Labor Day Weekend, 2007...

So… For all of you out there (mom) who have eagerly been anticipating this post, it's finally here…

As many of you know, our family purchased Cedar Fair season passes this summer. I am not exactly "cheap", but I do like to get my money's worth out of such an… uh… investment. So, as the summer wound down, I was perhaps a little irritated over the fact that we had not hit every possible park within a reasonable geographical area. Knowing this, Phil devised a plan, and the rest is history… Very fun history, I might add…

On Friday morning, we headed to Sandusky (again) for one last Soak City adventure before it closed for the summer. That brought our Soak City trip count to three, for the season. All of our trips to Soak City were a great deal of fun, but this one was the best. I think that's because we really had our bearings, and we knew exactly what we wanted to do. Waterparks are not for everyone, but we are definitely waterpark people. It would be rather difficult for us to spend a whole day at Soak City, but 3-4 hours is just about right, and we had a blast. One of the highlights for us was driving around the back side of Cedar Point, in order to park in the Soak City parking lot. We usually just park at CP and walk though the park. However, doing it this way allowed us to see some great views of the coasters that you would otherwise miss. It also occurred to us that it might be a nice shortcut to Frontiertown for future visits.

Soak City has one of the most incredible lazy rivers ever. Actually, it's not so lazy, but that's what makes it great! Phil rode the river with Seth and Grace, and then I took a turn with Caleb. We also did a trade off in order to ride the family raft ride that has quickly become a favorite. We played in the float pool and hit all three kids play areas, as well. Caleb was sad to say good-bye to his water train. Even Ian had a lot of fun splashing around, this time, which proves that he is getting too big, too fast, just like everyone else. Here are some photo highlights…

Sliding...

Playing...

Riding...

Watching...

Splashing...

Drying...

When we were soaked through and through, we headed to the bathrooms to change, and Grace and I even managed to sneak in a shower. Then we drove to Cleveland. Although we are avid Tiger's fans, Seth likes the Indians. Shameful… yes… I know. So, we took him to an Indians game. Phil, of course, had the presence of mind to wear his Tiger's gear… I spent most of the evening strolling up and down the very long ramp with our littlest guys. I figured it wouldn't hurt to get some exercise! I also hid out in the first aid area for a little while, because it was the only place I could find that offered some privacy for nursing Ian. Ordinarily, I don't mind doing this in public, but it was just way too hot to cover the kid with a blanket, and my only other choice was to sit out by the gates where the entourage of security people would be scrutinizing my every move! After much whining and crying (guess who) over the pathetic show by the Tribe, we decided to leave after the 7^th inning. We felt that we had done our job, supporting the Tigers with our karma (just laugh… you know I'm not serious… mostly). Unfortunately, as we were making our long trek through the dark city streets of Cleveland, back to our van, we heard the Jake irrupting with cheers that could only mean one thing… a late Indians comeback. Perhaps we should have stayed a bit longer. We are now ashamed of our great failure. Detroit fans, please forgive us… Photos, anyone?

That Tiger Orange Sure Stands Out in a Crowd

We stayed at La Quinta Inn, and in the morning we awoke and headed straight for the continental breakfast area. I am writing this part for Phil's benefit. He finds it funny that my main concern when choosing a hotel is the breakfast details. Actually, it is funny. Come on, though… we all have quirks… I enjoyed the company of several older travelers who enjoyed watching our children interact, spill things, and spit up all over the floor. Breakfast was good.

Then, we left for Geauga Lake. Now, I have wanted to visit Geauga Lake for many, many years. I can remember seeing it from a distance while visiting Sea World as a child. I always wanted to go check it out, but we just never got around to it. Now that I have experienced Geauga, I'd say it was an average park. I loved the flume ride, which reminded me of the old Mill Race at CP. We could have done without the naked statues on the carousel and the old fashioned cars that stalled out partway through the ride (an employee had to go rescue Grace and bring her in). Our afternoon was better than our morning there. We walked back to Wildwater Kingdom (formerly the aforementioned Sea World), and that brought back a lot of memories for me. There are still several rides there from the Sea World era, as well as the Happy Harbor climbing nets. We enjoyed the water park, though there wasn't quite as much for kids to do there as other parks we have visited. One of the best parts was the Lego Racers 4-D show. I admit that it was slightly embarrassing when they had to hold the doors for me as I darted into the theater with my half dressed, sleeping baby, but it all turned out OK. I'm glad we didn't have to wait another 45 minutes for the next show… The quote of the day, from Saturday, was uttered by Seth as we were waiting to ride the Black Squid: "Mommy, I thought your spinning days were over!" That about says it all. It certainly made for interesting conversation in line with complete strangers. And, yet more photos…

The Pepsi Plunge Beaver Creek Mine Ride The Black Squid

Look at that Hair!

Americana

I drove home from Cleveland, late Saturday. Phil worked early on Sunday, and the kids and I slept in. I woke up to the sound of Seth stomping through the house, because he gets rather upset whenever he sleeps past 7:00. It's not like he missed anything… well… except church. I just couldn't bring myself to rise at 5:00 am and then to drive all over the state. It's a long story… and it works on most weeks… but I require more sleep than that to be a safe driver. I spent the day doing load after load of laundry.

I got plenty (he...he...he) of sleep on Sunday night, so when we woke up super early on Monday morning, it wasn't so bad. We gathered the gang and a whole bunch of stuff, and we drove to Mason (basically Cinci). And here we enjoyed a very nice, though incredibly hot, day at King's Island and Boomerang Bay! I should mention that King's Island has not, traditionally, been one of my favorite amusement parks. However, I read recently that it has received several awards for being very family friendly, and we found that to be true. The children's ride area is fantastic, offering many traditional rides, as well as some innovative ones. I never really thought I'd allow my children to run through something called "Spongebob's Bikini Bottom Bash" over and over again, but the theming was alright, and you have to keep cool somehow! We were disappointed that we missed the Dora's Sing Along show, but other than that we managed to take part in most everything the kids were tall enough to do. The only issue we had was that the ride operators for the Racer felt like they needed to measure Grace several times in order to make sure she was tall enough to ride. This resulted in her entering and exiting the car THREE times, and it held the ride up for quite a while. In the end, she didn't enjoy the ride, so I'm thinking it wasn't worth the trouble! We loved the Runaway Reptar, although we don't care for Rugrats, and I thought Avatar was awesome, although I almost lost my hat. The people riding behind us caught it with their feet! We enjoyed another lazy river and more kids water play areas at Boomerang Bay. It was a good time. Hmmm… more photos?

Atom Smashers

Bathing Beauty Cutie Pie

Seth Caleb & Grace

At Boomerang Bay

We are not planning to purchase season tickets again anytime in the near future, because we have other vacation plans for next year. However, if anyone reading this is considering season passes for next summer, I would say, "Go for it!" They are already on sale, they are cheaper than ours were, and they include parking and extra hours this time around. Should I feel jipped?

No… We had a fantastic summer, full of incredible memories. Let the DVD making begin (Oh, wait… I already started last night)!

Good-Bye Summer.

Good-Bye...

How Appropriate.