Lagoon

Nothing beats a family vacation! We just got back from our first vacation that didn't include going back to visit family (not that that isn't fun or anything). Lori and I took the kids to Lagoon, a theme park near Salt Lake City, UT for a fun getaway. Marc and Talisha Taylor, along with Emme and Addison, went too. What a blast! I was coming in from a Wyoming trip, so I met everyone in Pocatello, ID early Monday morning at the hotel and we took off. Fortunately, Talisha was along with us to give us directions ("if you just follow these mountains you'll eventually get to Lagoon") and weather reports ("you can tell that there's a cold front moving in; see the temperature's even dropped since I said that"). In spite of her efforts to derail the excellent navigational skills that Marc and I are inherently blessed with we finally arrived at our destination.

Fortunately, Talisha brought her camera along. I pulled out our digital camera and the shutter was messed up. I love Canon cameras, but we've had more trouble with this new one. I don't know what the deal is. Fortunately I purchased the warranty this time. Anyway, Talisha was kind enough to forward these pictures to me. However, I did notice that she left out several shots that could cause her potential embarrassment.

The kids, never having been to Lagoon, were sufficiently impressed with the Holiday Inn facilities on Sunday night and Monday morning that they entertained the notion of just staying there for vacation. Holiday Inn did have a nice pool and great props for indoor forts.

The kids loved the bumper cars. This picture was taken shortly before Addison attempted to bail. He experienced great frustration over the fact that his car just spun around in circles. He couldn't quite figure out the steering part. Kassady put some gargantuan hits on her adversaries. She drove with a maniacal gleam in her eye, cackling evilly every time she broad-sided someone. Unfortunately, we didn't get her in this shot.

Kassady's favorite ride was the helicoptors. She pulled the bar all the way back and soared into the sky.

Trey was pretty sure that he could handle all of the roller coasters at Lagoon...that was, until he rode the Wild Mouse. He was not impressed at all. He looked very pale after clambering out of the ride. Which I can understand. That crazy ride jerks you all over the place, many times giving you the impression that you're going to go over the edge. He said that it tickled his stomach and made it feel like "things were jumping in there". He wasn't convinced by my argument that this is what makes roller coasters so fun. I finally cajoled him into joining me on the classic wooden roller coaster, which he loved.

Marc and I rode a few rides by ourselves, rides that our wives refused to accompany us on. This is one of my favorites: the Rocket. They have two sides to the ride, "Blast-Off" and "Re-entry". We rode the "Re-entry". They take you way up and then drop you. Marc thought he had it figured out when we would drop, so he did his countdown. He didn't have it calculated right. He screamed like a little girl all the way down.

We also rode the new roller coaster at Lagoon called "Wicked". It features a hill that goes straight up 110 feat. And I mean straight up. It's a 180 degree climb and then a 180 degree drop. No obtuse angles here. It's breath-taking. It was worth waiting an hour for.

Another fun ride was the "Cliffhanger". You sit on a long platform which then rotates, spinning you upside down, forward and backward. All the while water is being shot up at you. I forgot to take my glasses off, so I wrinkled my nose and squinted my eyes hoping that my skin would bunch on either side of the nose piece, thus ensuring that they wouldn't slip. It worked, even though I looked like I had some sort of facial tic.

This roller coaster was more the kids' speed. Look at Addison's face (third from right; sitting by Trey). Kassady really liked this one, too.

It's very difficult to watch your head. Really.

The happy family after a long, fun day at Lagoon. This is going to be a yearly event. At least, I hope so.

We took it easy coming back. We stopped in Twin Falls, ID and had a photo op at the Snake River Canyon. For you Evil Knievel fans out there, his unsuccessful attempt to jump the canyon happened just to the left of us.

As we were waiting for the kids to finish yet another ride, it occurred to me that I have morphed from a 23-year-old thrill junkie to a rather sedate Dad who gets just as much enjoyment out of watching his children have fun. I like it.