So with a few weeks to spare and majority of my paycheck
spent on reservations and tickets, I eagerly awaited our two day, whirlwind
trip, and in hindsight, it did not disappoint.
I worked on the previous night, and after a short power nap,
my dad arrived at my apartment to follow my sister into Dallas, where he lied
and said I could sleep on the ride to the hotel. Admittedly, he doesn't have
the best eye sight to watch my sister's car and look out for the cars around
him, but he lied and I think he should be held accountable for his actions.
Every time I closed my eyes or there was a tired, silent pause, he'd mention
one of our many childhood trips across the state. And even throughout my angsty
childhood adolescence, I could only recall fond memories of shifting through
the sands on the beaches of Galveston or touring through old battleships in
Corpus Christi. And despite being the closest and one of the most well-known
metropolitans in the country, we hardly ever visited Dallas; maybe it's just a
Fort Worth complex. But as the skyline along the horizon slowly developed into
skyscrapers and concrete canyons before our very own eyes, it was hard not to
view the city as something big and foreign and grand; it was Dallas, and we had
arrived.
When we checked into the Hotel Indigo of Dallas, I was kept
awake by fumes and excitement. Originally known as the Dallas Hilton, the hotel
was built in 1925, and it was the first hotel to bear the Hilton name.
Alongside its once proud heritage, it's been renovated and changed ownerships
several times withstanding periods of neglect, disarray and the great
depression. Currently, it's been restored with quaint rooms, bright pastel
colors, and an open bar with friendly service. Also, it was cheap and across
the street from a parking garage. Our hotel room had a chic dorm room charm
with hardwood floors, a desk, television and two polka dotted couches facing a
small coffee table; the adjoining bedroom had its own television and a small
bathroom with a shower. In most regards, it was small but pleasant, and for the
first few minutes, we shared stories as we finished the Italian cream cake that
my sister stashed away from the previous night. We exchanged presents; I bought
them both ukuleles with tuners and carrying cases, and my sister instantly
started playing with it. Since we had some time before Medieval Times, my
sister said that I should take a nap in the bedroom while they practiced with
their new toys, and as I closed the bedroom door and laid down on the soft bed,
amassed within the several small pillows that accumulated near the head of the
bed, my sister continued to play with her ukulele and I couldn't get a minute
of sleep. She later said that she tried to soothe me to sleep, which would have
sounded cuter if she was like ten or something.
At first we were a little concerned that we wouldn't be able
to find Medieval Times so we printed out directions and typed its address into
the GPS systems, but it's actually really hard to miss a large white castle
with ivy shrouded towers from the highway, and we arrived about an hour early,
just as the school and tour buses unloaded in the parking lot. If you're not
familiar with Medieval Times, it's a restaurant chain inside a castle-like
structure with a medieval-style tournament and customary feast. Also, it's
expensive. On the draw bridge, we presented our reservation slips, and we were
given a few small cards with our seat numbers and the colors of our knight.
Inside, we were presented our color coordinated crowns and ushered into the
great hall, which primarily consisted of a large central gift shop with two
open bars flanked on either side. We wandered around for a few minutes; some
guests waited in line for pictures with the king and princess while others
gawked at fully armored suits and weapons that were for sale. Besides looking
at the horses through Plexiglas and metal bars, we primarily talked outside in
the smoking section next to the falcon pen. The bar offered a wide assortment
of mixed drinks, and to my surprise, they had Angry Orchard, my favorite brand
of hard apple cider. Believe it or not, hard apple cider tastes best in a cold,
overpriced glass goblet, especially if it's blue; I know from experience.
Before long, the arena doors opened, and we were ushered to
our seats in the front row near the center of the arena. And whether or not
you’re a fan of the show, you have to admit that it’s quite a production.
