Not The Same Con Without Kids

The photo above was supposed to include two of my grandchildren. The fact that it didn't turn out that way is my lament--geeky conventions are not the same for me without kids!

Don't get me wrong. I still had some fun. But the absence of children put a damper on the days for me. I missed them.

People who know me personally and those who follow my media accounts knot that I am a giant geek and proud of it.

People also know I am all about immersing my grandchildren in geekiness. From birth to present, they have all been exposed to the awesomeness of fandoms. I have tried to be age appropriate--My Little Pony, for example. Taking the kids to meet the actors behind the voices of characters has been great fun.

Early introductions to The Princess Bride and Goonies have led us to meet stars like Cary Elwes and Sean Astin in the past.

As they grew older, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings and more have been added to their geek storage banks.

I gift them with geek-centric toys, books and tee-shirts. I take them to conventions. It's our thing.

But not this year.

Tickets were purchased and plans were made, but this year, they tested positive for Covid-19. (Insert super-sad emoji face.)

The good news is, they didn't get seriously ill--cold symptoms and headache, mostly. But the bad news is, not only did I NOT get to take them to the Con, I didn't get to see them in person at all. (Insert crying emoji face.)

You know I wanted to. But I would never risk bringing the virus back to my mother. Also, I had the chance to meet the newest grandchild, now 8-weeks-old, and I would never risk exposing her, either.

So, no visits with grandchildren, no kids at the Con. I had to go with grownups. I love my son and daughter-in-law, but let's be honest here--grownups are not as fun as kids.

Yeah, he's silly. But not as fun as kids. Sorry, son.

Still, I walked in determined to have as much fun as possible without children in tow.

Fan Expo Denver took place July 1-3, 2022.

It was well attended. It wasn't as well-organized as previous conventions I have attended. Some events, such as photo ops and panels, overlapped, making it impossible for some of the guests to be in two places at once.

The Goonies Reunion panel, for example, became a one-man-show.

I felt bad for Cory Feldman. Ke Huy Quan and Kerri Green, scheduled to join the panel, had cancelled their appearances, so it was to be he and Sean Astin. Astin was also there for reunion appearances with the Hobbits of Lord of the Rings, and schedule overlaps kept him from joining in. Feldman handled it well, doing a Question-and-Answer session and engaging with the audience.

I understand that actors need to work, and cancellations happen, but the scheduling issues at the Con were disappointing. Dominic Monaghan missed his solo panel on Saturday and had to reschedule for Sunday.

A fun Friday night panel was a live taping of Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan recording their podcast, The Friendship Onion.

If you've never seen it, I suggest you check them out on YouTube.

I did take advantage of a window in my schedule and met Billy Boyd in person. He is sweet and funny, and a self-proclaimed "selfie expert". I happily handed off the cell phone and let him control the process.

Generally, I get lots of photos of cosplayers, but this year, I didn't. I usually have the grandkids pose with them, and... well, no kids! So, I neglected the cosplay photo plan, doggone me.

I did take photos of cars and Lego structures, though!

By now, you're probably understanding what a huge Lord of the Rings fan I am. I stood in line for quite a time to get the photograph at the beginning of this article. I stood in another to get an autograph from Elijah Wood. I would have stood in more lines for Sean and Dom, but time flies and I needed to get in a very special line.

On Saturday night there was a great panel, a Hobbit Reunion, featuring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.

I will admit this--even with no kids in tow, this was a great deal of fun for me!

The stories, the audience participation, and the zaniness of these men made for a great experience. I had a great time.

This is not my video, but I was there! And they were hilarious. It's free to watch on YouTube. Enjoy.

One must enjoy the conventions no matter what, and I did--disappointments aside.

Just wait until next year. There will be kids, I swear!

~~***~~