By Paul Lane
CNHI
NORTH TONAWANDA —
With gritty aplomb, the fierce warrior traversed the conglomeration of would-be adversaries to claim a rightful spot upon the chariot.
Claiming the seat was merely the first part of the odyssey, but the warrior exhibited nary a hint of trepidation as the chariot ride began. No matter the depth of the crevasse that was passed over or the height of the hill that was forthcoming, the warrior fearlessly conquered every obstacle.
And, in an ultimate act of defiance, the warrior interminably sought more peril at every turn.
•••
When it comes to amusement park rides, people generally fall into two groups. The first group isn’t fazed in the least by the most tumultuous ride and will gladly wait two hours to take a 200-foot drop at terminal velocity. The second group grows nauseous upon seeing the kiddie coaster.
After our recent family vacation, Penny made it abundantly clear that she falls into the first group.
Starting off at the merry-go-round, she tore through the entirety of Cedar Point’s kiddie land without even blinking. She also loved her maiden voyage on the Ferris wheel (a special father/daughter ride that was one of the trip’s highlights for this humble scribe). I thought the sky-high view of Lake Erie might scare her; she instead kept asking me if I’d next take her on the Wicked Twister, a giant roller coaster that goes back and forth on a U-shaped track while corkscrewing riders as they ascend and descend each side.
She began her day by sharing each ride with Rigby, who equally showed no fear. But a slight fever sidelined the Rigger Man for the balance of the afternoon — not that Penny noticed. She was happy to fly solo on the balloon ride, airplane ride and anything else we ventured across, like a toddler Braveheart plowing through so many Englishmen.
Unfortunately, safety concerns wouldn’t allow Penny to vanquish every foe. But while some rides were too big for her to ride at all, she was able to ride several if accompanied by an adult, so the whole gaggle of parents, aunts, uncles and cousins (Mommy, Marme, Veronica, Tom, Kristina and I) collectively filled in the gaps.
If one of us wasn’t ready to handle the dips and spins of a given ride, Penny would seamlessly shift her recruiting effort to the next person. I was happy to accompany her on as many rides as my waistline would allow, and I was happier to have taught her a trick (hands up when the swings are in the air) to which she so quickly took.
She didn’t want to slow down, even to take a sip of water on a 90-degree afternoon (just try forcing liquid refreshment down a 3-year-old’s throat when Snoopy and Charlie Brown beckon — you’d think it were crab juice). Even as dark fell and Daddy was unable to accompany her on the youth roller coaster, Penny forged ahead (she ended up wanting to ride the coaster a second time).
Exhaustion eventually set in, and Penny joined Rigby in a deep slumber in the stroller as we exited the park. But she quite impressively handled an entire day’s worth of fun while maintaining pep in her step.
Funny thing: Neither Mommy nor I rode a single “adult” ride that we would have before we had Penny and Rigby. Yet the admission tickets still were probably the best bargains we’ve ever purchased.
As for the Wicked Twister? Maybe on our little warrior’s next quest.
