Second tier amusement parks

Amy and I treated the kids to a 3 day weekend of kid-centric fun. Saturday's destination was Heritage Square, a rather odd jumble of separate attractions, owned by separate companies, anchored by a Victorian theme town. The highlight is the alpine slide, which is a lot of fun, and probably worth the $7 cost. Elizabeth thought zooming down the hill on a sled was the greatest thing ever. Her only disappointment was that the teenager and geezer on the 2 sleds in front of us seemed to be deathly afraid of breaking the 3 mile-per-hour barrier, so we had to wait for several minutes for them to get the hell out of the way so we could get some speed. We also rode the train that circles the place, which was rather lame but mildly enjoyable for the kids.

Sunday was lazy day at home. Andrew played most of the day with the neighbor kids, while mom and dad kept Elizabeth entertained.

Monday began with a 3-mile hike through Roxborough state park. This place has beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, and great trails. Well worth the 30 minute drive from home. Our hike included a close encounter with a doe deer, who wandered within a few dozen yards of us as we rested on a bench, and then got spooked and bounced away after a couple of loud snorts in our direction.

Monday evening was the big event Andrew looked forward to all weekend: Lakeside amusement park. On their last weekend of the season, they offer 10-cent ride tickets, and kids' rides are only 1 ticket. That's cheap entertainment folks, even after you pay the $2.50 per person entry fee. It's probably no surprise that this somewhat dilapidated and very dated park doesn't attract the beautiful and well-heeled crowd. In fact, it seems to be a magnet for the obese, people with really bad teeth, and various other oddballs. It's really quite a freak show. My favorite sightings tonight were (1) the trashy-dressed young woman who used her cleavage as a cell phone holder, and (2) the overweight guy with a long red goatee wearing a kilt and an Iron Maiden T-shirt.