Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Last Big Ohio Adventure

Saturday, Ryan took Braden and his friend Brendan to Cedar Point, an amusement park that boasts they are the largest amusement ride park in the world. With 17 roller coasters, including three of the top ten in the world, that rock, roll and rotate, turn upside down, drop suddenly, and thrust upward at 50 mph, it provided quite an adventure for two 9-year-olds and one 30-something-year-old.

With our move right around the corner, we thought we'd do this adventure right and begin it with a sleep over. How much sleeping was actually done is questionable, as there was a Wii, Gamecube, and movie involved, but the boys must have done fine because they were up ready to go before anyone else had rolled out of bed. With a bit of breakfast in their stomachs, they left just in time to arrive at the 10:00 a.m. opening.
While Ryan and Braden were novices, Brendan was a veteran visitor and was happy to lead the way. We were a bit worried to have Braden visit the coaster capital of the world since his previous coaster experiences consisted of kiddy coasters. But a bit of positive peer pressure is a good thing, and of the 17 coasters, there was only one the two boys flat out refused to try and another Braden got to the front of the line of and backed out. Of them all, the boys' favorite was the Magnum XL-200. Apparently, when the Magnum coaster opened in 1989, it broke world records. Standing 205 feet above the ground and reaching a top speed of 72 mph, it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster ever created. In 2006 it was voted No. 3 in the world. The boys voted it No. 1.
Ryan was a trooper and only left the boys to fend for themselves on one ride... Snake River Falls. It's a traditional water flume ride that soaks its passengers and those unlucky enough to be standing nearby the 1600-square-foot wave. When questioned about his loyalty to the adventure, Ryan produced a picture he took in order to pacify his critics.

The boys begged to stay till closing, but the multiple burgers and fries, soda and cotton candy, and days worth of walking and standing in line, proved to be enough for one 30-something-year-old and two nine-year-olds in serious denial. Plus, Ryan's wallet was empty, though Braden informed me he came out ahead because of the 16 cents he found on the ground. At 9:00, one hour before closing, they bid goodbye to the coaster capital. The boys did not last long on the 1 1/2 hour ride home. Ryan pulled in at 10:30 beat, sunburned and chauffeuring two happy, sleeping boys. With the adventure over, Braden sleepily climbed in bed with me telling me all about his day. His last words were, "Roller coasters are fun."
This morning Braden didn't roll out of bed till after 9:00, amazing since he's always up before 7:00. All he could talk about was how great it was and continued with a constant nagging of when he could go back. He has this advice to share with anyone a bit fearful of riding: "You just have to sit down. Then they lock you in and you don't have a choice."

We truly realized the adventure was a success when Braden told us he wished yesterday could have lasted forever!

1 comment:

Matt and Allie said...

Sounds like quite the adventure- I can't believe you didn't join them Cyndee. Maybe next time :)