Our Family Weekend Get-Away

Early on in the process of moving our family to Allendale, we were given counsel from several people to get out of town regularly, to remember what life can really be like. This past weekend, we obeyed that advice.

First picture of the day. Off to a good start.
We went to Six Flags Over Georgia! Even better, we had 4 tickets for $38 and free hotel stay (two nights), which made this normally-expensive trip very affordable. How did this happen?
  1. Joanna had signed up for and received three tickets through a reading program -- her (the teacher), Hannah, and Elijah.
  2. Then, a friend gave us another child's ticket for Sender. 
  3. Online, I was able to buy an adult ticket for myself at a child's price.
  4. Other friends -- a couple that we know from Grace Church -- heard that we were looking for a place to stay. They graciously booked a room for us at a Holiday Inn Express for two nights. Of course, the included breakfast allowed us to save even more money.

We were nervous about the weather and the crowds. I usually like to vacation in the off-season (i.e., during the school year) and during the week, but with my current job, that is not easily done. We expected a crowded park on a hot Saturday in July. But we were in for a treat.

An overcast -- and occasionally drizzly -- day meant that it was not too crowded. And the weather only got up to the low 80s, meaning it was warm enough to dry off after Thunder River, but it was never too hot.

Joanna doesn't do big roller coasters, but one of the first things the kids and I did was the Scream Machine. Maybe too much too soon. We all survived.



To settle us all down, we moved onto the carousel, which is one of only three in the world that has 5 rows of horses. Thrilling.

We rode lots of rides -- small ones, not the big scary ones. We saw a science show (Joanna's idea, not mine), and then a funny western show while eating funnel cakes.

Speaking of food, we had a "nutritious" Mexican lunch (burrito, taco salad, and nachos), but dinner consisted of snack foods spread out over several hours -- funnel cakes, Dipping Dots, and French fries. It was our second time in 10 weeks eating carnival food for dinner (the first was at the Cooter Fest).

If you go to Six Flags, buy the souvenoir cup for $14. You get free refills all day. I think we filled it up 8 times. The next day, Sender saw the cup in the minivan and said, "Oh, no. We forgot to give the cup back!"

We got completely soaked on Thunder River. It helped us re-spike the boys' mohawks.




This Mine Coaster (I forget the real name) was Hannah's favorite. It was the biggest ride Joanna did all day.



In the afternoon, Hannah said, "I want to do the Mindbender." It has two upside-down loops. As we headed up on the initial ascent, she said, "I think I can do this." I said, "Honey, it's too late. You will do this." She closed her eyes through the loop, but she did it! So proud of her!



Soon after, Elijah and I rode it. Here's a video of the second loop. I love what he says at the end.




I tried bribing Sender to do it with cotton candy. No dice.


It was a great day! We were at the park for a full 12 hours. Even for the little that we had to spend, we definitely got our money's worth.




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