On my first “playdate” out of the house since the Big Fall, we met up with our dear friends Alex & Min (Carin Grobe Design). Lucky for us they were down from Berlin to demonstrate their Virtual Reality set-up at a local-ish library.

Alex has been dabbling in VR for years, the last couple of years he’s gotten deeper into the virtual world. We love Alex to begin with, Alex has awesome toys, but now we love him even more! His VR games are fantabulous!

A couple of years ago we got the chance to play with his VR set-up at his home in Berlin. While that was an amazing experience for Dave, Dane, Cole & Tess… I almost fell out of his office chair sitting in a virtual cafe. The low refresh rate made me dizzy and it wasn’t fun for me.

This time, despite the Star Wars game having a low refresh rate, it went great! It’s possible the combined VR/Real world view through my goggles made it more palatable to my inner ear. I completely enjoyed smashing drones with my light saber…. even if I had to do it sitting down. I still felt like a warrior.

Dane & I both loved the light saber training. I could’ve played all day. I also got to explore our universe with a virtual solar system. Sadly there is no photo of me sticking my head  inside our sun & experience the sound the inside of our sun makes. This was my favorite!

Dave really enjoyed playing with the earth. Alex had coded it himself so you could touch it, spin it, grow it, shrink it, even spin it on your finger like a basketball! There is nothing like having the whole world in your hands. But Dave’s favorite? The one that kept him busy till the VR ran out of juice? Flying a helicopter on a foreign planet (think Galactic City on Coruscant), through tall buildings, even in a rain storm, made his day.

While I (now) love virtual reality, really real reality is even better. Spending a day with a friend, talking, laughing, playing games and eating fast food… that is more healing than 100 visits to my physical therapist.

What we see behind the VR goggles

Me. Killing it.

Dane in the ready position

It is NOT a two player game

Dave has the whole world in his hands

Dave’s favorite… flying a helicopter

Toiny & Min ❤

Tess got in the spirit with space buns & a NASA shirt… but not a smile LOL!