Thursday, August 24, 2023

Friends Wherever I End Up

There have been three facets of my life that led me to have friends literally all over the country and laser tag is both the most recent and perhaps the best example of this. I am fortunate to have flexible travel opportunities available, but part of that means I do not always end up where I think I will. At the beginning of my last trip I knew I was headed towards Alaska and thought there was a good chance I would immediately follow that up with a flight to Hawaii, aiming to tag in both states during the course of the same vacation. Well, with the fires breaking out on Maui,  I decided to rethink that plan and my next thought was that I could try to do some tagging in the northwest. I took a moment to think about who do I know in that part of the country and moments later was texting Old Man Than to say, “hey, there is a possibility I will be in your neck of the woods…soon”. Then, almost as quickly as that thought was a plan, the plan changed and I unexpectedly found myself headed to the southeastern part of the country instead. I looked at where I could get a flight in short order I thought to myself, “I guess it’s time to pay a visit to Scuba instead”. Along with all the remarkable adventures along the journey, friendships and connections, like this are probably the greatest thing that I have gotten out of my time playing laser tag. So, with literally only a moment’s notice before I boarded the plane, I dropped a message in our team chat to Scuba and said “guess what, I’m headed towards New Orleans…um, right now!” I know it sounds ridiculous on paper, but sometimes this is how Tivageddon rolls, and I was so pleased to get a chance to visit with friends and play a couple of games at one of my very favorite arenas, Game On Social Hub in Kenner, LA.


Since I showed up unannounced to GOSH, I figured I’d just inconspicuously take a seat at a table and wait for Scuba to arrive, when suddenly I hear a booming voice shout out “Hey, Tivia is here!” It was Ricky Dillard, who had been busy checking in a large school group when he first noticed me sitting there. Sometimes going to laser tag (any laser tag) is like going to Cheers where everybody knows your name…or in my case at least they know my codename, lol. :)


A short time later Scuba and Davor came over to greet me as I was formulating a plan to visit a few more southern states and then return for some games and socializing the following day. So, after closing out my Mississippi, Alabama, Florida adventures I returned to Louisiana. I enjoyed spending time with Scuba and Nathallie and their two beautiful daughters, and we had some additional adventures (Hammer Time!) along the way, and of course, stopped for a snowball, which is a must-try snow-cone-like Louisiana treat.




Then we returned to the home of the newest (and currently the only) modified Photon-themed arena, which my regular blog readers will recall also became my 500th arena when I played here back in March.



It was such a delight to return to this arena, which simply takes my breath away. 



It makes my heart happy to see these towers every time I walk in.





I love how it pays homage to the original with this Photon theme, however it is also fresh and modern with stunning lights around the archways and of course the iconic towers that will resonate with any old-school laser tag player.





There is something so special about standing here in the middle of something that represents past, present and future all at once.



I enjoyed sitting down for lunch with Davor and Scuba before playing some laser tag games and then heading back to the airport. 



This was the best way I could imagine ending my trip.




So, after resting up from a pretty amazing cross-country excursion, where will I be tagging next? You’ll have to wait and see, but odds are good it will be in a completely different part of the country. New England, I’m looking at you! ;)



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

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