Originally I had planned to drive up with a friend to the event, but due to life happening they had to drop so I was looking at a very long 11-hour solo drive, but I was not deterred! That said shortly before the event my Wife and some dear friends convinced me that driving along that far to the Midwest in winter was a bad idea and that I should fly. Seeing my options I purchased a round trip flight. The flights themselves were very nice and short, but there were numerous delays on my second flight the trip up did drag out and much to my dismay I arrived in the same amount of time it would have taken me to drive the entire way. One perk, however, was the wonderful rental I received to go from Green Bay Airport to Waupaca (about a 1-hour drive) was a brand new pick-up truck which would turn out to be one of the biggest blessings for my adventure home.
The venue was a nice hotel in the town and it was easy to see why it was selected as the location. You never had to leave the venue if chose not to and with the temperatures reaching as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit no one wanted to leave. The venue has a large Poll and Hot Tub area, a full Gym, a restaurant, as well as an in house bar with local brews on tap. The gaming hall was a large conference area with plenty of space between the tables to house all 60+ gamers rolling dice that weekend.
The tables themselves were great to play on as well. Neoprene mats and great looking terrain laid out each battlefield and there were even a few fully crafted custom tables as well. The tables felt full, but it would be nice to see a few more pieces in the future to help really fill out the tables in the future.
I got to meet up with a lot of great friends at the event and even those who were unable to make it still managed to be there in spirit. The games were great all weekend long and there was a nice diversity of armies present. Although Beast Claw and Death were a big share of the armies I was happy to see a few other Daughters of Khaine Players and the three of us kept cheering one another on as we praised Khaine in three different lists using three different temples!
As it must all events must come to an end and after Waaaghpaca's Charity Raffle finished and the events Champions crowned it was time to say our goodbyes. I had a great time at Waaghpaca and as I said before I am very happy I made the trek up to partake in all the fun. I saw good friends and made so many more while sharing our shared love of Warhammer and our Community.
With a flight scheduled for the following day to leave you would think my adventure is mostly at an end, but there was more excitement coming my way.
Once the energy of the event began to settle and my army was packed I began realizing I had an impending Snow Storm to ponder. There was a massive storm heading right toward us and initially, I decided to simply check out of the hotel and immediately drive to the hotel near the airport to make the morning easier. However, the storm was continuing to appear worse and worse in the hour drive to the new hotel that night.
I spoke with my car rental service within the airport to get a gauge on what was likely to happen to my morning flight out. It didn't take long for me to decide that there was no way I was flying back anytime soon, but with a new rental vehicle with 4-wheel drive at my disposable, I decided that in order to not get stuck up north that I could outrun the approaching storm if I left that night.
That night I made my escape and drove through Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Chicago to get far enough south to avoid the worse of the storm. I found a hotel to stop at for the night and despite waking up to a snow covered landscape I was able to continue my journey home after a quick breakfast. It was a struggle to get out of Indiana, but once I hit Ohio it was smooth sailing and I found my way home Monday evening.
My flights were canceled and as I was relaxing at home I was very happy I decided to make the drive out. It was an adventure, but I would be a liar if I said I didn't enjoy every bit of the entire trip. It was a challenge and took a lot out of me, but I do have another fun Warhammer story to tell for years to come!
Waaaghpaca was a great time and I encourage everyone to make the effort to make it out to one at least once in their wargaming career. The community up there alone is worth the trip and you are guaranteed to have some great games of Age of Sigmar while you are there. Be sure to join me Thursday as I run through all five of my games at the event. Until then, Happy Hobbying!
Chuck Moore