Within the opening minutes, the stadium became dark and mist brewed along the
arena floor before a large white stallion frolicked along the ring as the
narrator explained the event’s prestigious backstory. They introduced the king
and princess, and we cheered as the strong, noble knights trotted to their
respected colored sections. We were in the black and white knight’s section,
and I don’t want to seem racist or historically inaccurate, but our knight was
black, and I think all black knights are bad asses. Throughout the beginning of
the event, the horses stole the show with their grace and poise as they trampled
through the mist covered arena, performing gallant trots and ambitious leaps
across the air. Next the falcon displayed his guile as he swooped through the
audience, and I could literally feel the breath of his wings as he whipped past
my head. As the event felt like it was slowly winding down, a thin black net
descended around the arena, and shit got real. After the soft preview of the
knights lancing metal rings and a friendly relay on horseback, the tournament
ended with jousting and a combination of melee weapons from swords, axes and
flails. Unfortunately, we all kind of knew it was rigged, and despite the hard
blows and several sparks clashing from sword to sword, it all felt like a
heavily staged wrestling match with weapons. And despite how hard a certain
group cheered for their knight (the middle school band section literally
screamed and chanted for the blue knight to get up and keep fighting), we all
kind of knew it wasn’t going to happen. Ultimately, it was a great show,
especially when you consider that they perform twice a day, and despite being
staged, they held nothing back; you could hear every lance shatter throughout
the jousting event and feel every hard blow deflected from a knights’ shield.
It was full contact, and after the event, I’m sure they left several kids
dreaming to be knights someday.
Also, the food was great. It was all finger food, and I
accidently lost my napkin midway through the program so I felt a little
disgusting until they handed out moist towelettes at the very end, but that's hardly their fault. And they
apparently had an alternative vegetarian menu, which was probably just more
soup, bread and potatoes, but it’s good that it’s an option; I’m sure most
vegetarians would have just starved in the real medieval times.
Afterwards, I was pooped, and after a few beers we were off
to bed. According to the confirmation email, Travelocity claimed that the hotel
would provide three beds, whether standard beds with mattresses or pullout beds
from couches. Fortunately, our room came with one standard bed and two pullout
beds; unfortunately, there wasn’t enough space in the hotel room to pullout
both beds at the same time. But there were two of them; I’ll give them that.
And even as I laid on my fairly comfortable couch that could be a bed but for
the sake of space remained a couch, I still couldn’t sleep. Around 2:00am we
turned off the television after watching halfway through Jerry Maguire and
around 6:30am the sun came up. Instead of closing the blinds and going back to
bed like a sane, rational person, my dad started singing happy birthday to
himself until we eventually turned on the television and watched About a Boy
until my sister woke up around 11:00am. It was bound to be a long day.
Located in the West End Historic District of Downtown
Dallas, the Dallas World Aquarium houses an eclectic variety of animals inside
a renovated warehouse built in 1924. Despite its compact, one block perimeter,
the aquarium offered the best indoor ecological experience I’ve ever seen with
its lush flora and wide selection of animals from free roaming birds on tree
tops to creatures dwelling beneath the bottom of the oceans; even the pathway
leading into the ticket counter had kids running and bustling about to see the
different types of birds and mammals. And there were a lot of kids. For some
reason, I usually underestimate the amount of children that will hysterically
run amuck through large zoos and museums, but at the time, I figured the
aquarium wouldn’t be busy since it was a school day. Unfortunately, I didn’t
take account for field trips. There must have been at least five different
field trips at the aquarium that day, and despite all of its greatness, I’m
sure the aquarium’s entrance would have been disorienting without the swarm of
children. After you pay for the tickets, you’re given a map, and I think the
best thing to do with the map would be to not look at it until you’re out of
the aquarium. With its multi-level pathways, colorful pictures and detailed
descriptions of several different animals, the map works best as a free
souvenir, something for the kids to look at on the way home. Start from the top
and work your way down, go slow and loop back if you miss anything; in the
canopy, there’s really only one pathway, and it slowly descends onto the ground
floor and weaves into the depths of the aquarium’s large fish tanks. Also,
there are penguins; don’t miss the penguins.
