A Valentine's Day Tale Of Trek Love

Lidia and Mike Jones are in love – with each other and with Star Trek. Their house in Fontana, California, has a room, which they show off proudly, dedicated to Star Trek and their special Trek connection; they even invited StarTrek.com to come by and check it out. Among the mementos in that room: photos of their Trek-themed wedding, held in the Las Vegas Hilton during Creation Entertainment’s annual official Trek convention. So, as we celebrate Valentine’s Day today, who better to share a few moments with than the Joneses?

“I’ve loved Star Trek since my youth, when it was televised in Argentina,” Lidia says. “My brother and I even simulated an Enterprise in the backyard and voyaged around the universe. Star Trek was in our hearts and minds forever. I wanted to be an explorer or astronaut. However, I became an aerospace engineer. I always have been inspired by the great technology that we have seen in all the Star Trek series and movies.”“My Star Trek life started in 1966, when The Original Series started,” says Mike. “I watched it religiously. I was a sci-fi nut. I lived in Northern California, in Marin County. I was hooked then and it never faltered. Being an electrical contractor, I feel like Scotty... And I let people know it.”However, it was the Internet, not necessarily Star Trek, that first brought Lidia and Mike together. Star Trek beamed into the picture a very short time later.

“Lidia and I met online, through Yahoo Personals, in 2005, and then found out we both loved Star Trek,” Mike explains. “My first convention was in 2006. We went to Vegas. And it just grew from there. We decided to get married in Vegas during a Star Trek convention. We had made a lot of friends that worked at Star Trek: The Experience and lots of other (Trek fans). We had a Star Trek theme and got married at the Bella Chapel at the Hilton, the last year of the con there. I was dressed in Captain’s dress whites and all our friends in the chapel were in uniform."

“We meet extraordinary people during conventions, people that feel, talk, think and do like us,” Lidia says, picking up the story. “We meet the (Trek) actors, and their stories are so inspiring and make you feel you are right there with them, flying in that amazing ship. It was obvious that after going to conventions and dating for few years, our wedding had to be Star Trek wedding. There was no other kind that would fit us. So in 2010 we got married in the Hilton during the convention. All our friends were dressed in uniforms. I had a lovely dress with a huge golden com badge, ready to beam out just in case (laughs). We went all around the convention and the Hilton. Trekkies were applauding and yelling ‘Live long and prosper.’ We partied for two nights with over 100 Trekkies.”

Three years later, Lidia and Mike are still very much in love. “I think I am the luckiest man alive,” Mike enthuses. “Just today I was telling my co-worker we were going to another Star Trek convention and he asked, ‘What about your wife?’ I said she was going also. He said, ‘You are quite the lucky guy, able to find a woman like that.’ I agreed with all my heart! We get along, as the saying goes, like two peas in a pod.”

“I am blessed to find a man that has accepted me like I am, that is understanding and patient,” Lidia says. “I love Mike and adore him so much, and cherish his friendship and energy.”

And they still enjoy Trek, too. StarTrek.com actually ran into them this past fall in L.A., at the weekend honoring Walter Koenig on the occasion of him receiving a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I still love Star Trek and watch the movies and series as they show up on TV,” Mike says. “I have all the movies and all the episodes of every series on disc. That’s five series worth.”“Today, we enjoy conventions and friends, and we love to get together with our Star Trek: The Experience friends and indulge in their stories and videos,” Lidia says. “Everybody at work knows I am a Trekkie. They have a special way to salute me (LLAP), and I love it! I am so proud to be part of a legendary generation that was the base for all our technology today and will continue to amaze us with future inventions. Star Trek will always be in my heart and soul.”