I have a few comments about Six Flags. 1) The lines were super short. For some of the rides we didn't wait at all. 2) Apparently the park has gotten some bad press. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I will say the age of the park is showing. The waterpark area looked fantastic, but some of the buildings and decorations elsewhere need a fresh coat of paint. 3) Funnel cake! 4) The park is insanely loud. There are speakers all over the place, and they blast music and/or voices so loudly that JD and I often had to shout to speak to each other. What's up with that, Six Flags? It's not enjoyable.
We were so tired last night. I started thinking about bed at 7:30. Because we are happening adults, we stayed up until 9:30. Go us.
This morning I woke up bright and early and ready to pursue some non-amusement-park fun. I fed the dog (who then wanted to go back to bed. She's no dummy.) and made my plans for the day. I did briefly debate going back to bed for decadent napping, but the desire to hike won out. So I breakfasted on three cold leftover blueberry pancakes (nom!) and I was ready to go. First I drove out to see the pony and try one of his two new fly masks on him. It fit okay, although the ears are a bit floppy. We'll see if it stays on. Also, I tried the Tri-Tec flyspray that was recommended to me. The bugs appeared to die after being sprayed, which I feel was a good sign.
Then I drove over to the park and got to walking. I felt vaguely ridiculous in my shiny, black, stretchy shorts. But they worked fairly well. Anyway there was virtually nobody there to see them. It is a mystery to me why some days I see people every three minutes, and some days I have the park to myself. I don't mind, though. I like a solitary walk.
The mountain laurel blossoms have almost all withered. The park looks totally different from the last time I went there, two weeks ago. Now the undergrowth is all green, and the mountain laurels have faded into the general bounty of plant life. It looked so different, with vines climbing up over bushes and trees, that I actually got a little disoriented a few times. I enjoyed the difference. Walking at the same place all the time would be boring if I didn't get to watch the change of seasons.
I had managed to not pack my Lara bar, and my water tasted kind of icky, so I was really ready for a snack and some water when I got back to the car. Fortunately I had both at hand, so I set out to do some shopping.
On a side note, I am positively thrilled that at this juncture of my life, a six mile jaunt counts as mild exercise. I wanted that Lara bar, but I wasn't super hungry or tired after my walk. I couldn't have said that at some other times in my life. Heck, I've had more than one era in which I couldn't have walked those six miles, even in an emergency. (Stupid Lyme disease.)
My first stop after the park was REI. I wanted a new shirt. I ended up with $200 worth of stuff. This is why it is dangerous for me to go to REI. But at least I got a shirt!
Then I stopped at Bath and Bodyworks. I have to go there, even though it is all about scented things you put on your body, because it is the ONLY place I know of where I can buy hand soaps that don't kill me. Unless you count the occasional bottle of unscented white soap. Even those sometimes give me a mystery rash. But Bath and Bodyworks? I don't know how they do it, but they make soap which smells good, feels good, and doesn't hurt me. It's like a little soapy miracle.
By that time it was late afternoon and I headed home. JD met me at the door wanting to know if I would like to have late lunch / early dinner. This sounded fantastic to me. My food for the day had consisted of those three pancakes, the Lara bar from the car, a few raisins, and some freeze dried ice cream. (It was a taste test! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. FYI freeze dried mint chocolate chip is pretty good, if you like that sort of thing.) I needed vegetables and protein, and I needed them stat. We headed out to our standby, the Chinese buffet / Mongolian grill. There was some discussion about WHICH buffet to go to. The one closest to us has much better sushi, and generally more options. But the other one has the Mongolian, plus tastier food IMHO, and the owners appear to give a crap whether we live or die. These are the folks who asked how I was when I had Lyme disease, who ask where the other one is if JD or I show up alone, and who actually remember what we like to drink. Really, it isn't a tough choice.
After lunch/dinner it was time for more shopping. JD drove us to the local Target, where I picked up supplies for maildrops. I am putting together boxes for two hikers, Phoenix Rising and Goose. And I'm starting to prepare my own maildrops for later this summer. So there is a *lot* of hiker food on various surfaces of our house right now. I need to corral everything into manageable boxes. Otherwise JD won't be able to cook. And the cats will start feeding the dog anything that looks good.
I'm all tired out by this torrent of shopping, so I think it will be another early to bed night.
So, in summary: Weekend good. Happy now.
OH! OH! I almost forgot! I got something AWESOME at the Target!
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| Hello Kitty duck tape! For all your taping needs. This is so going on my hiking poles. |
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