A Trip to Six Flags

Last Wednesday we had a family outing to Six Flags Over New England in Agawam, Massachusetts. Jennifer and I had promised Maura we would take her to an amusement park during the summer since we had reneged on our plan to go to Busch Gardens when we were in Virginia during the spring. Serendipitously we received two tickets to Six Flags from Jennifer's sister Andrea, who had won them in a raffle but could not use them. That meant we only had to buy one ticket for the family, an adult ticket because Maura counts as an adult. The ticket prices are based on height - if you are tall enough to ride all the rides you can pay full price.

We got up early so we could be at Six Flags when it opened for the day. I needed to be back by 7:30 so that I could log on for a chat session for one of the online classes I have been taking. That meant that we had to leave the park around 5:00 to be sure of getting home in time. That left us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves  on the thrill rides with a break for lunch and a magic show thrown in.

Maura loves amusement park rides. She always has a good time when we go to an amusement park or a carnival. I don't think I've ever seen her not enjoy a ride except when she insisted on riding a kiddie ride she was too old for. She still gets scared sometimes. We rode most of the rides at Six Flags except for a few of the wildest roller coasters. I would have been game for some of the wild ones if Maura had wanted the ride but she wasn't up for everything yet. She did ride most of the smaller roller coasters and at the end of the day I talked her into riding the Tomahawk, which is one of my favorite rides. It's a giant horizontal wheel that spins while it swings back and forth. Maura was afraid of it in the morning and refused to ride it with me but at the end of the day she had found her courage and, as I expected, she loved it. She always seems too, especially when she's most afraid before she gets on.

We were ready to go at 5:00. Everyone was tired and ready for a rest. I didn't get one for a while. I had to drive home. Fortunately the traffic wasn't bad except near Boston. The only problem was that Maura had been drinking soda and juice all day and had to use the bathroom right when we were in the longest gap between service plazas on the Mass Pike. Some things never fail.