Sam climbed aboard the pirate ship feeling skeptical. The adventure excursion was a gift from his grandpa, but he was clearly the oldest kid here. Grandpa was so excited though, and Sam didn’t want to let him down. So he went along with the fake tattoos and costumes they were handing out, choosing a squid on his arm and a black bandana.

The ship pulled away from the city dock and the voyage began. The crew taught the kids pirate lingo. “Arrr” and “matey” and “shiver me timbers” rang in Sam’s ears. It was pretty fun when the ship reached the open bay and they were allowed to fire the water cannons at the buoys they passed. Sam grinned as he watched the water hit the targets. He wasn’t too old for this part.

“All hands on deck!” the crew called as the ship slowed. They gathered the kids to pull up a net. “Heave ho!” Nestled in the net was a bottle, and in the bottle was a treasure map. “X marks the spot!” said the captain. The ship sped up again, off to find the treasure while the kids cheered.

Before long the ship was slowing down again, but this time it seemed unplanned. The crew looked at each other. Something was wrong. “Land ahoy!” shouted the kids. And sure enough, the ship ran aground.

Sam looked around him. They had landed on what looked like a tropical island. In the middle of the city bay. What was happening? They climbed out onto a sandy beach and headed for the shade of the palm trees. This was definitely not a climate for palm trees. Was this part of the pirate experience? Some kind of elaborate staging or illusion? If so, grandpa had definitely gotten his money’s worth.

The crew looked just as puzzled as the kids, so Sam figured this was unexpected. For the first time he felt nervous. If this wasn’t planned, what might happen next? As soon as he had this thought, the grunting began.

The grunting grew louder and suddenly hundreds of wild boards cashed out of the foliage. “Run!” shouted the captain. Slipping in the sand, the kids and the crew scrambled back to the boat. Sam leapt aboard and helped the crew as they prepared the lifeboats. The plan was for them to escape in the boats of the back of the ship and row away from Boar Island. They weren’t too far from the city dock after all.

But as they climbed in the lifeboats and started to row, Sam realized the water stretched for miles. He saw nothing in the distance, no city dock, no city at all. Clearly they were not in the bay anymore. Sam gulped. This adventure was definitely more than he expected. He tightened his bandana and wondered what was next.