Adventures, Big and Small

Last weekend we took the kids to Six Flags New England, a place we had not been in more than 10 years. Despite my concerns that paying $100 for admission and $15 for parking might not be worth it, considering Tai's hot-and-cold fear of rides, we decided to try it. Some friends of ours were taking theirs kids (almost exactly the same ages as our kids) so we figured it'd be a fun way to have a play date. And we hoped that the other little boy might help coax Tai onto some of the scarier rides.

The last time we went to Six Flags, Minh and I enjoyed the water park and the Mind Eraser, and then I literally thought I might die on Superman, Ride of Steel. Not coincidentally, that was the last roller coaster I went on, to date. During that trip, I never even noticed that they had kiddie rides.

During last weekend's trip to the park, however, I hardly noticed the thrill rides, as we spent all our time in Thomas Town, Wiggles World, and Looney Toons Movie Town. My, how times have changed. Tai's fear seems to be one of speed, as he was happy to go on the slow moving train, the carousel built in 1902 that creaked and groaned in a disconcerting way, and even the kiddie version of the elevator-drop ride. But one look at the kiddie roller coaster sent him running the other way (a boy after my own heart?)

Actually, I'm trying hard not to let my fears rub off on him, and I offered enthusiastically to go on the kiddie coaster with him, but to no avail. He also skipped the helicopters and rockets ships in favor of the teacups, cars, and monster trucks. Quynh went on a few rides herself and had a blast climbing and running around in the play area. All four kids enjoyed the live Wiggles show, which contained no actual Wiggles, but a woman who put her heart into every song and clearly had aspirations bigger than the Six Flags Stage. My favorite part of the show was the security guard, in charge of keeping kids from rushing the stage, who danced with such enthusiasm we were sure he was after the role of Captain Feathersword.

Then, on Monday, we grown-ups went zip lining in the Berkshires. Now this is my type of adventure. While roller coasters terrify me (because they're certainly going to either derail or crash, or throw me from the seat). I was not the least bit scared of zip lining. Perhaps it was the heavy-duty harness, or the feeling of control (we were taught to brake as needed). Whatever the reason, my only fear of that first zip was the worry that I'd do something wrong and look like an idiot.

After three hours of zipping, repelling, and traversing bridges from tree to tree down a mountain, I was plotting our return visit. Since the first few zips of the day were spent learning how to take off, break, and land, I'm sure we'll have even more fun now that we are experts. But maybe we should skip the Berkshires and head straight to Costa Rica?