On the top floor, we immediately became immersed in the lush
green hues of varied plants and trees and felt overwhelmed by the manmade
waterfall that rushed onto the small river several flights below; there were
free roaming birds and monkeys on tree tops and large, bloated manatees and two
slowly hanging sloths. Everything felt active and alive, and every inch of the
aquarium possessed something unique and fascinating if you just took the time
to look for it. Except at the giant otter enclosure. Admittedly, my sister and
I are otter enthusiasts, and they’re easily one of our favorite animals at the
zoo. Unfortunately, we could not find the giant otter; we dipped our heads
below the water tank and scoured the land for any hiding places. After a few
minutes, we moved along to the fish exhibit and ventured through the shark
infested aquarium tunnel and past the island of small and often sleepy penguins,
but before we left aquarium, we needed to see the otter. The enclosure still
appeared empty on our second attempt, and after a while, we walked up a
different level in hopes of seeing him at a different angle. And right when we
were peered down at his enclosure, we saw him swimming about in the water pool.
We rushed down as fast as we could, just in time to see him pace a few more
laps as we frantically tried to take pictures of him, but he just refused to
stay still. After a while, our venture was complete and we thoroughly explored
the Dallas World Aquarium, including the gift shop. Zoos and museums have the
best gift shops. And they even had a nice, little restaurant where my dad
consumed a tall glass of margarita and proclaimed that he could drink and look
out over the forest all day long.
With just a couple hours before Comic Con opened, we were
exhausted and retreated back to the hotel room to refresh ourselves with coffee
and indolence. And after we spent a few minutes sprawled out on the couch, basking
in the small pleasantries of idleness and air conditioning, we were off to our
next adventure.
If you're unfamiliar with the Dallas Comic Con, it's the
three day event that celebrates the vast facets of science fiction from comic
book creators to actors from well-known science fiction movies and television
shows. Since its creation, the convention has been held at smaller venues
throughout the metroplex, but with its recent change in management, it was the
first time the event was held at the Dallas Convention Center. Top billings for
this year's event included Stan Lee, William Shatner, and several cast members
from Firefly, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Walking Dead. And from
the moment that we heard about it, my sister and I were stoked. Unfortunately,
my sister could only attend one day, and we were slightly disappointed with the
limited panels and Q & A sessions held on its opening day, with the assumption
that most fans attended the event on Saturday and Sunday. Still, it was the
first time at a science fiction convention, and we were excited about the
prospect of it being unexpected, and it did not disappoint.
Since we weren't familiar about where to park or enter the
convention center, we primarily relied on the small herd of fans wearing
science fiction t-shirts and guests dressed as zombies. Clearly if you're
dressed as a zombie, you have to have some general idea on where you're going;
it's not like they were going to go grocery shopping or meeting a few friends
at a coffee shop. As we crossed the street and headed up the elevator, I
thought our vague little plan was working; we past a few standard super heroes
and batman clad in a wedding dress, which signified that we plainly had the
right building, but we still didn't know where we going. Unfortunately, it
wasn't a perfect plan; after following the crowd to the exhibit hall, we were
told at the door to retrieve our wrist bands at the ticket hall after we
presented our advance tickets. And it was slightly embarrassing and didn't bode
well for my confidence, but I felt a little better after a few more people were
turned away at the door with the same issue. Before the convention, my sister
mentioned splitting up and exploring the convention hall on our own, and
initially, it sounded like a great idea, except it probably meant that I would
be stuck with our dad since he didn't even want to attend the event in the
first place. For the record, I love my dad, and we've had some great
adventures, but I've been in enough events with him to know that he's not the
most organized tourist, and I didn't want him short selling the event if he
just walked down the same aisle for an hour.
And as we entered the exhibition hall, with his several rows
of booths and comics and action figures and collectors' items and cosplay
groups and comic book artists and literal towers of science fiction themed
t-shirts, I was overwhelmed. Despite being a soft open, with majority of the
crowds and attractions to come over the weekend, there were enough cosplay
enthusiasts to keep my head whirling and eyes attentive for the next fictional
personnel to brush past my shoulder. It's so rare to attend an event where
every square inch of the floor possessed something valuable; down one aisle,
you could spend hours digging through troves of comic books and boxed action
figures and t-shirts, and you'd still be surprised and excited about what you
would find in the next booth. In a void, an iron man hoodie qualifies as
something special and unique, but at the convention, it's lined up near a batman
hoodie and a Chewbacca hoodie and superman bathrobe and a star trek bathrobe,
and the list continued until you turned away or stopped counting.
