Captains log stardate 07042010. Location; Seymore, Wisconsin. We left Mississippi Friday evening at around 6PM with a final destination of Wisconsin in mind. With four licensed drivers, we figured that we could drive all night with each person taking turns to make the traveling easier. Our plans were to arrive in the Chicago area at around the time for Six Flags to open and we could take a side visit there to ride a few extreme roller coasters.
Traveling with grown kids can still be a challenge and as with traveling with little ones, a couple of portable DVD players is still a good idea. And I'm not talking about the kids using them. My husband and I sat in the back seat of the car while the girls were driving and we watched a couple of movies that we had been wanting to see. We were so good that not once did our daughters have to tell us to be nice or to go to sleep!
I guess the excitement of going somewhere for a few days does something to your sleep desire and trying to catch a few winks in a car is a bit hard to do. We arrived in the Chicago area around 5AM as the morning sun was beginning to rise over the distant horizon. It was a very clear day as the sky turned multi colors of red and purple and a flash of green just as the blazing ball of yellow sun peeked its head over the horizon.
The Chicago skyline at 5:30AM
We could see the Sears/Willis Tower in the distance. It is still the tallest building in the United States and it stood proudly reflecting the morning light. We raced in the early morning traffic around the greater Chicago area heading toward a side destination of Six Flags. we grabbed a quick McDonalds breakfast and then drove to the park entrance to join the other early risers and stopped to hurry up and wait for the park to open at 10. I took a 2 hour nap which I badly needed.
By the time the gates were opened to admit cars it was 9:30 and we drove in and got a great spot to park the car and then stood in line with our BOGO tickets that we had lucked up on. So four people went to Six Flags for the price of two thanks to some internet searching. The park is not officially open until the National Anthem is played which I thought was cool.
The weather was great for a day in the amusement park. The girls rubbed me down with sunscreen and we only discovered later that we missed a couple of spots as they turned quite red before the day was over.
The goal was to ride roller coasters and the first one we could find was the Batman. It is an extreme ride but not the most extreme it could be. All four of us were buckled in the seats, glasses well hidden in the depths of buttoned pockets and shoes laced up tightly so not to lose them. Our legs were dangling as the chain pulled our seats to the apex of the ride and then faster than you could say "beam me up Mr. Scott" it suddenly released and the ride began.
With my eyes firmly clamped shut, I felt the G's as we made the first sudden drop and the moment I opened them we were in a series of loop de loops which led to a corkscrew. I was screaming like a banshee at that moment keeping my head from going side to side because I knew I would be sick as a dog if I didn't. The fleeting thought of 'Have you lost your ever loving mind' was there too. Roller Coasters are not for the faint of heart and I sure was hoping that I was not going to find out that my heart was the fainting kind. Then as suddenly as it began, it was over. the suddenly stop was actually the worst part I thought.
After we got unbuckled and out of our seats i ws a bit disoriented and I sat out the rest of the roller coasters because I had fluid in my right ear and it was making me a bit dizzy. I became the official purse and phot holder while everyone else rode the rides. I sat in the shade and kept filling up my Six flags super cup. that was the best money I ever spent. The soda machines were $3.50 for a 20oz. drink so I figured I could get the Super Cup and make it work. I was filling that thing up at every drink station we passed. So we got my moneys worth out of that cup.
When we could not longer stand the heat or another extreme ride the family headed back out to the car and proceed to head north for further adventures with family in Wisconsin. I am hoping we can get in a tour of one of the cheese factories here and a brewery or a winery. We are in Wisconsin after all and this the story of the Earthship Keon Family and we seeking out new places to go and see.
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