Hallie and Travis

For years Mark has wanted to take me and then me and the kids to Carowinds, the amusement park near Charlotte where he worked as a teenager. I loved amusement parks as a kid and a teen, and my folks were kind enough to endure our family visits more often than I’m sure they would have liked. Still, I was really not excited about being on the flip-side of that dynamic.

Given the choice, I’d rather be hiking or camping or on a family bike ride than trudging around a dirty, hot sea of asphalt and metal with what I expected to be whiny, cranky kids. But I dragged my feet as long as I could. Mark’s enthusiasm, the kids’ excitement, and discount tickets all conspired to wear me down. And amazingly, I had a really good time!

The day was hot, but not unbearable. Most of the lines weren’t terribly long, and the kids were real sports. We had very little whining, and they even accepted that we’d buy them one treat apiece but only after we left the park ($8 for a scoop of ice cream!!).

We got in a good sampling of the park, with several coasters, some bumper cars (a big hit for everyone), and even time in the water park. We started off riding two coasters: The Gold Rush and Flying Ace Aerial Chase. Travis was tall enough for everything and game to give them a try. I could tell he was a bit apprehensive at the start of each, and pretty uncomfortable as we rattled around curves and down hills. But each time as we pulled into the station he gave a huge grin and a double thumbs up.

I think T’s grin and thumbs up were mostly from relief that we were done. He talked the rest of the day about how those were his two favorite rides in the park–but he steadfastly refused any offer to ride them again. Hallie was game for more coasters, so we split up for a while. Travis was beyond delighted by the kiddie helicopters that did a monorail-type loop around Planet Snoopy. He then got a chance to drive a car by himself at Joe Cool’s driving school. And later he loved riding the Planet Snoopy train with Mark.

While one of us was with Travis, the other was riding coasters with Hallie. She and Mark did Thunder Road twice, and they even went on After Burn, which did all sorts of loops and even went underground. I really wanted to ride Thunder Road, so Hallie the old pro condescended to go for a third ride with me. By the end of the day, she’d even worked up the urge to try The Intimidator, but we’d run out of time. She needs to have something to look forward to next time!

I can’t say I have any interest in going back any time soon. But our first family trip to Carowinds was surprisingly fun, and I’m sure we will go back. Maybe my kids won’t have a totally deprived childhood after all!