Fox and Squirrel Pt. 8

I want to warn you, my chronological order may be messed up, because my memory sucks.

Part 8- Eager To Ride
We made our way back to the lockers to change. On our way, we stopped at one those little outdoor showers usually found at public pools and water parks. These are commonly used to rinse yourself off before you get in the water, for hygienic purposes. They are also used after you've gotten wet, to rinse off the chlorine. But I use these showers for a special purpose. Ever notice how horribly cold it is the first few moments you get in a swimming pool? I've discovered that getting wet before you get in tends to cushion the blow and make it easier for your body to acclimate to the temperature of the water you're in. However, at the Great Escape, I have never experienced that terrible coldness while swimming in Splashwater Kingdom. I'm not sure why, but the water is always pleasant.

Acacia and I rinsed ourselves off with the warm water, which I found to be decidedly less pleasant than the cool waters of the slides and pools. Afterwards, we walked into the locker rooms, which echoed with the sounds of screaming children and gossiping guests. We collected our clothes, and herded into the same changing stall we had used to wriggle into our bathing suits. The cement floor was slick with water from all the bathers who come had come and gone throughout the day. I tried very hard not to drop anything. We dried ourselves off with our damp towels, and struggled into our clothes. The hardest part was getting into my shoes and socks, without getting my socks wet on the cement floor. I couldn't sit down to put them on, because unfortunately, there wasn't a bench in that changing stall. It was during this battle to change our clothes inside a damp tiny cell that Acacia told me she had dropped her bathing suit bottoms in the parking lot. She had been wearing her shorts and underwear the entire time in the water park, and would now have to walk around all day in damp shorts. But she didn't complain; she accepted her lot, whereas I would have bemoaned my ill fate.

We left Splashwater Kingdom. It is strange, while the only thing that separates Splashwater Kingdom and the rest of The Great Escape is an arch (bearing the title: Splashwater Kingdom), the two parts of the park are entirely foreign. They are two different worlds, but I am not sure how I can describe it. For one thing, the water park is brighter. There are less trees in the area, so the sun beats down upon the water and the cement. But despite this, it is much cooler than the rest of the park, possibly because of the presence of water, or because when you're wearing a bathing suit you've got more skin exposed and are thus cooler as a result. Your bathing suit being damp doesn't hurt either.

We wandered the park, deciding what to ride next. Acacia and I decided to ride The Comet. The Comet is, as you know, a wooden roller coaster, which was restored by the Great Escape. It's one of my favorite rides at the park, for I do prefer wooden roller coasters over steel. Acacia and I got into line; it was not horribly long, though there was a large group of hyperactive kids in front of us. Kids always seem eager to ride this coaster, but I've never figured out why.

When it was our turn, we climbed into the old fashioned cars (though not before putting our bags and glasses in the provided cubbies). There are two trains of cars, one red and one blue, I think we may have gotten the blue one, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless of the car's color, we buckled the orange seat belts (I remember that) and lowered the foam-padded lap bar. Then, after the speech regarding safety precautions, the ride started.

The ride started out slowly, the track still low to the ground. I wasn't afraid, only excited, the first time I rode this coaster without any fear. The cars began to ascend the hill, the chain pulling us up, clacking and grinding. It rose high and higher, and finally we went rushing down the steep hill, the wind in our faces, screaming, you guessed it, a Hetalia reference. I had my hands in the air, screaming in joy. I kept my hands up for most of the thrilling ride, through sharp turns and swooping drops. I kept my arms in the air until the coaster jumped suddenly, and I felt myself being pitched out of the car! It isn't unusual for one's ass to briefly leave the seat during a roller coaster ride, but this time, my body had somehow swerved to the left, putting me at risk of being an amusement park casualty. The near danger lasted only for a moment however, for I grabbed the bar, pulled my self back into the seat and held on for the rest of the ride.

When the ride was over, we collected our things and went to the kiosk where they sell the photos they took of you on the ride. This is very common on a lot of roller coasters, log flumes and other thrill rides, to take a picture of riders when they're at a certain point in the ride, to capture the amusing expressions they make. Some people flash the camera or flip the bird. Acacia and I did neither of those things. What I noticed about our snapshot, was that I looked eerily like my mother in it. We decided not to buy the photos (not because of our appearances, but because we lacked sufficient funds.) and made our way to the Fest Area of the park to experience more rides.

