This post was written on June 12, but I just now got around to adding pictures and publishing it:
Last Monday I was asked if Jason and I would be able to help chaperon a group of graduating seniors from our Stake to Knott's Berry Farm for a day. I shrugged it off because I figured we were just to busy, but then mentioned it to Jason who said, "why not?" I felt a little bit of trepidation thinking about girls camp and the fireworks season coming upon us the very next week, but got excited when I realized it would be our first time spending a night and an ENTIRE day together without kids. And, it would be our first time ever going to an amusement park together... seriously, how had we not done this sooner?
We dropped the kids off with grandma on Friday night. As soon as we walked out her door, Jason announced that he felt FREE!! I had mixed feelings, as it was the first time either of the kids has EVER spent the night away from both of us. Saturday morning at 4:00 (when we woke up) came quickly. We all loaded a bus and headed to Cali. The bus ride was loads of fun! Three of my laurels went on this trip - Emily, Shawna, and Alyssa. They all sat near Jason and me in the front of the bus. Let me tell you - the back of the bus may be where the cool people usually sit (and where all the fun goes down), but we had a blast in the front! We played Scatergories, Madlibs,and MASH.
After 5 full hours of driving, we finally arrived and were a little shocked to be chilly! We headed towards the Silver Bullet, because that is the ride that everyone instinctively flocked too... I guess those who have been to Knott's Berry Farm in recent years knew this was one of the "best" rides in the park, and everyone else just kind of followed along. (By the way, when did Knott's turn into a crazy ride place? Last time I was there, I only remember seeing a short video of some kind, walking through a street that looked like it came out of a Western, and buying some delicious syrup. Of course, that was over 20 years ago when I was just a little kid... but I digress!) Let me just tell you that I am pretty much terrified of heights. But I didn't want to be the lame scardie-cat that stayed behind. The other two couples who were chaperoning with us kept talking about how excited they were for this rollercoaster... meanwhile, while everyone is laughing and joking in line, I am just giving myself a mental pep talk. The funny thing is that you can only see a small portion of the ride from line. So what I was mentally preparing myself for turned out to be much more insidious than I had imagined or perceived! Okay, maybe
insidious isn't really the right word...
We finally get on the ride, and though I am privately scared silly - heart pounding out of my chest and all - I have built up enough courage to go. I'm getting that stomach-churning anxiety again just writing about how I felt! But I am an adult, and I should face my fears, right? Well, turns out that sometimes it is better just to cop out, because half way through the Silver Bullet experience, I realized that I was going to be very ill. Not only was the ride full of loops (which I can handle), it twists around and around the ENTIRE time! And I swear that was the longest rollercoaster ride I have ever been on in my entire life! It was almost a full minute! (I know, because I looked it up on the internet when we got home the next day.)
So, when we exited the 60 second nightmare, I immediately began looking for a place to throw up. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly because the first spot I picked was from way up high and probably would have hit someone. After puking a couple of times, Jason started asking me if I was ready to keep going. Um, no. They ended up having to summon a nice man from the first aid station to collect me with a wheelchair! And then I spent the rest of the day laying on a pretend bed in the musty smelling first aid clinic. Just what I had always hoped and dreamed of! Fortunately, I was feeling much better by the time we had to leave. And the bus ride home was pretty fun... so I basically had an awesome 10 hours of bus riding to and from Knott's, and a terrible time at the actual theme park.
The moral of the story? If you are terrified of heights, you tend to get nauseated easily, and you have had almost no sleep the night before, avoid twisty rollercoasters! Even if it means getting a little heckled by your friends.
Here are some pictures from the good parts of our adventure:
On the bus:
Arriving at the park:
Shawna and Emily... L O V E these two girls ridiculously much!
Awww, aren't we cute?
Sometimes we're just a couple of wieners, I guess.
I took this picture for Weston. He LOVES old cars!
Jason tried to win some prizes for the kids... he ended up winning a couple of inflatable baseball bats, which they enjoyed immensely for about two days until they broke them both. Shocking, I know.
I wish I had one of those things to pound every time I got angry... what a great release that would be!
