Tilt-A-Hurl

We enjoyed an outing to an amusement park recently.  From the moment we set foot in the place, I was thrilled.  All of our children met the minimum height requirement for the rides.  In the Kiddie Land, our older kids met the height requirement to ride with the younger kids, if a ride required they be accompanied.  Jersey #1 met the height requirement to take the younger kids on some of the bigger rides too.  Score!  That meant The Referee and I could kick back and enjoy a soda, and watch the kids ride the day way.....

Well, it didn't exactly work out THAT well, because those silly kids wanted us parents to join them on some rides.

The only problem is that I am not known for my tolerance of motion.  I am not able to read in a car, bus, or plane, without becoming ill.  I can't even read to the kids if one of them is rocking the recliner I am sitting in.  It appears this problem is getting worse with age.  I used to ride roller coasters with my Mom when I was a kid.  Not anymore.  Sadly, I became nauseous just from the carousel...

I spent a couple hours watching the kids go round and round on the tea cups...

And, then I suggested the tilt-a-whirl.  That is my all-time favorite amusement park ride.  I have never liked rides that go downward, or free fall.  But, I used to love being slung and flung.  I convinced Jersey #2 to join me outside of Kiddie Land and take a little ride on the tilt-a-whirl.  I did not have to convince Jersey #4 or Jersey #5, because they appear to be thrill-seekers.  (Jersey #1 and Jersey #3 had already been on some bigger rides, supervised by The Referee).

Jersey #2 was not so sure...

The second the ride started to move, she screamed and tucked deep into my side, clutching me for her life.   I put my arm around her and reassured her that it was Ok.  A minute into the ride, she sat up and said, "This is not so bad.  This is kind of fun."  From that moment forward, she smiled and laughed as we rode.  She was a fan of the tilt-a-whirl.

I, on the other had, could barely walk off the ramp, because I was so nauseous.  I was done.  No more rides for me.  My stomach continued to twirl for the next 4 hours.  

We were at the amusement park with many friends, so some of them offered to take the kids for another whirl.  Jersey #2 was excited to ride again.  Unfortunately, that ride did not go well.  It turns out that the car we were in the first time was not going all the way around as much as the others.  The 2nd time she rode, Jersey #2 was in a car that twirled a lot.  She started screaming to the top of her lungs....which is quite a high volume, and overcast the blaring music from the nearby rides.  She grabbed hold of the side of the car and white-knuckled it for the rest of the ride, screaming the entire time.  She could barely hold it together when the ride finally stopped.

I felt terrible.  I had convinced her she would have a good time, and instead she was traumatized by the experience.  She was crying and trembling as she rushed into my arms.

She is a tough kid, so it did not take her long to calm down, happy that she was no longer on that ride.  She told me she was never going to ride a tilt-a-whirl again.  Then, she said, maybe when she is a teenager.

The part that baffles me is that as soon as we returned to Kiddie Land, she jumped right on the tea cups.  

They go round and round in a similar way.  I guess they are just less scary.

I cheerfully volunteered to hang out in Kiddie Land for the rest of the day....

Which meant The Referee was stuck riding the log ride, a favorite with most of our kids.  I think he received the opportunity to ride the log boat, down the big hill at least 17 times...