![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Tomorrow is Mom's birthday. My sisters and their families are here for the weekend. They came late Friday night, and they're staying through late Sunday afternoon. Full house, but fun.
Today, we went to Six Flags. Starting with the safari, which is sort of like an inside-out zoo. The only kind Mom likes. (She hasn't been able to go to a regular zoo since seeing a polar bear in a cage in the Bronx Zoo years back. It was just pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Looked like it'd lost its mind from having been confined in such a small space for so long.) In the safari, they have big open spaces with wide fences, and the people stay caged up in their cars. Sometimes, the animals walk right up to you. A little zebra came right up and looked into our car. A giraffe licked the window of my sister's car. We had to stop and wait for a bunch of ostriches to wander off the road. It was fun.
Afterwards, most of the family went back home (some of them had had a difficult night, and it was past nap time). I went with my bro-in-law and his two kids into the park. Saw a few people in costume (not all of them working there). There was a little kid in a Superman Returns costume. And official staff dressed as Flash and Green Lantern. I called out to GL, addressing him as John. Wasn't sure which Flash it was, but John Stewart is easy to spot. *G*
Thing is... it was really sunny out. My niece kept shading her eyes. So I gave her my hat. But then I was hatless. But I spotted the old "guess your age or weight" booth, and, remembering the time last year when a waiter at Bennigan's asked doubtfully if I was over 18 before giving me a sweepstakes card, I walked boldly up. Handed over a few bucks and asked her to guess my age. She frowned at me, all confused. I smiled back. Finally, she guessed 20.
"Nope," I said, taking out my license. "29." She looked at me. Looked at the license. Frowned. I walked her throught it. "See? 1978. It's 2007. I'm 29."
"... Oh. You're right!"
"I'd hope so..."
And thus won myself a big plush top hat with Bugs Bunny ears sticking out the sides. Niece and I traded back and forth over the course of the day.
Oh, and there was one other thing... We were walking all over the park. Admittedly sticking mostly to the kiddie rides, but we passed a lot of stuff. Things looked busy enough to be worthwhile, but we never saw a line that was more than, say, three loads/rides long. Except there was one place where we passed a line that came out past a building, across the wide walkway, and down the block out of sight. We looked around. Couldn't figure out what ride it could possibly be for. But we had to cross the line to get where we were going. So, as we did so, I asked the people what they were waiting for...
You ready for this?
Can you guess what the absolute longest line in the whole park was for?
I'll give you one more chance.
Give up?
It was for... Flash Pass registration! The service where you scan your ticket so you don't have to wait in line! (And, unlike Disney World, in Six Flags, that's a service you have to pay extra for. Which is what they were all waiting to do.)
That almost goes beyond irony.
And, as always, it was great just being with the kids. Especially when I picked up my nephew, and he put his arms around my neck, gave me a big hug, snuggled in, and all but went to sleep on my shoulder. :)
All in all, a really good day. Thanks, Mom!
Today, we went to Six Flags. Starting with the safari, which is sort of like an inside-out zoo. The only kind Mom likes. (She hasn't been able to go to a regular zoo since seeing a polar bear in a cage in the Bronx Zoo years back. It was just pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Looked like it'd lost its mind from having been confined in such a small space for so long.) In the safari, they have big open spaces with wide fences, and the people stay caged up in their cars. Sometimes, the animals walk right up to you. A little zebra came right up and looked into our car. A giraffe licked the window of my sister's car. We had to stop and wait for a bunch of ostriches to wander off the road. It was fun.
Afterwards, most of the family went back home (some of them had had a difficult night, and it was past nap time). I went with my bro-in-law and his two kids into the park. Saw a few people in costume (not all of them working there). There was a little kid in a Superman Returns costume. And official staff dressed as Flash and Green Lantern. I called out to GL, addressing him as John. Wasn't sure which Flash it was, but John Stewart is easy to spot. *G*
Thing is... it was really sunny out. My niece kept shading her eyes. So I gave her my hat. But then I was hatless. But I spotted the old "guess your age or weight" booth, and, remembering the time last year when a waiter at Bennigan's asked doubtfully if I was over 18 before giving me a sweepstakes card, I walked boldly up. Handed over a few bucks and asked her to guess my age. She frowned at me, all confused. I smiled back. Finally, she guessed 20.
"Nope," I said, taking out my license. "29." She looked at me. Looked at the license. Frowned. I walked her throught it. "See? 1978. It's 2007. I'm 29."
"... Oh. You're right!"
"I'd hope so..."
And thus won myself a big plush top hat with Bugs Bunny ears sticking out the sides. Niece and I traded back and forth over the course of the day.
Oh, and there was one other thing... We were walking all over the park. Admittedly sticking mostly to the kiddie rides, but we passed a lot of stuff. Things looked busy enough to be worthwhile, but we never saw a line that was more than, say, three loads/rides long. Except there was one place where we passed a line that came out past a building, across the wide walkway, and down the block out of sight. We looked around. Couldn't figure out what ride it could possibly be for. But we had to cross the line to get where we were going. So, as we did so, I asked the people what they were waiting for...
You ready for this?
Can you guess what the absolute longest line in the whole park was for?
I'll give you one more chance.
Give up?
It was for... Flash Pass registration! The service where you scan your ticket so you don't have to wait in line! (And, unlike Disney World, in Six Flags, that's a service you have to pay extra for. Which is what they were all waiting to do.)
That almost goes beyond irony.
And, as always, it was great just being with the kids. Especially when I picked up my nephew, and he put his arms around my neck, gave me a big hug, snuggled in, and all but went to sleep on my shoulder. :)
All in all, a really good day. Thanks, Mom!