Family Trip

We are celebrating it as our first family vacation since we had Random.  Sure, we've been to visit family and friends as a family, but we've never gone *on vacation*.  

It was really a trip for me, since Cedar Point is about my favorite place on the whole planet, and this was the first time I've ever gone there for two days.  We stayed at the Breakers for the intervening night, which also increased the fun (you get to start riding an hour earlier than anyone else, and the entrance to the park is about 100 yards from the hotel).

Additionally, I've never gone to Soak City either.  While the experience was hampered somewhat by the bugs and the bird poo fairly prevalent throughout that park, the rides and attractions there are pretty fun, too, though maybe not for a whole day (I don't know how to go there and *not* get sunburned, for example).

One of the main attractions we planned to visit there was Camp Snoopy.  I'm not sure at what point Cedar Fair got in bed with the Peanuts Gang, but the Snoopy-themed attractions for younger kids were really well done, and kept both kids riding.  Gamble could ride almost all the Peanuts rides by himself, and Random was able to ride them with an adult rider.  

Random was particularly funny to watch.  She went from cautious, to scared, to cautious, to enthusiastic all in the course of a day.  She really liked the balloon ride that you could help spin (or help retard the spin).

They had the characters walking through the park, and Random was sure to give Snoopy lots of hugs, and she kept giving Lucy knuckles (or "the rock" in Ohio-an).  

Mommie also paid for her to pick a duck from the duck pond to win a prize.  Even the game operator was surprised when she pulled a duck for a large prize (there must be ver few).  She picked out a white doggie with purple markings.  When I asked her what the dog's name was, she told me, "Purple!"  She dragged it everwhere for the rest of the trip.  She's a very lucky little girl.

Gamble, however, was a real treat.  He seemed to be suffering an identity crisis.  On one hand, he seemed to really enjoy the rides he went on, but at the same time, he seemed to be frustrated about hanging around all the little rides in Snoopy land.  He was into Peanuts a couple years back, but seems to have moved on, and we think that maybe he felt a little too old for Snoopy.

At 46 inches, he wasn't able to ride many big-boy rides, but he was able to ride quite a bit with me, and there were even a couple rides he could get on that would be considered mainstream.  

It was with great pride that I put him in the front car of the Iron Dragon, a suspended coaster that was, to my knowledge, his first real roller coaster beyond the kiddie fairground fare.  He loved it.  So much so that we rode it seven times over both days.  He was also able to ride Disaster Transport.  If you haven't been on Disaster Transport lately, they've taken away all the lights.  It now rides completely pitch black.  He loved that one so much that he took his Mommie on it!

During one of the rides, it was evident that Gamble was pretty excited.  "Daddie?  I think I'm freaking out.  I'm so excited!"  And from then on, we said it everywhere we went, and on every ride.  Freaking out became the way that we enjoyed the rides, and the way that we celebrated.  While we were in the middle of the Iron Dragon: "Hey, Gamble, I think it was this part of the ride where you were freaking out."  "Stop it, Daddie!  I'm giggling!"

What a fun trip. Thanks to this Mommie for making it all happen!