Hooky day!
Aug. 7th, 2003 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsWednesday, I'd taken the day off like a lot of my friends to go to the local Six Flags park, Wild Waves. The kids got up on time and we got them fed, granola cereal for myself and Kouryou-chan, peanut-butter and banana sandwiches on English muffins for Yamaarashi-chan and Omaha. And then we're off in the car. Fortunately, the park is only twelve miles away. Unfortunately, I left my cash behind. We had to stop and hit an ATM, and Omaha reports that her card doesn't work. Mine, luckily does.
It is, like all amusement parks, there to grab you by the ankle and shake you down. Admission: $24 per person. Parking: $7. Locker rental: $11.
We meet up with the rest of our party:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kendaer, talek, tabbifli, jenkitty, fallenpegasus, a total of ten folks. We decided to "dry" rides first, and Tabbifli and her partner agree to watch the kids and take them on the kiddie rides while the rest of us go on the adult rides. Tabbifli's not too big on high-speed rides, it seems. Bless them, as we went on things that turned us upside down and threw us around and we had great fun. We did the bumper cars and I managed to break the rules somehow and end up head-on to FallenPegasus, but it was obvious by the way we were maneuvering that it was not intentional and they didn't kick us out.
Tabbifli and the girls caught up with us on a water slide log boat thingy, one of those rides guaranteed to get you soaking wet. The girls had to try it, so Omaha and Kendaer took them around again. From the looks on their faces, I was convinced that Kouryou-chan would not want to do it again, but the first thing she said after getting off the boat was, "Again! Let's do it again!" We promised we would, after we got into our bathing suits.
We had lunch: $38 for four people. Yeesh. Well, George Bush can read this and know that I have already plowed his bribe for my vote in the next election, er, I mean, my tax refund, into the economy.
We rode on the ThunderHawk, a real wooden roller coaster made with real timber. Must have cost a fortune to build. It was too short a ride to really notice anything; I much preferred the upside-downers like TimberAxe or the free-fall of the Pirate Ship. The kids absolutely wanted to ride the kiddie-train again. It was Kouryou-chan's favorite ride all day. She's still talking about it this evening.
Then we changed into bathing suits and proceeded to do wet things. Tabbifli was gracious enough to take the kidlets to the kidlet wading areas while we went and did things in the adult sections. The tube rentals were ridiculous, but Omaha and I went on the "Kongo River" ride together in a two-person boat and decided we didn't like the ride. The float-down-the-river part was much more our speed, although eventually she abandoned me and FallenPegasus to go ride something else a little speedier.
I turned in my tube and went to find the kids. Tabbifli had had enough and she and Talek disappeared. I took the kids over to the "Pirate Playground" but the water was too cold. So we went to the wave machine and the hot tubs.
While we were in the hot tubs, we had our one big scare of the day. FallenPegasus, Omaha, Jenkitty, and I were all in the water, but none of us noticed when Kouryou-chan slipped off the edge of the seat and went under. Fortunately, there were a lot of people there, including the life guard, and when we saw her lunge for the water we all reached for Kouryou-chan, who came up sputtering and crying and terrified. Omaha was beside herself with anger for not seeing it. I was just as worried, but a little more calm: there were a lot of people about, someone noticed, no harm done. We were a lot more attentive with her when we were alone at the ocean with nobody else to watch out. Short of putting a water-sensitive alarm on her head (and I'm sure such a device exists; if it doesn't, we should patent that sucker now!), I don't see a way of policing her much closer than we have been.
Still, I am going to look into swimming classes for her as soon as I am able. By her age, I could swim, as could my sister. We lived in Florida, where lots of kids learned to swim before they learned to walk.
Afterward, Omaha, FallenPegasus, Kouryou-chan, Yamaarashi-chan, Jenkitty, and someone who will forgive me if I can't recall her LJ name and I'm not willing to display her RL name, all headed over to Miyabi's Japanese Restaurant for dinner. Kouryou-chan had been kept in motion all day long and had had it; she put her head down on the table and went to sleep. Omaha managed to rouse her for the main course. I had dead fish, sushi, mmm... Jenkitty made the worst puns, but she's still adorable nonetheless.
I also noticed that Yamaarashi-chan actually looks better after being with us for a few days. Her complexion was clearer, much less sallow, and her hair not quite the usual disaster. It's amazing what three days of good food, consistent sleep, and regular baths will do for a kid. Just like a cat. She's adapted amazingly well to the routine, and hasn't grumbled at all to being down to a minimal amount of television.
We got home and it was my turn to take care of the ants that had created a little conga line into the sink to feast upon some sugar spilled when I was making coffee that morning. A little tea tree oil to put up a barrier, a little vacuum violence on the survivors, and it was all over.
Yamaarashi-chan asked if she could "call my Mommy and make sure that my zoo was OK." She apparently has one heck of a stuffed animal collection. I dialed the number and gave her the phone. I felt a little guilty about not encouraging her to call her Mom before that, but it was the first time she'd asked and, besides, her mother has my phone number.
I showered off the chlorine and got ready for bed. I got a little sunburned, I noticed, but otherwise I survived, and so did everyone else. I had a good time, in fact.
