I had kind of a strange experience tonight.

I had intended to go to the Arisia science fiction convention being held at the Hyatt Cambridge tonight. A group of old friends from my days with the Boston Star Trek Association was running a party at the con tonight and I was looking forward to catching up with some folks.

I get to the hotel and there's a sign in front of the garage saying "Garage Full. Overnight Guests Only". I drove around a bit looking for a space but couldn't find anything. So I went home.

That's not the strange part. Pre-kids, I was very active in the science fiction convention scene, Star Trek conventions in particular. I went to several cons a year and knew tons of people. I even wrote a booklet called "How to Survive a Star Trek Convention". Going to conventions was a big part of my life for the better part of 15 years.

As I was driving past the hotel, I could see into the lobby. I saw a line of people, some in costumes, waiting for something, probably to register for the convention. I looked at them and the whole scene seemed like I was driving through a neighborhood I lived in a long time ago. It was very recognizable, but it wasn't home any more.

That part of my life has been pretty much over for quite a while, but the whole thing really struck me tonight.