5:00 a.m.--Leaving. Foggy, humid. Everyone sleep-deprived and a little grouchy. McKenna (Sarah's doll) has her own suitcase. Listening to Mr. Stinky Feet's Road Trip CD, but nobody's heart is really into it. GPS says arrival time is 11:00 a.m. We were planning to arrive at 10:00. It takes us awhile to realize that we're driving into Eastern Time Zone, so we're losing an hour.
5:30 a.m.--stopping to tie down the luggage in Goodfield.
5:37 a.m.--gas at Pilot in Bloomington, IL. $3.26/gal x 15 gal = $49.14. Watching "Liberty's Kids" DVD.
6:15 a.m.--breakfast in Champaign. Wanted Subway, but it's not open yet, so McDonald's.
7:02 a.m.--Indiana. Some luggage fell on Noah, and he yelled out, "Hashtag: 'crushed me!'" Sometimes he speaks in hashtags.
8:25 a.m.--Circle K somewhere near Indianapolis to pee and get coffee and water. Mike announced that he likes Illinois better than Indiana. I gave him some Indiana trivia from a library book.
11:05 a.m. (Eastern Time)--arriving at King's Island Resort. We were just going to leave our luggage and catch the free shuttle to King's Island, but we were surprised and happy to learn that our room was ready and we could check in! It's an old, dumpy place, but it's only $45 for the room, and it's good enough for a night. I chose it based on its proximity to King's Island and the free shuttle that saves us $15 parking at King's Island. The air conditioner worked, and that was the most important thing. It's HOT and nasty humid.
We spent the whole afternoon at King's Island. Here's what we rode:
Banshee--Mike, Noah, Sarah (They loved it! 7 inversions at 68 mph). They're in the front car:
Drop Tower--Mike, Noah
Adventure Express--Mike, Noah, Sarah
Monster--Noah, Sarah
Scrambler--Janel, Sarah
Grand Carousel--Janel, Sarah
Vortex--Mike, Noah
Diamondback--Mike, Noah
The Beast--Mike, Noah
And at Soak City (waterpark):
Rendezvous Run--Mike, Noah (Mike got smacked in the face by his mat)
Mondo Monsoon--Mike, Janel, Noah, Sarah (waited over an hour to ride that one, and it was scary!)
Pineapple Pipeline--Mike, Noah
Tropical Twister--Mike, Janel, Noah (I didn't like that one--almost drowned)
Breakers Bay--Mike, Janel, Noah, Sarah (wave pool--Sarah's favorite)
Four disturbing things I witnessed at the park:
1. On our way in, a guy was carrying a little girl, and he tripped and fell, rolled on the little girl and crushed her. They turned out to be ok, but it was scary to watch (and hear the girl screaming).
2. A girl hurt her ankle on the Pineapple Pipeline, and she had to be carried to a bench while the lifeguard called the EMTs. I watched all that unfold while I was at the bottom waiting for Mike and Noah, who were held up at the top.
3. While waiting in the long line for Mondo Monsoon, somebody puked on the steps. I held my breath as I stepped over it. Somebody at the top told the lifeguard, and he pushed his way down to the scene of the crime to clean it up...by picking it up with his hands! He wore rubber gloves, but still some got on his hands. I was a little nauseated and tried not to watch, but it was like a train wreck. I had to watch. Then when he got back to his post at the top of the ride, he washed his hands in the water I was about to get in! I swallowed a wave of vomit, but almost lost it when the lifeguard proceeded to SPIT right into the water of the ride! I was way beyond grossed out by this time, but there was no way down except to get in that pukey, spitty water.
4. Mike and Noah were riding something scary, and I was in the wave pool with Sarah. After riding the waves 3 times in a row, I got out to watch for Mike and Noah, who were supposed to meet us. I saw a little boy, about two years old, who looked lost. He was looking all around in a panic, and he started screaming. Some lady picked him up and started carrying him off. I was pretty sure she wasn't his mom, so I kept my eagle eye on her. She took the boy to a lifeguard, who took the kid by the hand and started leading him away. Just then a woman went running past me, yelling her kid's name. I pointed toward the lifeguard, and she ran and grabbed up her son. I was so glad I got to see the resolution, because the whole incident had taken a lot out of me.
7:00 p.m.--caught the shuttle back to the hotel and got a pizza at Coasters, the hotel restaurant. We're all completely exhausted and looking forward to bed.
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