It is, like all amusement parks, there to grab you by the ankle and shake you down. Admission: $24 per person. Parking: $7. Locker rental: $11.
We meet up with the rest of our party:
kendaer, talek, tabbifli, jenkitty, fallenpegasus, a total of ten folks. We decided to "dry" rides first, and Tabbifli and her partner agree to watch the kids and take them on the kiddie rides while the rest of us go on the adult rides. Tabbifli's not too big on high-speed rides, it seems. Bless them, as we went on things that turned us upside down and threw us around and we had great fun. We did the bumper cars and I managed to break the rules somehow and end up head-on to FallenPegasus, but it was obvious by the way we were maneuvering that it was not intentional and they didn't kick us out.Tabbifli and the girls caught up with us on a water slide log boat thingy, one of those rides guaranteed to get you soaking wet. The girls had to try it, so Omaha and Kendaer took them around again. From the looks on their faces, I was convinced that Kouryou-chan would not want to do it again, but the first thing she said after getting off the boat was, "Again! Let's do it again!" We promised we would, after we got into our bathing suits.
We had lunch: $38 for four people. Yeesh. Well, George Bush can read this and know that I have already plowed his bribe for my vote in the next election, er, I mean, my tax refund, into the economy.
We rode on the ThunderHawk, a real wooden roller coaster made with real timber. Must have cost a fortune to build. It was too short a ride to really notice anything; I much preferred the upside-downers like TimberAxe or the free-fall of the Pirate Ship. The kids absolutely wanted to ride the kiddie-train again. It was Kouryou-chan's favorite ride all day. She's still talking about it this evening.
Then we changed into bathing suits and proceeded to do wet things. Tabbifli was gracious enough to take the kidlets to the kidlet wading areas while we went and did things in the adult sections. The tube rentals were ridiculous, but Omaha and I went on the "Kongo River" ride together in a two-person boat and decided we didn't like the ride. The float-down-the-river part was much more our speed, although eventually she abandoned me and FallenPegasus to go ride something else a little speedier.
I turned in my tube and went to find the kids. Tabbifli had had enough and she and Talek disappeared. I took the kids over to the "Pirate Playground" but the water was too cold. So we went to the wave machine and the hot tubs.
While we were in the hot tubs, we had our one big scare of the day. FallenPegasus, Omaha, Jenkitty, and I were all in the water, but none of us noticed when Kouryou-chan slipped off the edge of the seat and went under. Fortunately, there were a lot of people there, including the life guard, and when we saw her lunge for the water we all reached for Kouryou-chan, who came up sputtering and crying and terrified. Omaha was beside herself with anger for not seeing it. I was just as worried, but a little more calm: there were a lot of people about, someone noticed, no harm done. We were a lot more attentive with her when we were alone at the ocean with nobody else to watch out. Short of putting a water-sensitive alarm on her head (and I'm sure such a device exists; if it doesn't, we should patent that sucker now!), I don't see a way of policing her much closer than we have been.
Still, I am going to look into swimming classes for her as soon as I am able. By her age, I could swim, as could my sister. We lived in Florida, where lots of kids learned to swim before they learned to walk.
Afterward, Omaha, FallenPegasus, Kouryou-chan, Yamaarashi-chan, Jenkitty, and someone who will forgive me if I can't recall her LJ name and I'm not willing to display her RL name, all headed over to Miyabi's Japanese Restaurant for dinner. Kouryou-chan had been kept in motion all day long and had had it; she put her head down on the table and went to sleep. Omaha managed to rouse her for the main course. I had dead fish, sushi, mmm... Jenkitty made the worst puns, but she's still adorable nonetheless.
I also noticed that Yamaarashi-chan actually looks better after being with us for a few days. Her complexion was clearer, much less sallow, and her hair not quite the usual disaster. It's amazing what three days of good food, consistent sleep, and regular baths will do for a kid. Just like a cat. She's adapted amazingly well to the routine, and hasn't grumbled at all to being down to a minimal amount of television.
We got home and it was my turn to take care of the ants that had created a little conga line into the sink to feast upon some sugar spilled when I was making coffee that morning. A little tea tree oil to put up a barrier, a little vacuum violence on the survivors, and it was all over.
Yamaarashi-chan asked if she could "call my Mommy and make sure that my zoo was OK." She apparently has one heck of a stuffed animal collection. I dialed the number and gave her the phone. I felt a little guilty about not encouraging her to call her Mom before that, but it was the first time she'd asked and, besides, her mother has my phone number.
I showered off the chlorine and got ready for bed. I got a little sunburned, I noticed, but otherwise I survived, and so did everyone else. I had a good time, in fact.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-08-08 09:13 am (UTC)I was actually stepping down into the hot-tub just as she lay back, for all the world as if she were exhausted and dropped off to sleep. I had just opened my mouth when the lifeguard splashed in. Couldn't have been more than 2 seconds.
You both are very good with those kids!
no subject
Date: 2003-08-09 05:58 am (UTC)I can legitimately say that most of my water rescues of youthful exuberance were sheer boredom. Usually getting the parents permission or idly reaching over suffices and has a lot less drama attached to it.
Good luck with swimming adventures.. Something near and dear to my heart.