That being said, I didn't buy anything. Through the
organized disarray, my sister purchased a few things from Cyanide &
Happiness, including a personal, and completely disturbing, drawing from the
artists, a few science fiction medical patches, and a small Doctor Who tote
bag, because there was apparently a trust between venders to not give away free
plastic bags with every purchase. It's a conspiracy; someone really needs to
look into it. And my dad bought a samurai sword, because that's a thing.
Personally, I'm an indecisive buyer, and I feel more comfortable spending money
on someone else instead of myself. In hindsight, a cheap light saber seemed
extremely impractical at the time, but it would have been a pretty bad ass
flashlight, and I could always use more Pokemon plushies.
On the lower level of the convention hall, removed from the
bustling venders and sales booths, rested the autograph section, filled with
actors and actresses supporting their own legions of die-hard fans in single filed
lines. A few celebrities were missing since it was the first day of the
convention, but there were still several cast members from Firefly, Star Trek:
The Next Generation and The Walking Dead in attendance. I am a huge Firefly fan
and immediately wanted to get all of their autographs, but since their lines
were pretty long, we perused through the crowds and worked our way around. Our
first autograph started with a debate. Near the back of the autograph section,
Christopher Lloyd, best known for his role as Dr. Emmett Brown on the Back to
the Future series, complacently sat with a fairly modest line. As others took
pictures of him from a distance, careful not to impede on the autograph only
section, it occurred to us that Lloyd was pretty old and probably wouldn't
continue the comic con circuit forever. And even though we weren't die-hard
fans and each autograph cost somewhere between $40 to $60, it sounded like a
solid investment; I don't want to sound mean, but ebay will exist long after he
retires.
After we tested the waters, we continued to the cast of Star
Trek: The Next Generation and patiently waited for LeVar Burton's signature,
best known for his portrayal of Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next
Generation and the host of Reading Rainbow. As we picked out a photo for him to
sign, we overheard Burton strike up a conversation with the little girl in
front of us, who was an avid Reading Rainbow fan. She'd recently finished
writing a book, and she was describing all of the characters and backstories
while her mother politely tried to move her along. Meanwhile, Burton carefully
listened and asked her questions about the plot and title. I'm not a fan of
celebrities charging their fans for their autographs, but you just know that he
created an experience that she will never forget and inspired her to keep
reading and writing.And I would gladly support any actor who's willing to make
someone's day and leave their fans feeling happy about themselves.
Afterwards, we waited in line for autographs from Jewel
Staite, Adam Baldwin and Sean Maher, best known for their roles on Firefly as
Kaylee, Jayne and Simon. Easily a fan favorite, Jewel Staites had the longest
line out of the three with some fans carrying pictures, paintings and banners
for her to sign. While my sister temporarily left to retrieve an autograph from
Sean Maher, my dad made a few passive remarks about the people in line; some
lugged around carts full of collectors' items and adorn fan made Firefly vests
and brown coat patches. And I realized that I was proud to be in line with
them. On the surface, Firefly was a television series that lasted one season
more than ten years ago, but the series still prevailed through the support of
its fans, and I found myself in the rare situation where not only did everyone
know about Firefly, but they deeply cared about its characters and the future
of its cast members. I was in a line full of nerds; a passionate group of
people who were willing to be knowledgeable about trivial, even fictional
things, and they were comfortable enough with themselves to be excited and committed
to something despite the fret of judgment or scrutiny. My sister's a paramedic,
and at one of the booths, she managed to find one of the fictional medical
badges that was used during an episodes where the crew posed as paramedics to
rob a government hospital. She asked the three cast members to sign it, which
they all graciously did. And after Adam Baldwin signed it, he quoted one
obscure line from that episode in his character's low, gruffy voice, "We
applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction ... or
something." And it made me realize how much he cared about the show and
the support of its fans.
I had a great time with dad and sister; it was an experience
that I will never forget, and I'm glad that I could share those memories with them.
