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Old 06-15-2005, 09:39 AM   #283
Estelyn Telcontar
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
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Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!
Silmaril Oh, what a wonderful day!

It's time to revive this thread to report on yet another first-time meeting of Barrow-Downs members. Here's a brief account:

On Monday, on my way through Houston via plane, I had the opportunity to meet Thenamir and his family, Child of the 7th Age and her family, and Valesse as well as seeing the LotR exhibition in the museum there.

It was wonderful, every bit of it! Despite the confusing airport, Thena and I recognized each other from photos right away and we all had fun talking in the car on our way to see Child/Sharon. Then there was lots more talking, enjoying her hospitality, and lots to see as we admired her LotR collection - it's wonderful!

We had to pull ourselves away to get to the exhibition on time, which we did, and we met Val and friends there. It was great fun to see everything with fellow Downers, talking about everything and pointing out details to each other. And details there were - the costumes and props were absolutely amazing!! Val shared my interest in costume detailing and fabrics, so we "ooh"d and "aah"d over them. But everything was done with such meticulous attention to details - weapons, belts, papers, masks, armor, banners, all wonderful. There were some fun activities, trying out the tricks they used for scale correction and motion capture.

After over two hours there, we spent some time looking though the many possibilities for spending money on collectibles in the gift shop. I finally decided to buy only a pin that says "I went to Middle-Earth and all I got was this lousy ring" - I did not want to splurge on the genuine Elven cloak (woven by the same company that did the fabric for the movie), which would have set me back almost $1000!!

Dinner and the drive back to the airport took up the remaining time, and on my trip out of Houston I found myself smiling over thoughts of a very enjoyable day - wonderful people and something interesting to do together - can't top that!

When I get back home, I'll try to remember to give a link to the exhibition's online page - we weren't allowed to take pictures there. However, I do have a photo of Sharon, Thena, and myself which I'll put up when I get back home in two weeks.

Perhaps the others will add their reports to mine. I think I hold the record for meeting the most Downers in the course of my travels these past three years, and each time it is a highly enjoyable experience - they (well, I guess I should say "we" ) are a wonderful bunch of people!
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'
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