C.S. Lewis.
You know your a geek when you write Frodo and Bilbo's birthday (Sept. 22) on your calender and forget you wrote it there.... Guilty!
On Saturday my dad and I drove up to Canada where all of his family lives. We went to a mini-reunion where I met two great-aunts and one great-uncle visiting from Holland. How wonderful! I really enjoyed hearing them all speak Dutch with my Grama and then switch to English so Dad and I could understand.... Plus Dutch people just have wonderful accents. I love them.
Hallo. Hoe gaat het met u? Ik wassen mijn handen met zeep. Mijn vader had drie kopjes van koffie.
(Hello. How are you? I wash my hands with soap. My dad had three cups of coffee.)
That's pretty much what I've learned in Dutch thus far. Thanks Rosetta Stone. =D
Anyway, I'm not here to talk Dutch. I'm here to tell you what I did in Canada.
On Saturday I hung out with my cousin and went over to my aunt's for dinner and a game of Apples to Apples (we played a different way - try NOT to get the green apple cards! I lost...).
Then on Saturday - after a hearty breakfast of Grama's pancakes, mmmmmmmmm - my dad, uncle, and cousin and I went to the PNE. Aka the Pacific National Exhibition. Aka the fair.
We had fun watching the people riding the rides (they were too expensive for us to ride, thank goodness), looking at all the different food venders (half of the PNE was food venders. It was sad), trying fried foods (fried Wagon Wheels are better than friend Oreos), watching a Super Dog Show (those Super Dogs are so amazing! They danced freestyle and jumped over nine bars and raced... it was so cool! I never thought that I would say I love Justin Bieber but that dog sure was cute. Really, though, who would name their dog Justin Bieber?), and I had an immensely fun time going through STAR TREK THE EXHIBITION!!!!
I now feel that I can really claim the title "Trekkie."
Unfortunately no photos were allowed.... However if you were willing to pay $25 you could get your picture taken in Captain Kirk's original chair, on the bridge of Picard's Enterprise, and in the transporter beam. We weren't willing. So no pictures.
But let me start at the beginning....
"On Sunday before the reunion we want to do something like go for a hike or maybe go to the PNE." Daddy says a few days before we leave.
"What's the PNE?" I ask.
"It's a fair that I used to go to when I was a kid. And they have a special Star Trek Exhibition-"
"LET'S GO!"
Fast forward a few days and we enter the fair and frantically search the map for the Star Trek Exhibition. There it is, just a short walk from where we are standing. So we walk there and the lineup is huge! I really don't know why I was expecting it to be otherwise.... Star Trek = a line of Trekkies - and probably a few Trekkers as well - dressed in costume. Not too many people were dressed in full costume (there were about 5 or 6). Some were wearing Star Trek T-shirts.
So we get to the line and we're all thinking, "I hope this is worth it... A long wait... probably hours..." I was sure that the others would outvote me and we would leave. But we didn't, hooray! And the best part? Under the tent was the line, but also 6 TVs! And playing on the TVs? The newest Star Trek movie! So while we waited in line (thankfully it wasn't the promised 1 hour 30 minute wait, it was only 45 minutes) we got to watch some of the new Star Trek movie and sooner than I would have liked (we didn't even get to see Scotty!) we were at the front of the line and entering Star Trek: The Exhibition.
The first area was Captain Kirk's original chair which I got to sit in! I felt honored to place my bottom where William Shatner's bottom once sat.... and everyone else's bottoms that sat their that day.
Then onto the next area. A big Star Trek timeline was on the wall - not a real life timeline but a within-the-Star-Trek-universe timeline which can get pretty confusing because Enterprise was the last TV show made but it happens first in the Star Trek timeline. And then Old Spock messes things up when he accidentally destroys Romulus and Niro and his angry group of Romulans go back in time and mess up the timeline....
Basically this is the within-the-Star-Trek-universe-timeline.
Star Trek: First Contact (Next Generation movie where they go back in time).
Enterprise seasons 1-5.
Star Trek 2009 movie in an alternate timeline.
Star Trek Original Series seasons 1-3.
Star Trek: The Animated Series seasons 1-2.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek: The Search for Spock.
Star Trek: The Voyage Home.
Star Trek: The Final Frontier.
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.
Star Trek The Next Generation Series seasons 1-7.
Star Trek: Generations.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine Series seasons 1-7 (overlapping with Star Trek TNG and Generations and Insurrection AND Voyager).
(JULIAN!!!!!! He's up there in the middle, the one behind the Feringi with the ears and he's MINE! My own. My precious....)
Star Trek Voyager Series seasons 1-7.
Star Trek: Insurrection (a TNG movie).
Star Trek: Nemesis (a TNG movie).
There you go. Star Treks confusing timeline.
Now back to the Star Trek Exhibition.... After the timeline, there were a few miniatures (a Klingon warbird and a Vorta ship I believe... it might have been an Andorian ship) and some heads (a Klingon, an Andorian, MORN!!)
Morn:
A few Klingon high council chairs.... And costumes. Oh my word they had so many costumes! Kirk's, about 4 Spock's, two Uhura's, Charles Trip Tucker the 3rd (is it bad that I recognized his uniform before even getting near the name plate?), Data, Geordi, Guinen (minus the hat - it probably didn't fit haha), Picard's original uniform and his dress uniform, all the uniforms from the newest movie, General Chang (I love Klingon shoes... They have little Veliceraptor claws on them), Worf, Seven of Nine, Chakotay, Neelix and Kes, Sisko, Kira Nerys, Khan and more!
There were lots of data PADDS and phasers and com badges and communicators and other props like that.
There were a few Borg.
(Personally I like the Borg better than the Daleks... I think that the Borg are the best sci-fi villains ever).
There was a green screen that made you look like you were on the bridge of Kirk's Enterprise and then there was a line to get out.... Yeah. It turns out it was actually the line for the second picture, the one on Picard's bridge.
I sat in Picard's chair (the middle) and did his signature "engage."
Then onto the last are, the transporter. We didn't stand in line for that picture and instead looked around the gift shop and then left.
It was the perfect beginning to the day and now I cannot wait until next year's Star Trek conference in Las Vegas... Mom? Dad? Are you reading this? Can we go? Pleeeeeeaaaaasseeeee???!
And now to finish this blog post... If you are a Trekkie, this song is ESSENTIAL to listen to.
Hehe, I love that CS Lewis quote!
ReplyDeleteAlso, what's the difference between a Trekkie and a Trekker? *is confuzzled* I thought they were the same thing...
That sounds like a pretty cool museaum! Certainly a fun experience, from what you say!
Me dear, you are funny. That and I'm tired, so I probably giggled an extra long time...but still. The image of you sitting in Kirk's chair, as you put it, place my bottom where William Shatner's bottom once sat, cracked me up. You've given me my new giggling material for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteOh man! I wish I was there to go with you! I even have a Star Trek uniform, of sorts...pity though you didn't get to see the new Scotty. I like him almost as much as the old Scotty. "I like it here! It's exciting!"
Okay...that just set me off again.
Hello, Abbey's Julian. *Waves*
I would have done some kind of fan girl squeal at the sight of Spock's uniform. He's one of my favourites. I think it is because he's a bit like Sherlock.
Anyhow...I saw the one with the baby the other night. I loved it, one of my favourites.
"Say it! This baby is mine! Mine! Mine!"
"This baby is yours! Yours! Yours!"
"McCoy, where is our baby?"
"YOUR baby?"
"Hard to explain, captain."
and the ending. "I think the both of you will be insufferable for the next month, SIR."
Anyhow...what I came over for was to tell you I've awarded you.
ALLONS-Y