Fox and Squirrel Pt. 10

This may or may not be the last chapter of my most self-indulgent memoir ever. I don't know. As always though, my memory might be hazy, and I may not get everything in linear order.

Part 10: A Disturbing and Tacky Little Tableau
Right after we left The Steamin' Demon we wandered around a little bit. I noticed, set up around the arcade, were a bunch of coin-operated barrels, which would vibrate and bounce up and down. Being an immature git, I had a few crude thoughts about the vibrating barrels.
I also noticed a statue of a grizzled old miner. You could sit on his lap and have your photo taken. I briefly considered having Acacia take a photo of me with this statue, for a lark, but I decided against it. I thought it would waste precious time we could be spending on rides.

We decided to ride an old favorite of mine, The Desperado Plunge. That's right, friends and neighbors, they changed the ride back to it's original name! It was briefly called The Poland Springs Plunge, for obvious marketing reasons. But now it's back to its maiden name, why I do not know.
The line was relatively short, compared to the first time I rode it, back in 1999. We were behind some people, who I found to be rather obnoxious and poorly educated. You've probably noticed by now, that I can be quite judgmental.
While we were waiting, we somehow ended up cutting in front of these idiots. If I remember correctly, when the line moved, they were too busy yammering away to notice. They were holding up the line, so Acacia and I moved in front of them, I felt bad about doing so, but then I figured, you snooze you lose. They probably would have done the same thing to us.
Our stuff was already neatly put away in little cubbies, which, rather than being next to the area where riders board and exit, were right next to the line. They created a little divider between the line and the exit, so that when you left the ride, you could grab them without a fuss.

Our turn came very quickly, thanks to cutting those idiots in line. Our barrel-shaped, aquatic chariot floated up to us, the brown vinyl seats splattered with water. That's the one thing I hate about log flumes and river rapid rides, is that the seats are always wet.
Acacia graciously let me have the back compartment, where one is less likely to get splashed, and she took the front. There aren't any seat belts on this ride, despite it's steep drop. There are however, handles that one can hold onto during any rough parts of the ride.

The gate holding us back lifted, and the current swept us out of the station (perhaps with the aid of some gears and motors). The ride moved gently, bumping along the sides of the canal.
Then, it was lifted uphill by way of conveyor belt (a part I hate, because, despite the rubber coating in the conveyor belt, I always feel like the little boat is slipping backwards), to be released onto some rapids. The ride is faster and bumpier at this point, going down little dips. Water splashes up over the sides, soaking riders.
Also at this point during the ride, one notices the park's outskirts, a lot like a junkyard, where one can see the remains of old rides, rusting for all eternity. The Rainbow was there, it's lights gone, only a heap of unloved machinery. I pointed it out to Acacia, and told her how much I hate seeing the outskirts of the park.

I was enjoying the ride, until we entered the weird building which looks like a warehouse. That's the building which has The Great Escape sign painted on it's side (facing towards traffic), as well as a bunch of creepy dummies inside, which are supposed to be loggers. Those dummies have always disturbed me, because, let's face it, mannequins are creepy as fuck.
I looked around boldly, challenging my fear. I also remarked that the musty smell reminded of The Shelburne Museum. Then, came the part of the ride I dread. Right before the drop, above the rider's head are two sinister dummies. One of them is attached to a spinning log, seemingly in danger, reaching out towards the riders below him. The other is an equally terrified looking fellow, tangled in ropes, reaching out to the dummy stuck on the log. It's a disturbing and tacky little tableau. I had been hoping they had removed these chaps, but my hopes were dashed.

Right before we went down the drop, I looked to my left and noticed an employee, sitting on a chair. Why was he there? What was the point of sitting in that creepy, musty little building all day, with those fucked up dummies? I would hate that job, having to sit right in front those two creepy mannequins, watching people plummet down a hill, day in and day out.
We greeted the man, which I imagine most people don't do (I think it's the guys job to tell people to hold on tight or something like that). Then our little boat tipped down hill.
The drop was not as steep as I remembered, nor was the splash as big. It came up over the sides, but it barely touched me. It probably splashed Acacia a little more, though, seeing as she sat in the front.
The boat floated into the station and we got off the ride. When we went to collect our things, I was treated to a shock. My coke cup was gone! Someone had taken it, and thrown it out! I don't know who did it, if it was an employee, or if the people we had cut in line took their revenge on us by tossing my soda cup. Maybe someone had just decided to be a dick and throw it out, or they knocked it over. But it was gone. There had only been ice in it, but I was still highly offended that someone would be rude enough to throw it out while we were on the ride. It makes me think, if someone can just go into one of the cubbies and throw out someone else's drink cup, what's to stop them from going through that person's belongings and stealing?

I was still seething when we went to the photo counter to see the picture of us going down the hill. I can't remember what we looked like nor did we buy the picture, simply because we didn't have the money to spare.

