On Saturday, July 22, 2000, we arrived at the Comic-Con about 10 minutes after Amber Benson (Tara) and Emma Caulfield (Anya) were scheduled to sign autographs. However, the security had already cut off the line! My sister and I were very disappointed since we really wanted to meet them. I had had the idea earlier to bring wallet-sized pictures that we had taken this year to the event. Since we couldn't join the line to meet Amber and Emma, I decided to take a chance with something. I wrote on the back of one of the pictures, "Amber and Emma, The line was cut off, so we don't get to meet you. Can you take a picture with us sometime before you leave?" We stood by the exit and I handed the photo to a woman sitting at the end. It turns out that she was Amber's mother! I don't know if that actually helped or not, but it was a nice coincidence. Anyway, I asked her if she could do me a favor and hand the picture to Amber and Emma. She handed it to the man sitting next to her (a TotalFan.com staff member). I then nervously asked him if he could give it to them and tell them it's from us. After reading it, he said that he would when there was a break in the line. Eventually he handed our picture to Amber, and Amber and Emma proceeded to read it. My sister and I watched eagerly as they leaned over our tiny picture to read the back. After a few seconds, either one or both of them looked up and said "Sure!" and signaled for us to come over. The line was actually stopped just for us! When we walked over, Amber pointed to both of us and said, "I'm assuming a sister relation?" Since we are sisters, I told her yes. Then Emma asked me how I was. I told her "I'm embarrassed!" They also said that we had a cute picture. We then sat on the table to pose for two pictures with Amber and Emma behind us. Next, I thanked them and said that it was nice meeting them. They tried to give us back the picture, but I send that they could keep it. They couldn't decide who got to keep it, so I told them we had more. As we walked away, I also told Amber that I sent her a letter, and she said that she goes to work on Tuesday, where there's a bunch of stuff there for her. I'm hoping that Amber reads my letter! After we walked away, Amber's mother said that the first picture we gave them was for Amber . Therefore, I wrote the second one out to Emma, thanking her for taking a picture with us.

After taking a few more pictures of Amber and Emma, my sister and I got in line to meet Anthony Stewart Head (Giles). Amber and Emma graciously stayed an extra hour to finish signing autographs, so we waited about an hour and a half after that for Anthony. He ended up arriving 35 minutes late, but he did have, what I'm assuming, his wife and daughters in tow. Since we got in line relatively early, we were towards the front of the line. Eventually, we found out that we could only get an autographed picture of Anthony, and that if we wanted to take pictures, we could do so by the exit. Nevertheless, I picked a photo and had him sign it. I asked if he could put my name on it, to which he replied that he's not supposed to, but since I asked, he would. I also told him that I love him on the show, and he happily said, "Thank you!" and smiled. Of course, I told him "You're welcome" and was on my way. I took a few pictures of Anthony and then headed over to the next line.

Luckily, my dad was standing in line for us, so my sister and I could join him. They had already cut off the line when we got there, so it took us a while to convince the security to allow me and my sister to join my dad. After waiting three hours, we finally got to meet James Marsters (Spike) and Julie Benz (Darla). By that time, they were running over their allotted time, so we could only get un-personalized autographs and say hi. Thank goodness my dad was there to take pictures of us while we stood in front of them! We bought pictures of them to get signed and waited our turn. When we finally got to them, I gave James his picture and he shook my hand! I told him that it was nice to meet him. I then gave Julie her picture and said it was nice to meet her. I also told Julie that I really liked her on Roswell (she played Agent Topolski), to which she replied "Thank you!" Then I turned back to James and said that I like it when he's funny on the show. He stated that he likes it better when he gets to play a "bad ass!" I then told him that when he's funny, he's entertaining! After that, I thanked them and left.

Despite all of the exhausting standing in line that I did, I really had a good time. If the line for Amber and Emma wasn't closed, we would have never given them our picture. I hope they remember that! I'm glad that I got to meet five actors from my favorite television show; it was truly a memorable experience! If any of them ever read this, thank you for being a special part of a wonderful day! You were all very friendly and kind!