old fashioned fun
 
The kids and I, along with their Grandparents (Will's mom and dad), went to Williams Grove Amusement Park this afternoon.  Originally built in 1852, this park reminds me of what you'd see in the thirties and forties.  Family-owned, not a plethora of rides, but the ones they have are still as fun as they were when I was a kid.
 
The Cyclone, a 71-year-old wooden roller coaster warned us the ride was "rough" in comparison to today's smooth steel coasters.  Good freaking grief!  I thought my bones were about to jump out of my body, my teeth spin in their sockets, my eyes fly off to safety.  Gwynnie sat next to me screaming in terror the entire time!  And I wondered if any of the timber was original, if the train was truly staying on the track, if I had lost any brave bone I'd ever possessed, because this coaster couldn't compare in size to anything the bigger theme parks offer these days and I am a weenie, folks, a weenie who doesn't deserve to fide the darn carousel if she can't take a little old coaster like The Cyclone and let's face it, it hurts to simply hang from my arms these days my joints are so stiff and don't days like this remind you of the need to get in shape?  But we made it through.  My back is killing me Gwynnie's bragging about her ride on a classic coaster.  Jake didn't go on it.  She's not allowed to talk about that.
 
While I found out how fun those old rides still are, and how fun it is not to wait in a bunch of lines all day long, I also realized I don't even remotely have the stomach I used to!  The Tilt-A-Whirl should really be named the Tilt-A-Hurl if you're 40 or over.
 
One thought kept me laughing on each fast, spinny ride.  "Why do human beings think this is so much fun?"  Why?  I sure don't know.  But we do.  I think we like feeling out of control, yet safe.  I yelled this to Tyler on The Heartbreaker.  She said, "That sounds just like you, Mom.  Out of control in a safe environment!"  Which is either really cool, or really pathetic.  I haven't yet figured out which.
 
Days like this are the best.
 
grace,
 
lisa