Like most of my memoirs, my chronological memory is very hazy. I do recall that we were worried about the time the park would close. It was around two or three in the afternoon, and we wanted as much time in the park as possible. I began to feel a manic urge to get on as many rides as possible. One of these rides I frantically hopped aboard was The Pirate Ship. This ride ends up in a lot of my memoirs, for it is ubiquitous in the amusement park world. Every park, carnival, and county fair will feature one if they have the space and the money, because it is such a popular ride. It is a thrill ride that most people can enjoy (though I have witnessed them turning away children that are too short or people who are obese; the latter because the safety bar could not fit over their bellies), for it is not too extreme, but still packs a punch.

We got in line, hoping to get the very back seats (for those go the highest in the air). That was not our fate of course, for the skinny, bratty girls in front of us had that dubious honor. It is the cold hard fact of amusement parks, that the people in front of you always grab the seats that you want, whether you wanted it because of it's placement (such as the back seats of the Pirate) or if you wanted it because of it's color or design. It becomes a habit, when you're in line for a ride to give the people in front of you the evil eye, almost daring them to grab that seat you want, willing them, commanding them (inside your head of course, lest you look like a lunatic) to stay the fuck away from that seat you so desire. These death glares must be subtle of course, for you may be discovered.

We sat down in the third row, near the stern (the second row naturally having been taken over by another group of tween girls). The safety bar lowered automatically and the ride started. The group of young girls behind us, were screaming like it was the scariest thing they had ever been on. As we soared in the air, I rolled my eyes and laughed.

The ride was short, too short for my tastes. I like my thrill rides to be pretty lengthy, but it seems that they like to run them for only two or three minutes, especially if the waiting line is long. They need to make the ride fast to make the line move fast. But the line wasn't really long today, so that wasn't a problem. I don't know why amusement park rides have to run so short. We got off the ride, and gathered our things. Among our belongings, we had the addition of a coke cup. Acacia had purchased a coke right before we left the water park, and we had shared it. When the coke was gone, we filled the cup with water from the drinking fountains. Eventually when the cubes melted we got rid of it, but the coke cup would later be replaced.

After this, we made the not so sage decision to ride The Alpine Bobsled. I've described this ride before. It's a roller coaster inspired by bobsledding, with a nice Winter Olympics theme. Instead of traditional tracks, the bobsled modeled cars speed down a luge track. It can actually be dangerous; a woman died when her sled went off the tracks and crashed. Also, because of the poor neck and shoulder support on this ride, it is very easy to experience whiplash. I consider it the park's worst ride when it comes to safety and rider comfort.

The line for this was actually kind of long. The people in front of us were eavesdropping on our conversation, but to be polite we let them in on our discussions about Hetalia and American Indian culture.

When we made it to the station where people entered and exited the ride, Acacia and I started discussing which bobsled we would get. As I've mentioned in previous memoirs, the bobsleds are emblazoned with different international flags, coinciding with the Olympic theme. There is America, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Jamaica. Since we had been discussing Hetalia all day (which is an anime about the different countries that fought in WW2, it's cute and strange), what country we got was of great importance. We wanted Italy, or Canada, because Italy was my favorite and Canada is Acacia's favorite. Britain or France would also be acceptable, as would Switzerland or the United States. But we did not want Jamaica (though I used to want that one when I was a kid, because of the film Cool Runnings) because Jamaica is not in Axis Powers Hetalia. While we waited, we let some people go ahead of us so they could remain with their group, I don't usually like letting people cut in front of me though, but since it was an older woman with a child who politely asked for this, I relented.
Waiting in line for roller coasters reminds me of herding livestock. From the large single line, you branch off into a group of smaller lines, which are sectioned off by gates and bars. This method determines where you sit on the ride, in the front or the back. It can, at times be a little confusing and frustrating. Sometimes they have special lines that get you to the very front of the coaster, but they have none of that nonsense on this ride.

I can not remember which country was on our bobsled. It was either Italy or Canada, one of the very countries we had desired! I think for sure, that it was Italy, for I recall crying "Pasta!" a few times, disturbing the people who had been in line in front of us. We lowered the lap bars and got ready for the ride to start. I wasn't going to take off my glasses for this coaster, probably because it didn't have so many steep drops and it did not go upside down.

The ride started, and I found that I liked it a lot less than I used to. Yes, it was fast, but it was awkward, and contained too many sudden stops. Every time it would lurch or stop suddenly, my neck would jerk forward painfully, and my breasts and stomach would slam into the lap bar, causing further pain. The sound of the wheels on the luge, was unpleasant to my ears. All in all, I really hated riding this, and it put me in a bad mood. When we exited the ride, I complained about how unsafe the Alpine Bobsled was. They need better head and neck support for this ride, or they need someone to operate the damn thing properly. Maybe they need both.
We continued on our way; I was still worried about how much time we could have in the park. We would try to squeeze in a few more rides, maybe even get something to eat. Read all about it in my next entry!