My First Trip to The Great Escape

Like I've said, I often like to stroll down memory lane. The Elfquest equivalent of this is known as a Howl. So tonight's Howl, is for my first trip to The Great Escape. I have decided to excavate this decade old memory because this Monday, I will be going to the park for the first time in four years, making it my 9th trip to The Great Escape. Like the Hershey Memoir, this will be written in parts. Because the memory is so old, it will be kind of shaky and have some holes in it.

Part 1: The Creme de la Creme of All Summer Trips
It happened the summer I was 10, my family was living on West Allen Street in Winooski, Vermont and planning on moving to New York. In between all this chaos, I still managed to swim, play and enjoy myself. That summer I had been to camp, (which had been a traumatizing experience) and attended a gamut of cook-outs. But all our neighbors were going to The Great Escape, and had been for years, and I was quite jealous. My sisters had been before as well, and that too had me filled with envy.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight, when I was given the chance to go to the fabled park. It had started when my mother answered a seemingly mundane call from my Aunt Elizabeth. My aunt spent plenty of time with me in those days, taking me on various trips and adventures. When she married my Uncle Russell, this did not change, he joined in on the fun. All that summer, the two of them took my sisters and I on swimming trips and the like, and now they were taking my sister, Katie and I on the creme de la creme of all summer trips!

My mother turned to me, still on the phone and asked if I wanted to go to The Great Escape with my aunt. She didn't even need to ask! Eagerly, I said yes, and ran outside to tell all my redneck neighbors. They took my news with good humor, though one of them, a Mr. Peter Parker, told me there was a ride that flung you straight in the air and if it hit the water it was a water ride. If not, well you were dead. At the time, I was a gullible little guppy and believed him, much to the amusement of all the hicks.

That night, my Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Russell came for my sister Katie and I. They took us to their apartment located in The Old North End of Burlington. We would stay there for the night, in order to get a bright start that morning. I had packed some clothes, my aqua green and yellow plaid swimsuit, my teddy bear and my ADD medication. I remember being wonderfully excited for the next day!

When we arrived at the small apartment, my aunt and I walked her dog, Cody, whose ears I had chewed on in my infancy. She's no longer with us, but I remember her very well. She was a patient and loving dog, who used to let my uncle wrap ace bandages around her head. He had also made signs for her kennel that said: "Anthrax Victim" and "POW".

After we went inside, I played with my aunt's paper dolls. She had Movie Monster Paperdolls and a set of little boys and girls in clothes from the 1920's. My fourteen-year-old sister played video games. While we amused ourselves, my aunt made the sleeping arrangements, she and I would share her bed, my sister would have the futon couch and my uncle would take the floor.
That night, I couldn't sleep because I was too excited. I tossed and turned and rolled about, before finally falling asleep. I had strange dreams. When we woke up, my Aunt, Uncle and I compared our dreams. Then we had breakfast.

After getting dressed (I vaguely recall wearing a pair of navy blue jersey shorts I favored, and a red t-shirt) and packing up the car, we set off for Lake George.
Along with Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Russell, Katie and I, we would be accompanied by my Aunt Amy, my cousin Gabrielle (her daughter) and my cousin Ethan (my Aunt Michelle's son). I hadn't seen either Aunt Amy or Cousin Gabrielle in some time, nor did I communicate with them very much, so it was kind of exciting.
The ride was long and to a ten-year-old girl, rather boring; I sat behind the driver's seat, and spent most of my time looking out the window. I remember seeing a sign for Fort Anne and I remember seeing a few motels. We played my sister's Rob Zombie tape, it was Hellbilly Deluxe. Some of it was a little disturbing for me, but I did enjoy a few of the songs.

We took several bathroom breaks, and on one of them we met up with my Aunt Amy and my cousins. Aunt Elizabeth gave me some Dramamine that was dark pink and tasted slightly of raspberry. After, I noticed a castle in the mountains. A castle! My aunt told me it was a restaurant, and that she stopped there to use the bathroom once. I learned later, that it was reputedly haunted; it had been a mansion, and a woman had been murdered there.
We drove through Lake George and oh, did my eyes widen at the sights! I saw a pirate-themed miniature golf course, the biggest mini-golf course I had ever seen. I saw so many fantastic things, most of which I can not recall, but know they were amazing.

Soon enough, the park came into view, surrounded by mountains and trees. How exciting it was, to see the Great Escape billboard, plastered on to the side of the log flume ride! Even now, I can feel it, that childish flush of excitement in my chest and belly, the urge to start screaming and running in circles. I felt such an excited sense of wonder, one I still feel from time to time whenever I go on a fun trip.
We parked across the road from the park. We met up with Aunt Amy and the cousins, and went to get in the admission line. I was so excited, looking forward to my first amusement park trip. I remember holding my Aunt's hand as we crossed the street. This was before they had installed the pedestrian bridge that spanned over the busy traffic, so crossing the street was a harrowing experience.

As we waited in line to buy our tickets, I looked with wide eyes at the different rides. I saw a large steel roller coaster, The Steamin' Demon and two other thrill rides, The Rainbow and The Condor. I asked my uncle which we should go on first. He picked The Rainbow, a ride which is now dismantled, and I think of now with great fondness.

We paid for our tickets, and I wondered if I was tall enough for the roller coasters. My aunt assured me that I was in fact tall enough. We entered the park, my excitement barely contained. We walked past gift shops, and candy stores. A park employee asked us if we wanted a group picture. We all stood together and smiled.  After the picture was taken, my Aunt showed me a large bronze statue of a warthog. She said if I got lost, I was to return to that statue because we would meet there; thankfully I never got lost.
Having decided that we would go on The Rainbow first, my uncle and I made our way to the ride. In it's heyday, it was a lovely sky blue, with two heavenly looking female statues on each side of the audience style seats. Behind the seats there was a great rainbow of lights. At night it would light up beautifully.

There wasn't much of a line for the ride, and we got seated in the back, right next to one of the statues, on the left. My uncle and I sat together, while my cousin sat by herself; the ride director asked us to raise our arms. In my naivety, I thought we were doing it to show our excitement. But it was only so the protective lap bar could lower itself, if you didn't raise your arms, they'd be stuck under the steel bar.

The ride started, lifting itself into air. This is pretty much all the ride does, is move up and down, as if drawing a half-circle. The first time it lifted, I thought it would hit the building next to the ride. Considering the fact that a corner of that building was dented and smashed, my fear was not irrational. I was horribly nervous. The next time it rose into the air, the ride went higher than the nearby Aspen tree, which stood a good thirty or fifty feet. This was, as you can imagine, my cue to start screaming. I hadn't realized before, just how afraid of heights I was! I was terrified! I gripped the lap bar and screamed as the ride rose and fell, my stomach dropping. Six years later, I would learn to enjoy this ride, but at the tender age of ten, I was rather traumatized.

The ride ended. As we exited, I commented to the ride director, that The Rainbow must look beautiful all lit up. He told me that I should see it later, at night. I said I would, but I never did.
The Rainbow was my first grown-up ride, before that I'd only been on merry-go-rounds, baby roller coasters (the mini ones that often look like dragons or caterpillars), and giant slides. I came away from this initiation shaken, but eager for more. Indeed, I would get more than I bargained for, when I would ride the Boomerang, which you'll hear about in my next installment!