracy Scroggins came up to the elevators as we stood there and Lee was the brave one asking for a picture. One person actually, physically, ran into Adrian scaring everyone. She about knocked him over, but you can read her story as soon as she submits it. She also got a cheek smack from Stan in the elevator!! Liz wandered up with her friend, and guard, but took the elevator by themselves. At 1:30 I headed to the Ballroom for "Stories from the Set" with Nadia Cameron-Blakey, Anthony De Longis, Ocean Hellman, James Horan, Tracy Scroggins, Bruce Young and a urprise guest...Richard Lynch. He's been in hundreds of movies ("Blind Faith") and such a familiar face. They all had tales to tell but most of the stories centered on the bad weather they all incurred while filming during their careers. Ocean told a hilarious tale about one film where they were in the water and it was snowing. Most of us know that film crews use potato flakes to make fake snow and this time, because the actors were wet, the flakes began to do what they are intended to do. Make mashed potatoes!!! So they were all covered in potatoes and had to be scraped off. After laughing myself silly, it was off to find lunch. At 3:30 Jim Byrnes, David Abramowitz, Liz Gracen, Donna Lettow and Peter Wingfield gathered to discuss "Another Moral Dilemma: Ethical Issues in Highlander." A short clip was shown for each actor. Little clips of Jim telling everyone he  was a Watcher and would "not get involved." The audience was hysterical, for as we all know...he does! Peter too got his share of ribbing as he repeatedly professes his morality and Liz's clips were mostly of her doing what she does best...get in trouble. It was entertaining and fun to see them pick on each other. The Auction, what most of us were now waiting for started about 4:30. The Ballroom filled up..no one wanted to miss this. Scripts, posters, a sword and collectibles were up for grabs. The bidding was fierce. Adrian was at his peak. The ultimate fun was when a Necklace, Earring and bracelet set was set up for bids. Liz got the idea that Adrian should model them. On goes the necklace (he was so gracious about this too!), then one earring in his pierced ear. He made a comment about only having the one ear pierced and Liz was having a hard time trying to find a place to put the other earring. Then the bracelet. Adrian's wrist was too big and the audience was busy suggesting place to put it! He strutted around and all he needed was a purse and shoes to compete the ensemble. Talk about funny! After the auction, Julie, Elaine and I went outside for a breather. As we are standing there, Peter W. comes up with his security. That Kentucky drawl of Julia's rang out."Hello, good lookin." Peter stopped, and chatted with us! My knees were knocking so hard, my mind blank, I didn't even think about asking for a picture. OK, smack me now! Then it was off to get ready for the Gala. Everyone dressed in their finest. Some in costumes of serving wenches, some even wore jeans. It was a "Gala" affair. Darkened room, candles on the tables, chandeliers glittering. First on stage were the ladies who put together Reunion who thanked all the volunteers and the hundreds who helped set up the Con. Then  James Horan, dressed in a black velvet long coat with silver buttons, pantaloon pants, lace up boots, looking every bit like a pirate came onstage. He sang his renditions of quite a few songs which were well received by the audience. Then, through a side door we see Jim Byrnes being escorted in. He took the stage and the place went wild. After tuning up, the blues rang out, his husky voice enrapturing us. Meanwhile, the stars started coming in to be seated at  tables near the stage. Anthony De Longis and his partner got up and did a great slow dance, then others started filtering to the dance floor. Suddenly, a hush went through the crowd and Adrian was sneaking in through a side door. Wearing a light colored shirt, black vest and black pants he was magnificent. The audience was quiet and necks craned to see him. Soon though, the dance floor was packed as everyone got into the spirit and danced their hearts out. When we registered, we were all asked to respect the privacy of the stars and most of us did so. Yet, there were some avid fans who were rude enough to intrude upon them at the Gala. One at a time, they approached the table to speak with Adrian, it was horrid. All of us at our table felt such sympathy for him and the rest of the cast. While we all feel as if we know them, watching the tapes over and over, following their careers, they do deserve their privacy too. Of course, security was tight and most were turned away, but still.. it put a pall on the event. (I'll get off my soapbox now!) Jim took what seemed like 5 encores or more..no one wanted him to leave the stage, but sadly the night came to an end. With dreamy eyes, still excited, fans gathered in the lobby, bar and hallways to talk about their wonderful evening. As for me, tired, exhausted I decided to leave the next morning and missed the Sunday programming. Perhaps someone else will tell us those tales. Peace.... Riley