The Great Escape Part 3

Part 3: Game For Anything
We exited Storytown through a man-made rock tunnel, which went under a waterfall. Directly behind the waterfall, was a window, where guests could stick out their hands and touch the water. Well, at least I did that, and still do whenever I go to the Great Escape.

The inside of the tunnel was cool, and quiet, the only noise being the echoes of other guests. I looked up at the ceiling and thought I saw little gems in the rock. I soon realized that these weren't fake gems to make the rock pretty, but used chewing gum! It was stuck all over the walls and ceiling! I can see how it go on the walls, but the ceiling? How on earth did that gum end up on the ceiling? Did some very tall people put it there? God only knows, and I'll never find out. Maybe I should ask a park employee someday.

When we left the tunnel, we were assaulted by the bright afternoon light and the cheesiness of Ghost Town. Complete with saloons, actors performing shoot-outs and all the accouterments required to have a proper Wild West theme. It also happened to be dreadfully crowded.
Desperate to go on a ride, I picked out a ride I had seen when entering the park, seen only because of it's height, The Condor. This ride goes fifty feet in the air, it's passengers in bird shaped carriages. It circles either fast or slow depending on the operator and can be seen as either very dull or very fun. I found it neither.

I got in a carriage with my Aunt Elizabeth, but decided I was a big girl (being ten) and wanted my own bird. I got in it eagerly, and prepared to buckle in, but got a big surprise when I didn't find any safety restraints! No seat belt. No lap bar. Nothing. I began to panic, wondering how I'd be kept from falling out, wondering if I had a defective bird. I think I began to call the ride attendant for help. You can imagine my relief then, when I discovered that there was a little automatic gate that would slide closed, and keep me from falling out of the bird. I do not remember how I found out about this, but I think the ride attendant may have been involved.
The Condor went slowly enough, but it was very, very high up. I remember looking down and feeling immense fear. The people below looked like little specks, the ground so very far away. I could not enjoy the view, so scared was I. When the ride was over, I wanted to go on more rides, but we had to wait for everyone to catch up with us.

This was my low point of the day. I end up having a childish temper tantrum, which earned me a short time out on an uncomfortable park bench. My discomfort was due to the fact that it was a hard wooden bench, with a thick plank just randomly nailed to it. Being in a foul mood did not improve matters, either. I didn't sit there too long, but it was still unpleasant.

Eventually, we met up with the rest of the group and we got in line for a log flume ride known as The Desperado Plunge. For a little while, it had been re-named The Poland Springs Plunge (let's hear it for blatant advertising!), but the new commercial name didn't stick too long. It's now called The Desperado Plunge again. The Plunge is one of those extended wait rides, because there are so few boats available. There are like, four or five of these barrel-shaped boats, and they can hold a maximum of four people, though they can be filled with as little as two passengers.

We stood in line for about half an hour. I whined several times during the wait, and my aunt asked me if I wanted to turn around and get out of line. Sullenly, I said no, and saw it through.
When it was our turn we got loaded up, four to one boat and three to another (there were seven of us if I recall correctly). Each boat is divided into two little compartments. Each of these compartments has a long, narrow, vinyl covered seat. My Aunt Elizabeth and I sat in front compartment, where my aunt let me sit in front of her. My sister Katie rode in the back compartment, but I do not remember who she sat with.
The ride started out slowly, going down the stream, bumping into the sides gently. I looked around, seeing the outskirts of the park, where old ride parts are abandoned, The Plunge is right on the outskirts of the park where on one side of the fence, guests mill about happily, but the other side seems abandoned, dusty and desolate, littered with the corpses of old rides. Seeing this borderline was the beginning of a strange phobia. I don't like the edges of amusement parks, that's where the magic ends, and gritty reality begins.

The boat began to be pulled up a conveyor belt, but I didn't know why. I probably assumed that after we went uphill, the ride would remain gentle. I was proven wrong though. We'd been released onto a whitewater flume, which moved fast, and had some sudden drops. Water splashed up the sides of the boat, splattered us. I gripped the handlebars that flanked the inner sides of the boat.

After a medium sized drop, we floated into a strange warehouse like-building, the side which faced the road had the Great Escape legend painted on it. Inside this strange edifice, it was dark and had the musty smell of old wood, which I associated with The Shelburne Museum. There were creepy logger dummies, some of which were automated, doing different tasks. For a moment, I had thought they were actors, but I know now they were not. My sister told me they were former employees turned into dummies.
When we were about exit the creepy building, when my sister gleefully told me to look up. Above my head were two dummies, one of which was tangled in a net, a frightened expression frozen on his face, the other, clinging to a revolving log, reaching down towards us riders. As a ten-year-old girl, I was utterly disturbed by these plastic fellows.
I didn't have much time to concentrate on this however, for the ride had taken a sudden, very steep plunge. This was the grand finale of the ride, the meaning behind its name. My stomach dropped, and I clung to the sides of the boat. When we hit the water, a great wave splashed up onto us, drenching our laps. When we exited the ride, I looked down at my soaked lap and thought that it looked like I had pissed myself.
I was greeted with another surprise when I learned that there was a camera that took photos of you as you take the plunge downhill. I looked at my expression in the photo; I had a strange grimace, that made me look vaguely constipated.

After we went on this ride, my uncle asked me if I wanted to ride The Steamin' Demon roller coaster. I was game for anything so I said yes. While everyone else went off to eat lunch, my Uncle Russ and I ran to get in line for the ride. It wasn't a very long line if I recall, (because the ride is very fast) and we got seated quickly. My uncle pocketed my glasses (after The Boomerang incident, I would no longer risk it), we buckled in, and lowered the shoulder restraints. The ride was fast, furious and a little traumatizing, but afterwards, my uncle convinced me to go on a second time. Like the first, I remember little of this one, other than screaming "OH! NO! NOT AGAIN!" each time the ride went upside down.

Afterwards, my uncle took me to a Wild West themed cafe (I can't remember what its name was) situated near the roller coaster, that sold fried chicken and other down home country comestibles. We got corn on the cob, barbecue chicken and fries, with sodas. But the food turned out to be terrible! The corn was bitter, the fries were cold. I don't remember what the chicken tasted like. We lost our appetites and decided to rent a locker so we could meet everyone else at The Splashwater Kingdom section of the park. It was time to take a swim.