Let me begin by saying, "I have been waiting for this weekend for almost two years".

In June of 2018, I attended Ace Con in Seattle as Mr. Chris Hemsworth was scheduled to appear there, alas he cancelled two weeks before the con. I still attend with my friend Kris and we had a blast. So, to get to this weekend without Chris cancelling was a dream come true.

Ace always has a very impressive guest list, but they tend to be very expensive, so I only bought in advance the VIP for Chris, with an extra autograph and a photo op with Tessa. You can see those below.

Friday was low key, just getting the lay of the land, photo op with Tessa Thompson and learning how the panel line ups were going to be handled. I did sit in on Josh Herdman's panel. Josh played Gregory Goyle in all the Harry Potter movies. He hung around Draco a whole lot. He is still acting, but he is also an MMA fighter. His son and wife were with him. After his panel he did free photographs with the 9 3/4 sign as a backdrop. I did get a picture with him. He is really nice and does a great interview. After my photo with him, I went for my photo with Tessa. I did not have a cosplay for the day, as my Thor cosplay requires carrying around a hammer. I really wanted to go lowkey for this con. After I got home, I edited the photo with Josh and sent it to Walgreens to be printed.

The one bad thing about this weekend was that I also had to pack and get ready for a business conference, flying out Sunday night. Not knowing when Chris's panel was going to be, I made my flight to Nashville as late as I could; I had an 8 pm flight Sunday night. I did pick up a Thor cookie to take on my trip to Nashville (see below).

In the morning, I picked up the picture at Walgreens on my way over to the convention hall, it turned out great. I would later that day have him autograph it. He and his wife commented on how fast I got that printed. I told them about Walgreens being open 24 hours and you go online to submit the jpgs that you want printed.

Saturday is my BIG day with the God of Thunder himself, Chris Hemsworth. Who also just happens to be James T. Kirk's dad. Star Trek (2009) was Chris's first major motion picture, so...I went in my Star Trek uniform and I also brought his son in a trek onesie. The op was in the morning, so we all looked fresh. Chris was running late as the airline lost his luggage, so he had to go shopping for some clothes.

When it was mine turn, I was not nervous, just excited. I walked up, he said that I looked great and I said that I brought his son since he did not get to see him in the movie. He laughed and we took a great picture. People ask me, "Did he smell good?" I can honestly say, that is the last thing on my mind to do at any of my photo ops. I am doing good to remember to smile, don't blink and stick your chin out.

I hung around with my friend Sammy for most of the day. We/I (I'm bad as I don't remember if Sammy was with me or not) saw Gwendoline Christie's panel before my autograph time with Chris. Gwendoline played Captain Phasma in Star Wars: Force Awakens and Last Jedi. And yes, she is a tall woman.

Sammy and I both had Group 1 autos with Chris, so we waited in line together. Yes, it takes forever to get through these lines of the A-listers. I always tell people, this is your one chance to have a 5 to 20 second conversation, have your thought/question ready and rehearsed. It is always a good idea to have a couple of items ready. As you are approaching, you will know which one feels right to say/ask.

I had two items for Chris to sign, the photo op from that morning and a picture of him from the Star Trek movie. Luke Zocchi, one of Chris's trainers was with him. And Luke just happen to be by Chris when it was my turn. So, I said something to the affect of, it would be nice to see a segment on eating healthy at conventions, like picking the best choice from all the bad choices. We then started talking about the foods that were available that weekend. I got to look right into Chris's beautiful blue eyes, and he looked into mine (pause for dramatic effect and sigh). It may not be a memorable conversation to him, but it was to me. Asking different questions is a key element when engaging anyone. Don't be afraid to ask questions that are off the beaten path. If it is a celebrity, go through their imdb page and look to find something in their history that appeals to you.

Two years of waiting and the photo and autos were done. He still had a panel to do on Sunday, so I still had one more chance to be in his presence. After a bit of roaming around, Sammy and I started to stand in line for the Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal panel. They were running late, and it was getting late, as I wanted to be home by 7 pm. I had to do the final packing of the suitcase for Nashville. Their panel (I believe) was to start at 5:30, and it was now close to 6:30. So, I said good night to Sammy and the two fellas we were talking to in line. FYI: Panels from all the Ace Cons can be found on YouTube at Ace Universe.

I went home and got everything setup for the next morning, because when I left the house, I would not be back till Thursday night. I also downloaded my jpgs from the 2 photo ops and set the one of Chris and myself as my wallpaper on my cellphone. Yes, I showed everyone in Nashville that picture on my phone. I also had my Thor lanyard on, instead of the convention lanyard. It was a great conversation starter.

Sunday morning, I pack the car with my suitcase, laptop bag and headed to the convention hall. I did not go over too early as the only thing on the agenda was Chris's panel. I lined up early, as I wanted a really good seat. I ended up being 5th row center. Of course, he was running late due to the number of autographs he had to sign. They wanted to make sure that they got that done, before he did his panel. He came on stage about 3:30. The panel lasted about an hour. I sat in the correct seat to get some good photos and to be able to see him without the distraction of the side screens. He lived up to all my expectations; gracious, kind, funny, intelligent and engaging. I did think that his haircut was a little different, and now I realize, that he was filming Extraction during this time period.

After his panel, I was happy that I finally got to see and meet him. I was then off to park my car at the office and catch the shuttle to the airport. Of course, in the back of my mind, had a crazy thought that I might see him at the airport. Yeah, that did not happen.