Birthday Dreams

"But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells... of silence" - Simon & Garfunkel

- Imagine a dream where you walk outside and realize that you are the only one left... no people anywhere.

OR

- Think of a horror movie that takes place in an old amusement park or a crazy carnival.

OR

- Picture a post-apocalyptic world with all the evidence of a once bustling civilization slowly being overcome by rust and decay.

That is what we experienced when we took the kids to "Wonderland" for the girls 5th birthday.

First of all, there isn't much that could possibly more exciting to two 5 year old girls than their birthday. They have been counting down the days since Christmas. There has been lots of planning, excited discussions, dreaming, and smiles during January related to their birthday. It is fun to watch. We decided that instead of just toys, we would take the kids somewhere for their birthday to create some fun memories. "Wonderland" seemed like a perfect place. It has amusement park rides for adults and children, plus it also has a decent sized water park with lots of slides. Double the fun.

We arrived at the park when it opened at around 10AM. We got the first indication that this would be a different experience when we realized that out of a huge parking lot, we were the only car. We then walked up to a large row of ticket counters to find that only one ticket window was open. We purchased our tickets and entered.

We stayed for most of the day and.... we were the only visitors there! To be honest, in the afternoon at the water-park we did see one couple sitting near a pool on the other side, but that was it! It was surreal.  I mean a huge park with dozens of rides, shops, games, buildings, eateries... and we had it all to ourselves.  It was cool, but also kind of creepy. The ride operator(s) would just kind of wait around to see where we walked to next and then walk over and fire that ride up just for us. What made it even more eerie was that none of the rides had any music or sounds!  I mean can you even imagine a carnival, fair, or amusement park without the blaring music and sound effects?  ...Nothing.  Just the whirring sounds of machinery and hydraulics. There was booth after booth of carnival games all set up and ready to play, with no lights and no one there convincing you to 'win it big' or test your skill. No people. No sounds. Yeah, eerie.

The kids loved it. They got to go on any ride or slide they wanted with no lines. Want to ride again? just let the zombie-like Bangladeshi workers know and they push the button for another round. Did I mention NO LINES? Yvonne and I also enjoyed the grown-up rides we went on. Have you ever ridden a roller coaster where you were the only rider? Some of the rides were a great thrill... but often it was more the scare that the ride might break down rather than the thrill of the ride itself. Without music, you notice a lot more of the bangs and clanking noises... not to mention, these rides were just plain old.

In the end, the outing was success. The kids had fun. The parents had fun. We all made some great (although slightly creepy) memories. Plus, the kids got to ride a real camel.

What the Heck?

Independence Day at Dreamland

"Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter" - Don McLean

We asked the kids what they wanted to do to celebrate the 4th of July. Fortunately, they are still young enough that they aren't expecting fireworks. Those are pretty hard to come by over here. The kids unanimously declared that they wanted to go to a "water playground." You can probably guess what that means... a water slide park. 

Now, in the US, a water park may be one of the last places you want to be on the 4th.  Everyone and the dog will be there and you will likely spend more time waiting in line for the slides than actually in the water. We hoped the crowds wouldn't be quite so big. So, we called up some friends and headed to Dreamland Water Adventure Park with a carload of kids excited for some wet and wild times.

On the way, we got to share the road with something you won't see much in the US on the 4th:

We arrived at the park about the time that they opened.  I think we were the third car in the parking lot. We went in, changed clothes, and made our way to the kid pool area.  There may have been 2 other kids.  Lets just say, we did NOT have to worry about crowds.  In fact, we never had to wait in a single line all day long.  We had just about every slide, ride, and pool pretty much to ourselves. We did have to wait a couple times at the top of a slide (notice I didn't say in a line), but just for the workers to start the water running down the slide. Nice.

What wasn't quite as nice, and may have contributed a little to the low numbers in the park was the heat. When we first arrived, it wasn't too bad.... probably around 100 degrees.  The water felt nice. It only took about 1/2 hour before things started heating up. The walkways, sidewalks, stairs... anything that wasn't in the water was too HOT to walk on. We had to wear slippers (flip flops for you non Hawaiians ;) everywhere. Even a couple steps and your feet were literally getting burnt. The rides were great, but a little different because you were holding shoes in your hands the entire way down (apparently it is against safety policy to wear them on your feet in the slides).  By mid-day, the temps were around 115 degrees and the water was probably close to 90. The kids were having fun, but that kind of heat takes a lot out of you. Luckily, we found some cave pools where the water was significantly cooler and made that our home base.

In the end, we made it until sometime between 4-5 o'clock.... pretty much the entire day with the park mostly to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast.  They even went on some of the 'grown-up' slides. A few tears were shed that we couldn't stay longer, but those same eyes were closed and fast asleep practically before we got out of the parking lot.

Abigail

Saylor

A Strange Land

"so we make our plans
set our sites on a new land
one that's kind of strange." - Joshua Radin

Alright, I know there have been some comments about the disregard for safety when taking video or photos while driving.   But, on the drive home from work the other day I just couldn't resist.  I mean, where else would you see this about a mile from your house?

Tear Stained Eye

"Walking down Main Street Getting to know the concrete Looking for a purpose..." - Son Volt

We went for a drive the other day and happened to run into a group of camels just walking down the side of the road.  Cool creatures.