We suspected this group of people was here for a convention of some sort, and that theory was soon confirmed. But seeing a sign about “Open Filking” didn’t exactly answer all our questions. After a weekend of research and observation, I think we’ve learned the basics.

The convention in question is the Consonance 2008 Convention. As the site describes, it is “the San Francisco Bay Area filk convention.” Filk is generally considered folk music, usually with a science fiction or fantasy theme … or about computers or cats. Filkers, then, are the people participating in this musical movement. Furthermore, if our hotel parking lot is any indication, bumper stickers appear to be an important trademark of filker vehicles. Here are some additional resources, if needed.  After seeing some names and pictures in my research, I realize I rode the elevator with some famous and influential filkers this weekend.

Now that I’ve laid the foundation, I trust you’ll enjoy some example filking.

The next day at work I received a phone call explaining the reason for the traffic backup. A good friend of ours that I met at work was in a car accident on I-95, and it was his accident causing the backup we experienced. He and his family were on the way to church when a car swerved into their lane, causing them to loose control. Their car rolled numerous times while crossing all lanes of traffic. His wife and boys only suffered minor bruises, but he scraped his forehead on the pavement as they were rolling and broke his neck in three places. Had his neck bent in a different direction, he could have been paralyzed or killed instantly.

This week he returned to work full time, barely 8 weeks later, not even wearing a neck brace or having had any surgery. His neck is almost fully healed, and his hair is even growing back where his head kissed the pavement. I’ve heard him describe himself as a walking miracle, and to hear the stories of God’s protection during the accident and His provision afterward, it’s plain to see why.

It’s great to have you back in the saddle, Curtis. Keep preaching it, brother!

As expected, however, there hasn’t been much time for sight-seeing. We put in 96 hours last week, and expect a similar schedule this upcoming week. Gotta love being an hourly employee. It also helps that we’re working on a pretty cool project that is going to be used by a lot of people.

It was a really hot weekend, but we still managed to enjoy our touristy activities. We strolled through the Inner Harbor, enjoying some dinner, a trip through Barnes and Noble, some good old fashioned ice cream, and a bunch of people watching. The following morning we visited Fort McHenry, the place that inspired the National Anthem (i.e., The Star Spangled Banner). Did you know it was written during the War of 1812, and not the Revolutionary War? Let’s pretend I knew it, too.

A quick, but very memorable trip.

Even though I know most of you would like a day-by-day recap of the entire trip, my random thoughts will have to suffice:

(1) Toll roads are dumb.

(2) The Ohio Turnpike walks all over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

(3) There was something comforting in seeing flat, sprawling land again.

(4) I forgot how many lakes there are in Michigan. Beautiful.

(5) It was refreshing to hear some solid Reformed preaching again.

(6) Although things in Michigan still feel more familiar than Virginia, it was good to get back to our house after the trip and have it feel like “home.”

Rachel and Micah at a rest stop:

Road trips are fun:

Road trips are long:

To get the “free” stay we had to make a $75 deposit, and sit through a time share sales pitch. We knew this going in, and we escaped without purchasing anything. It wasn’t too bad, though they certainly had the process perfected. A dedicated sales person was assigned to tell us about the resort, give us a tour of the place, and give us the sales pitch. Once we said “no,” she got her manager to cut the prices in half. (I’m sure they don’t do that for just anyone.) After saying “no” to that, they shuffled us through a few other people that each verified some info, at which point we got our $75 deposit back as well as a $100 Visa card. Well worth it.

We stayed in one of the hotels on the resort (they also have condos for all the time share holders). It was a very nice hotel, with impressive staff and a lovely view of the mountains and the valley. The goal of the resort is to keep you on the resort, so they had plenty to do (horse riding, tubing, canoing, golfing, water park, pools, arcades). We went to one of the indoor pools, where Micah had his first swimming experience. He seemed to enjoy it.

It was nice seeing that portion of Virginia, and it was beautiful driving through the mountains. (We even crossed the Apalachian Trial, albeit in our car.) On the way there we hit up the Luray Caverns. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen caverns like that. They were impressive. The weekend was a good combination of adventure and relaxation.

Sure, gas is more expensive than it used to be, but $22.60 per gallon for regular and $246 per gallon for premium?! The decimal points in their prices have moved from position to position with each passing price change, though never in the correct place. It was amusing at first, but after a couple months, I’m now beginning to wonder.

A photo shoot on the beach, at Oceanside:

And my personal favorite. This is Micah on the plane ride home:

That’s my boy.

Being the concerned husband and father, I have been tracking their flight to make sure they got off OK. In doing so, I discovered their airline lets you see things pretty much real time. Check this out:

How cool is that?!