All Weared Out

Virginia Fun Passes in hand, the three of us set out to Busch Gardens for the first time this year. That place is truly amazing -- and gorgeous! Who needs Disney? It is no wonder it has won the "most beautiful theme park" award so many times. Plus it is huuuuuge -- there was no way I could take it all in. And even being there all day, I knew we hadn't even seen the half of it or even a third of it. We were so lucky -- the forecast was for thunderstorms, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day and blissfully not crowded at all considering it was Memorial Day Weekend.

By decree of our pint-sized dictator, we started off in the Sesame Street "Forest of Fun," home of the infamous Grover Roller Coaster. And again, and again, and again. You get the drift! Sam's favorite ride and my least favorite (of course) was Prince Elmo's Spire, which boosts you way high up in the air and then drops you down fast without warning. All in all it was one nauseating ride. However, I am grateful for not having to live down losing my breakfast, which was a distinct possibility for a while.

Then we took the skyride/gondola over the park, flying over the grazing sheep and goats of Ireland with its thatched roofs. And voila, we got off in France! There were no in-flight snacks, but the cheap airfare and lack of jet lag was much appreciated! Daddy Mac and I were in heaven since we both love French food, wine, culture, etc. However, the little dude was not having it since it was lunch time and there was not a deep-fried nugget to be found in any bistro there. We stumbled upon the Smokehouse and had some great BBQ and an Elmo cupcake to re-energize the Saminator.

We wandered into Germany, which reminded me of Munich in the summertime. Ah, it would have been so nice to grab a stein of beer on a hot day, but alas... We were lucky to get Sam to watch the show at the Hofbrahaus for five minutes before declaring it "boring." (He is too young to understand that the show was not intended to be watched sober at 2 PM.) So we set off to the Land of the Dragons. There were rope walkways which sure wore me out and lots of really neat kiddie rides. It's hard to beat riding a carousel, flying on a dragon, driving a ladybug, smashing into bumper cars, and even taking off on a WW II biplane as if you were the Red Baron. What do you do for an encore?

And there's more?? Oh yes! Italy was breathtaking with columns everywhere and yet a few more kid rides in the spirit of Da Vinci. And then it was time to go because we had a small human time bomb on our hands. It almost exploded on the tram back to the parking lot. However, with careful handling we made it back to the car safely where the surly little man passed out within seconds.

When we stopped to pick up some good German beer near home, Sam woke up, announcing, "I am so weared out by Busch Gardens." I'll drink to that!

LibbY