We decided to ride The Canyon Blaster, which is a mild roller coaster marketed as "a family coaster". I was convinced that this was going to be our last ride of the day, based off of the information I'd heard about the park closing at seven. The park employee who had told us this had been wrong. The park closed at eight PM, whereas just Splashwater Kingdom closed at seven. But at the time, I didn't know that. I was convinced that, since it was so close to seven, that this was our last thrill before retreating home to Vermont.
The line was very short, so we had to do a lot of running to get to the end of it. While we were running, a group of fourteen year old boys cut in front of us. I expressed my frustration, and the woman operating the ride noticed what had occurred. She scolded the boys, and let us cut in front of them! I felt bad about it actually, having to cut in front of these boys. The whole thing wasn't a big deal after all.
But neither Acacia nor I said anything, and awkwardly cut in front of the boys. They apologized to us for cutting, (even though technically they had just passed by us while we were running) and I wanted to apologize for our being allowed to cut them. I had feared they would be rude to us because of the ride operator's decision, but that was not the case. They bore us no ill will, and even conversed with us briefly.

Acacia and I decided we would sit at the front of the roller coaster. I've only sat at the front of a coaster once before. It was at Hershey Park in 2007, on a coaster very similar to The Canyon Blaster. Briefly, I felt bad about choosing the front, wondering if the young men we'd cut had wanted the prize seats. But I wanted to sit there, and after putting our stuff away, we did just that, buckling ourselves in and lowering the lap bar.
The ride operator asked us if we were ready, to which we responded with a joyous shout. This response wasn't good enough for her though, because she demanded that we scream louder, before starting the ride.
The coaster was fun, but not nearly as fast or wild as the other coasters we had ridden that day. It had some some dips, some sharp turns and even went through a tunnel, but it just wasn't as fierce as The Boomerang or The Comet. When the ride stopped suddenly, my breasts and stomach made painful contact with the lap bar.

The day was getting close to ending. We decided there was still time for a few last rides though, and made our way back into Story Town, though not through the tunnel. We wandered the area, wondering what to ride next. Acacia suggested The Grand Carousel but I didn't want to ride that. I had never ridden the Swan Boats before, so I suggested we ride those instead. This ride consists of several swan shaped boats that tour around the park. By the time we got there though, the only operating boat was already about to disembark, with only a small family aboard. Though there was room for Acacia and I on the boat, we were still left behind. It was going to be a long wait until their ride would be over and there wasn't another boat or operator available. We tried waiting, but became very frustrated and decided to ride something else. I was disappointed, but did not want to waste time by waiting.
We went into the Fest Area and decided to ride The Sky Ride. It's a ride a lot like a ski lift, with little brightly colored gondolas which move slowly along a cable. The ride offers a birds eye view of the park and is very slow and gentle.
We got in line, which wasn't very long. The boarding station looks like a stereotypical Arabian palace, straight out of Aladdin, painted white, gold and purple. When it was our turn, we stood on a yellow line, waiting for our little gondola to come up behind us. When it bumped up against us, we sat down, then lowered the lap bar. When the ride is operating, the cable never stops moving, so the gondolas are always circulating. The gondola ride at Hershey Park does not do this. It stops every time some gets on or off the ride, leaving people dangling in mid-air. It is not a pleasant experience, especially if the kids in front of you are swinging their gondola back and forth, making the entire cable tremble. Luckily, I have never experienced this at the Great Escape. Also, it's verboten to make your gondola swing back and forth on their Sky Ride.

I don't remember what color our gondola was. It may have been orange. The ride was slow, and so relaxing, it was verging on the side of boring. Below us, a bunch of employees in Looney Tunes costumes danced to The Six Flags theme song. Other employees joined them, and even a few guests danced along. It was their end-of-the-day ritual, a signal to park goers that the day was ending, and the park would be closing soon. Acacia and I boogied in our little gondola, careful not to shake it too much.
The ride was very long. We spent it, not only dancing, but talking very seriously, about subjects I can't recall. I was feeling tired, and I wanted to get off the ride.

The worst part about The Sky Ride is when your gondola switches cables, so it can return to the station. This part of the ride is in an isolated part of the park, surrounded by trees. Usually, I hate this part the most of all, and feel so uncomfortable, but this time it wasn't so bad. Why? Because I saw a squirrel, running around in the woods below us, probably looking for scraps. Wild animals often live in or near parks, because the smells of food and trash attract them. Seeing the squirrel made me happy, during a part of the ride that usually makes me feel uncomfortable and even scared.
The final half of the ride was less than pleasant to me. I felt anxious to get off, partly because I wanted to join in the festivities below, and also because the tweens sitting behind us we're annoying me. I can't remember why, but they were.

When we got off the ride, I found that my legs were in excruciating pain. They had this heavy ache, which made walking difficult. Even though I had been walking around all day, they did not begin to ache until I had gotten off the Sky Ride. I thought maybe the length of the ride, or even the way I was sitting may have caused it. I just don't know.
Right next to The Sky Ride, were the swings, which go by the name The Flying Trapeze. We decided to ride them, making it our official last ride of the day.