Arrr, Ye Water Park Be That Way!

Why I be speakin' like a buccaneer?

I be so glad ye asked. On our water filled adventure this weekend, we had th' pleasant surprise o' sharin' th' hotel wi' a Science Fiction convention.

Now, if ye`ve nereseen "Trekkies", I highly suggest ye do, as this will provide a pretty darn clist picture o' what we experienced durin' our overnight trip. Aye, thar be Starfleet officers. But, e'en more prevelant, be th' buccanneers. Lot`s an' lot`s o' buccanneers. Lot`s o' puffy shirts, synched shirts an' britches, stuffed birds an' monkey`s atop shoulders, an' goblets.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ok, I'm done.Yes, we shared our weekend with Capricon, a Science Fiction convention held in Chicago every year. Clearly, a theme which centered on pirates, sea dogs, swabbie's, seafarin' hearties, or whatever you prefer to call 'em, provided the attendee's with some great motivation for their costumes.Yes. That's right! I said costumes!

When we first arrived to check in we noticed pirates in the lobby. Lot's of pirates. We then noticed the signs for the convention. As the day went on there were Starfleet officers, fairies, and, yes, even a Viking Princess.This provided quite a show for the kids. Every 5 seconds Zane was saying, "Hey there's another pirate!"

I think the most interesting exchange came while Harper was pretending to do some karate in the lobby. A boy, around 8 or 9, came over to her really excited and goes,"Cool! Want to see some real avatar moves?"He then proceeds to show us real avatar moves.We both didn't know what an avatar was.From the look she shot me, if this had been Harper on a date with some guy and if I were the friend that calls at an agreed upon time to "check in" in order to provide an "out", I would have most definitely received the "Oh, no! Do you need me to come get you?" response from her and then she would have apologetically excused herself and fled home.

This same boy crawled over to Zane roaring like a lion. ZANE HAS A HUGE FEAR OF LIONS. When he told the kid to "get away from me", the boy, very sweetly, put his hand on Zane's leg and said, "It's ok. I'm a human."

I did try to make a bit of joke while taking a photo of a vulcan."Ok, try not to show any emotion!""I never do" was the response.

I was very impressed with the Starfleet Officer who changed into Indiana Jones later in the evening. I hope he won something for his effort.

The waterpark was great, the room was great, the meals were great, not answering the cell phone or having a computer was great, the time with the kids fantastic, and getting away, even if just for one night, was completely necessary.And, yes, I must admit, the costumed guests did provide great entertainment for our overnight winter getaway.

A good time be had by all.

Especially th' gentleman an' ladies o' fortunes.