Monday, July 12, 2010

Waiting for Star Bucs in Seattle

Have you ever had heard about an event, which seemed tailor made with YOUR kid in mind?

One that, if as advertised, could manifest itself as the single most memorable moment in his young life? One that is close to home, and just happens to be at his favorite place to hang out too? Well, we did. And I was we were determined to attend. Even if the temperature was in the upper 80's, there was no shade, and Lukas wasn't feeling well - being 24 hours removed from a fairly nasty bout of the stomach flu.
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Pffft! Minor details to a parent determined to create lasting memories for his first born child. That's because the Pirates were landing at Seattle's Alki Beach. If you aren't quite getting the significance of this event, then perhaps it has been a long time since you were 3 years old and completely ape feces over everything Pirate.


So, like I said, Lukas wasn't feeling terribly well, but the Landing was nearby and we figured we could just simply arrive, see them storm the beach, then leave for home for some lunch and an early nap.

Err...not so fast.

Despite the insane parking (I finally just parked about 15ft from a STOP sign and decided to roll the dice on getting a ticket) we did eventually make our way onto the heavily crowded beach where there were several sailing boats out on the water firing off canons. An attack seemed imminent! So I hoisted my Jolly son onto my shoulders, in the direct sun, to get a better view and walked towards the front. That was at about 11:30. I assumed the landing would be any minute.

About 45 minutes later, with Lukas now fidgety, tired, and frowning, we received word that the Pirates were finally on their way. They were in a separate ship, around a bend. Once again the excitement built as we saw them approach from a distance. We let it pass that they were coming in aboard a military style landing craft and not a masted sailing ship adorned with a walkable plank.

Then, just as all the sailing ships cleared a direct path for the Pirate ship to storm the beach, Lukas said to me "Daddy, I want down. I'm hungry". Now? After all this, he wants down? "In a minute buddy." I replied "The PIRATES are about to land!" It was at that point that, not unlike Fonzie gearing up to jump the barrels in that famous Happy Days scene, the Pirate ship.....motored right on past the opening.

After a completing a big circle, the ship once again approached. The crowd tensed. And once again the ship sped right on past the opening to the audible dismay of those gathered. "Come on, land already!" Someone nearly shouted. Perhaps the Bucaneers were finishing off one final round of liquid courage. Then, after a second full circle the Pirate landing craft finally turned and approached the beach. A cheer rose from the crowd.

Then, in an instant, they were upon us.

A whole slew of authentically dressed pirates, many looking old and full of biscuits & grog, slowly hopped off of the landing craft into the water huffing, puffing, and flashing their swords. One paused to dump water out of his boot with a smile, while another immediately walked over and hugged someone in the crowd. Though certainly a spectacle, it wasn't exactly what we had anticipated.


"They are friendly Pirates!" Mrs. LIAYF explained to Lukas who remained sullen and quiet on my shoulders. "Is he enjoying this?" I asked. "Yeah, I think so." She replied. The Pirates then heralded the arrival of their captain (a dead ringer for Depps Jack Sparrow) with song as he was driven onto the shore not 20 feet away from us. And with that the show was over. Thankfully. We quickly got Lukas out of the sun and stopped to feed him much needed lunch.

Seems that was all the treasure he needed to once again lift his spirits.

14 comments:

Playstead said...

I remember seeing pirates at Lakefair in Olympia as a kid and they would scare the hell out of everyone. Of course, that was the 70's -- they were probably sippin' ye ol' bottle.

SciFi Dad said...

So after some solid courage, did Lukas venture any closer to the pirates?

Didactic Pirate said...

1) Your son and I are clearly kindred spirits.

2) Good for you to soldier on despite crazy parking. I'm ashamed that I've bailed on more than a few events that my daughter might've loved for that reason.

3) Hugging? Pirates don't hug!!!

ericdbolton said...

We live in San Antonio. We have the Alamo. Sadly, there were no pirates at the Alamo.

Mrs. M said...

That is so awesome, I bet it would have scared my kids silly...although I would have pulled the "nice pirate" talk too....

Slamdunk said...

My sons would have been sprinting for the car. Your little one is braver than us--glad you were able to share some fun memories.

Captain Dumbass said...

Who wouldn't want to go see pirates? Poor Lukas, feeling any better?

Jack Steiner said...

Pirates are cool. Sometimes I can see myself as Captain Jack- but we'll save that for a different day.

Keith Wilcox said...

Seabucks Rule!:-) I'm not sure I'd really enjoy that without rowboats and stuff. Somehow it just doesn't seem right with a landing craft. So, did Lukas really enjoy himself or did he confide that maybe it wasn't what he expected?

Lady Mama said...

I'm not sure whether I'm more jealous of the pirates or the fact you live near a beach.... no, it's the beach, definitely. Very cool though.

Shelle-BlokThoughts said...

Okay that is way cool. My kids would love that. Thanks for the 411 on it!

If I Could Escape . . . said...

Very cool, but when they're hungry that's all they care about. Like most men I know really!

Homemaker Man said...

I hope Lukas doesn't take his cues on pirate behavior from those guys. If he's half the boy I think he is, you'll awake tomorrow with a glinting cutlass pressed into yer worthless throat, Ya scurvy Dog! YAAARRR!

Sorry. I got carried away. Cool event. Glad he's feeling better.

Anonymous said...

Those pirates really know how to build suspense, huh? That is pretty neat, we're not near any water, but it would be cool if they had something like that nearby.