This past month was my most anticipated trip of the year: TwitchCon in San Diego (October 3-8). It had been 3 years since the last TwitchCon, which is crazy when you think about it. Covid was such a brutal virus that it knocked out life for a good two years and even major conventions were suspended for a 3-year hiatus. We lost a good amount of our lives to that outbreak.
If you don't know by now, Twitch has become a big part of my life. I spend roughly 30 hours a week streaming on the platform and many more countless hours watching others and hanging out in their communities. I honestly believe you can make real friends off this platform, and TwitchCon helps solidify that belief when you finally get to meet these people in person.
This year, I had been planning the TwitchCon trip with my friend AlecAfterHours since March when the convention was announced. Alec is a friend I met through Twitch because we both had a love for Fortnite, and we spend a lot of nights just playing Fortnite and talking about stuff going on around the platform. We were both at the TwitchCon in 2019 but didn't actually get to meet that time, although chances are we were probably around each other since my friend Stapus was friends with many of his friends who were there.
For San Diego, we booked an AirBnB for 10 people, expecting to invite many of our friends to come party with us. Because that's basically what TwitchCon is...a big party where you'll see several people that you've seen streaming or chatting on the platform. I then bought a "3-day ticket + party" for the convention but was only planning to make it out there 2 of the 3 days. Honestly, the convention itself is nothing too exciting and I usually spend more time meeting up with people than checking out exhibits and shows.
I got in on Thursday night and met up with Alec and everyone to grab some snacks and drinks for the AirBnB, which was a pretty nice space about a 10-minute drive away from downtown in Golden Hills.
Later that night, we headed over to the convention center to grab our badges. A few of the girls staying with us are Partners on Twitch, so they went to the exclusive Partner Party while I met up with friends at the bar. It was wild to meet so many friends that night that I had accumulated over the past three years. I made it a game where I was posting in my Discord channel my location and if you found me, I would buy you a drink. Needless to say, I did spend quite a bit of money this weekend, but I do like to treat my friends!
On Friday, we didn't make it to the convention until 2pm because we had stayed up the previous night until 5am hanging out and drinking at the AirBnB. When we got to the convention, I literally didn't leave the Artist Alley because I ran into several friends and by the time that was over, I was ready to go to the Kappa Kabana for some bar games and drinks. Tess and I challenged Alec and Kevin to a couple rounds of cornhole, which we would eventually split 1-1 and we never actually got to resolve that competition. On Friday night, we had made reservations for 20 people at the Crab Hut. Turns out we ended up having 25 people show up, which I was all for. The more the merrier! Just another example of how crazy TwitchCon can get and the number of friends you have the opportunity to hang out with throughout the weekend!
I spent most of the night barhopping until I eventually made my way back to the AirBnB to use the hot tub. However, at 2am in the morning, we heard a large crash outside our AirBnB. A drunk driver had hit another car and swerved into the fence of the AirBnB. Fortunately no one was hurt, but it was clear those guys should not have been driving. Eventually the cops showed up, but the main annoyance of the night was that one of the guys in the car that caused the accident got abandoned and kept pestering us for help. He was apparently military and was trying to get back to his naval base, which would be a 40-minute walk down the streets of San Diego. I tried to direct him how to get there, but after he walked one block he turned around and continued to ask us for help. Eventually we caved in and arranged an Uber for him, which was not an easy task considering he had a concussion and was bleeding from the mouth. I guess police did not feel it was appropriate to call this guy an ambulance. It ended up being a really long night for us and I didn't fall asleep until 7am.
I slept in on Saturday and completely missed the convention. It's a good thing I got a 3-day pass and I knew I was only going to go there on two of the three days anyway. That evening, we made reservations for the Rustic Root to get those memorable tomahawk steaks that I loved from my experience 3 years ago. We invited only the people from the AirBnB for a more intimate and private experience. Later that night, we had a gathering at our AirBnB before heading out to Hillcrest, so we made it out there for an interesting but fun experience. There was a club that was open past 2am (although you could no longer order alcohol at that point) and we literally danced in a crowded dance floor for an hour. Even though I don't dance often, it was actually a fun time given the environment. I guess you had to be there. :D
On Sunday I went back to the convention and made an effort to actually see the exhibits and the Expo Hall and I talked to several exhibitors regarding products and games that I had interest in. I then went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner to return for that Garlic Shrimp Alfredo I enjoyed three years ago, but they were out of that dish! I was severely disappointed and ended up getting some mushroom pasta that I didn't even like and only ate half of. :( Oh well, it is what it is. The rest of the night I would spend barhopping until I eventually got invited to a huge TwitchCon party in La Mesa. This place was literally a mansion on a secluded hilltop. Apparently it was an AirBnB that the renters paid their neighbors $500 each to prevent them from reporting noise complaints. They also hired security to check IDs, ensuring no minors would be illegally underage drinking. Someone even bought several taco boxes from Taco Bell at 3am to feed everyone. Although it was a really big space that could've housed a 100-person party, there was only about 50 people there, which was kind of disappointing. Regardless, it was a fun time and they did have a pool table where Alec and I doubled up to play anyone who challenged us and of course we did not lose (even though i don't think Alec made more than a ball a game haha).
On Monday, everyone had planned to leave in the evening, but we went out to Haidilao Hotpot in La Jolla for a long afternoon lunch. This was actually a really good restaurant and probably the best hot pot experience I've ever had, and I don't even like hot pot that much. I didn't fly out until Tuesday morning because the only direct flight from San Diego back to Tucson leaves at 10am daily and that would have been painful to do after a late night of drinking on Sunday night had I flown out Monday. I got a hotel for the night at Wyndham Bayside, watched the Chiefs play and then called it a night.
TwitchCon 2022 was the best TwitchCon I had been to so far and I expect next year's to be even better! I was constantly meeting up with people and pretty much met everyone I was hoping to meet up with, and I expect it to grow bigger and better over time. Until next year!
