Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Equilibrioception

"Come out and play, plan to spend the day, come to Elitches just for fun." - advertising slogan
That's what we did yesterday. We actually ended up planning to spend most of the day, not the whole day. Travel time, meals, sleep, hours of operation - all these things conspired to keep our stay at Elitches at less than an entire day. We lasted about seven hours.
Did we have fun? You betcha. It's always interesting to see how many ways we can intentionally mess with our sense of balance. Spinning, swinging, twisting, turning, and all the various combinations at various speeds and accelerations make wobbling to the line for the next attraction a challenge. The churning effect felt in all of our stomachs was only exacerbated by the delicious treats available at the concession stands wedged carefully between each ride. Imagine dropping a salty pretzel with mustard and a big chunk of peanut butter fudge into a blender with thirty-two ounces of Coca-Cola, then setting it for "high." It's all part of the challenge.
And what exactly is the challenge? Don't hurl. Don't cough or sneeze your food. Don't do the big spit. That and don't let the wait in line bore or intimidate you enough to leave the "Mind Eraser" or "Half Pipe" to go heading for the benches in front of the arcade. Getting up your nerve is the reason you need to go to the amusement park with a group of people. It's a lovely dance of peer pressure and friendly cajoling to make each ride seem like it could be the last. Watching the timbers rattle and shift under "Twister II" was enough to make me ponder, however briefly, what sort of state and federal guidelines keep attractions like this big wooden roller coaster from falling into disrepair.
"Not to see Elitches is not to see Denver." - advertising slogan
I saw Elitches, therefore, I saw Denver. A lot of it was upside down and blurred, but I saw Denver.

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