ECL: LAN Party Mayhem at Virginia Beach

It was the weekend before Christmas, and all through the hall, not a creature was stirring, except for a couple hundred gamers in a frag free for all. It was game on at the East Coast LAN (ECL) winter event. The short and dirty: the event was well worth the trek from anywhere accessible by plane, car or train.

For me, this was my first adventure to game in Virginia with everyone at ECL. It took a couple of flights to get there, but it was well worth the trip.

I got a lot of amusing looks when I came walking into the airport with my computer case. I am sure that this was probably the first time these holiday travelers had ever seen an ATX case as carry on luggage. When I got up to the baggage inspectors I was surprised to hear them say that this wasn't uncommon for them to see. "We get a few of these a day," answered the TSA officer.

After making it through myself, I had to stop and snap a few shots of my friend. He was getting the royal treatment with the hand held metal detector. Watch? Beep! Belt? Beep! Shoes? Beep! Everything was setting it off. I took a couple of shots hoping to capture the perfect picture of this spectacle only to get a tap on my shoulder from a large burly uniformed officer saying, "You cannot take pictures this side of the checkpoint." Needless to say you won't see that picture here since I had to delete them immediately.

We landed in Norfolk, picked up the rental car and headed out for the venue. The airport was only seven miles or about 13 minutes from the hall according to the map. This was a very nice arrangement especially since I am not familiar with the area. As I walled in the door all that could be seen was a sea of computers and some heads parked behind their monitors.

Hundreds of gamers all in one place for the holidays. Over two hundred gamers all geared up for a weekend to remember.