Sunday, July 08, 2007

Wimpmeister and the Speeding Bullets




If you live in (or are visiting) Grand Junction and you want some serious water play, you go to Moab, Utah to Butch Cassidy's King World Water Park. We set out without looking at a map, as we've been there a few times before, but we took a wrong turn (north instead of south, that would be) and ended up touring HWY 191 to Price, Utah on our way. Once we finally made it there we had a blast. The main attraction for my kidlets was the three water slide build into the side of the hill. You grab a foam mat, climb the hill and whiz down. I've been too afraid to go in the past and I had the convenient excuse that I had to stay with Ellie. This year I was on my own because they were going down as fast as Their feet would carry them up the hill.

The funny thing about this fear is that I used to love this kind of thing. When I was in high school I was in the marching band. One year we did a three week amusement park tour, playing our music and riding the rides in the amusement parks between Denver and Disneyland. Once we got there we were part of a "battle of the bands" and ended up making a few tracks for a record. It was a memorable trip and one big memory was of going o EVERY ROLLER COASTER, even the ones that went upside down, which was a totally new concept at the time. I continued like that until I had the kids. It is like I have a test tube in my head that controls how I feel. Most of the time I feel fine, but if I go on too many swervy road in the mountains or on a wild ride, I feel like I am going to puke. It is unpleasant, as you might imagine. But, in remembering what fun I had in the past, I test this from time to time, hoping it will change back to what it was like before.
So, I tried it. After all, little Ben was going, so I should too. I did the first one and was okay. I finished with my heart thumping like a sparrow's. I was like a speeding bullet. Ethan was going so fast in the one he did that he "caught air" on one of the curves - but he loved that! I decided that the slide I went on must be the fastest one. Then I tried the one that begins at the mouth of what looks like a cave or shaft entrance.You sit down and see that there is a steep hill right off, but I went anyway. Yeah, it was fast too, but this time I unintentionally laid back and that made the ending part better. My heart still thumping hard and fast, I had to try the last one. Otherwise, how would I know which one I liked best? And wouldn't you know, the middle one was fast, too. This time I got serious amounts of water up my nose, so I was done. I am proud that, as a wimpmeister, I did try it, but once on each one is enough.

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