I got on the plane somewhere about 8:30 in the morning at Tampa International Airport. In the area of 2 1/2 hours later, going some 400 MPH, I was standing in Baltimore Washington International Airport and the weekend of the year was beginning. There was a bit of a way to go yet, as the hotel was some 45-50 minutes away but that was OK because it was the AKA Convention and I always look forward to the AKA Convention every year on Memorial Day Weekend.

I picked up Harry Specht and Hugh Moore and Bill and Andrew Shields, all coming in on different flights from Tampa to BWI, with the rental car and the real weekend was actually starting. Good friends . . . wonderful weather (70 degrees) . . . the convention is hours away and nothing could be better. The fish . . . the killifish, well, yes, of course this weekend is about the fish and there is an anticipation of seeing the fish that we had only read about and dreamed about for the entire last year since the last convention but as much as everyone wants to say that the reason to go is the fish I think are really mistaking . . . conventions are really about the people. The renewal of old friendships that have been vacant for a year and the anticipation of meeting some new friends to be.

The Double Tree hotel in Rockville, Md was really beautiful. Checking in late Friday afternoon was easy and we all were visibly anxious to "get things going". Charles Nunziata (from our SKS affiliate club) was to have been the Friday night speaker but we were privy to the fact that there was a problem and Charles wasn't going to get to the hotel until sometime Saturday . . . so we went to eat . . . and the weekend started.

	upper left: Ground View breakfeast upper middle: My room looking down upper right: My room looking down & right lower left: From my room looking right lower right: From my room looking across

I am not going to run down all of the talks at the convention and try to give a small synopses of each talk because that wouldn't even do the talks justice. Let it suffice that there were very informative talks all day Saturday in addition to the judging of the entered fish and the Sales Room. The Sales Room is where anyone can bring fish and sell them to anyone who wishes to buy them. There are usually 300-400 bags of fish in the Sales Room and most people can come out of the room with what they have been looking for the last year!

I won't say that the talks aren't interesting because they were not only interesting but sometimes very techinal and 99% of the time very helpful but what everyone seems to really enjoy are the times in between the talk when you stand or sit in the chairs in the halls and just talk and find out how people are and what they have done for the last year and what their plans are for the next year. Everyone needs to know what everyone else is doing and working on and what is the latest new gimmic they are using to produce better fish that might not be talked about in the group sessions. People . . . sometimes it is a mob of people and sometimes you really have a chance to sit with 2-3 folks and the crowds are gone and there is what is called some very real "quality time". Now we're talking real convention stuff here. There are some folks that all it takes is a quick handshake and the entire last year has passed in a second and the conversation we finished a year ago seems to have been only intrupted slightly . . . others are completly new friends and there is a very real feeling that "here is another friend".

Sometimes There Is Quality Time

Charles Nunziata Talking Epiplatys

Saturday night there is a semi-formal dinner and almost everyone is ready to eat. The Suncoast Killifish Society (SKS) found a table and we had 3 extra seats so Joe Scanlan, our adopted SKS member from Alabama sat with us and Barry Cooper and Brian Perkins shared the meal with the SKS crew. The evening meal went well and all of the awards for the fish were given out and the door prizes were drawn. Well, let's put it this way. The SKS table won . . . BIG TIME! Harry won 2 prizes . . . Bill Shields won a prize . . . I think Brian Perkins won a prize and Hugh Moore won 3 Door Prizes!!! No other table was even close. It was just a precursor to an award that was a bit later in the evening.

Harry Ducks Behind His Second Win	Bill & Andrew Wait In Line For Dinner	Doc Joe, Hugh and Harry . . . Is There A Lot Of Gray Hair Here?
	Hugh won Three!!!

	upper left: Charles Nunziata Just Wins Man of The Year 2005 upper right: Charles And The SKS Group With Adopted member Doc Joe middle center: Best Of Show middle bottom: AKA Entrants Of The Year 2005

Well, of course there was an auction on Sunday morning and for sure there were some 400+ fish bags that were auctioned and it was a blur of fish and stories and people and hamburgers and pizzas passed out by Dave Koran and the host group. The fish auctions were flying and most pairs went for something like $10-20 with the top price I think was $150 for a pair and a great number going for $20 - $50. You have to be careful in these auctions . . . you may end up having to mortgage your house when you are through but it is amazing that it all really does work and there are very few problems . . . except the computer man . . . the computer man/lady (Diane) always has it tough.

Aphyosemion australe Orange

Well, it does end . . . kind of . . . those conversations will pick up in a year, I promise you that. You will once again see those guys and ask the questions you forgot to ask and you will be able to sit right next to the prime movers of the killifish hobby because these names we all have heard about are really just great friendly people. You need not worry if you will be able to talk to anyone if it is your first time at an AKA. Find a conversation and introduce yourself . . . see a person sitting alone just sit down and say "hi" . . . you will have a new friend! That's the benchmark of the AKA Convention . . . it always has been and it always will be . . . in particular next year in TAMPA, FLORIDA . . . 2006. SEE YOU ALL IN THE SUNSHINE WHERE EVERYONE IS A FRIEND!

OK . . . now you get to see the fish! Enjoy!