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Knights of the Actual Round Table (and the Bachelor Party the Night Before)

I don’t need any special excuse to play laser tag at Ultrazone Bensalem, but this weekend I had a reason that prompted me to make a road trip. Ready for it? I headed to Pennsylvania…to stand in a line at 6:30 in the morning…outside in the cold in front of the Ashley Furniture store…to meet two of the New Kids on the Block (Jordan and Jonathan Knight). I kid you not!



Any trip to Philly MUST end up at Ultrazone Bensalem, especially since they have now upgraded to the new Helios 3 vests. That gave me even more reason to get in a few games.


Lonewolf showed up to play a few games with me at his home site. I love that wherever I go I have tag friends nearby. It also doesn’t hurt to review an arena prior to playing it at ‘geddon, no matter how many times I’ve visited. So it was an UZ kind of night!



The public games were fun, but during a quiet window we twisted Dan’s arm to do something different and got to play a little Super Stabby Stabby! ;) It’s been a while and that format is a blast!



I wasn’t sure if I was going to stick it out for the end of the night 40 minute Ironman game, but when a bachelor party showed up, how could I not? ;)



Yep, looks like I crashed a bachelor party!


So let me tell you about the fun we had tagging with this group. First, I was immediately reminded of the pic I recently saw posted of a different bachelor party wearing shirts that read “Who needs strippers when you have laser tag?” I pulled that up on my phone and showed it to the guy who I thought was the groom and he said “we should do that for the next wedding.” Hmm…odd to hear that from a future groom. Then I had an exchange with that same guy later in the arena when I tagged him and jokingly said “This is a preview of marriage, you don’t get to win anymore.” Then I learned he wasn’t actually the groom, lol! Context is everything!



I think it was the actual groom (though I may be wrong) who asked a question of the marshal during briefing. He asked the kid “who invented laser tag?” The kid did not know, but needless to say, I had some info to impart! :)


For anyone who doesn’t know, I make it my mission to give a 30 second Ted Talk about this every week as I regularly impart (during Photon emulation briefing) that George Carter III invented laser tag in Dallas, TX in 1984. However, this was both the first time anyone actually asked…and the first time I got a round of applause for my answer at the end! It was a good night. And with or without a medal, this pic is for posterity! ;)



I do wish I had thought to ask the groom’s name to give a shout out, because those guys and Lonewolf really made this a fun night of tag…and only the second most interesting thing to happen while I was in Bensalem.


I set out ridiculously early in the morning  to wait in line for my chance to meet two guys who were part of the soundtrack to my youth.


Did I mention this event was happening at a furniture store? It’s not every day you say you went to meet Jordan and Jonathan Knight and ended up in bed!



Just kidding…except that’s really where we are as I’m writing this, hanging with my new friends, Jessica and Marti, who I met as we all froze in line outside this morning!



In fact, Marti actually thinks she recognized the bachelor party guys as staying at the same hotel she is at!


Meanwhile, I stayed the night at one of ‘geddon’s most infamous hotels (yes, I deliberately stayed there just to prove that everyone had overreacted last time…I’m alive and it was fine). So I guess you could say I had a few interesting adventures while in Bensalem.


But when all was said and done, what started with this line that wrapped its way around two stores…




…ended with this cool moment of nostalgia on the heels of an awesome laser tag weekend.



Part of me can’t believe I really did this! But it was a fun excuse for a tag trip and I had a wonderful time making a few memories, some new friends and doing what I love. :)



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