The Great (Two-Year Old) Viking..........

Yesterday, we had a sick child on our hands who wasn't terribly interested in doing anything but whine and crave attention at all times. So, we took advantage of a gift from my parents and we decided to head over to Worlds of Fun (local amusement park) for a couple of hours.

It was Kali 2.2's second trip over to the park. She had been there once before with a neighbor, but she was now big enough to ride some of the bigger rides with an adult (had to be 36 inches tall). We just decided to go straight for the gusto and ride the log ride called Viking Voyager. It's a very old ride that's been there at least 30 years. Relatively simple with a 40-50 foot drop at the end where you 'splash down'.

We got on the ride without any issues. I sat behind Kali and held her in place while Mrs. Lime sat in front of her. Kali grabbed on to Mrs. Lime's jacket. She was grinning as soon as we started moving down the ride. We went up the first small hill and then made a 6-8 foot drop. When we hit the bottom, Kali was giggling. She was all smiles through the ride and then we started going up the big hill at the end with still no issues.

When we crested the hill, I didn't hear a peep from Kali. But I did look down just in time to see her pull back on Mrs. Lime's jacket. I think she was caught off guard by the big hill at the end. But when she hit bottom, she was giggling again. She also said 'I got all wet!'. When she got out of the log, she was walking with a big bounce in her step. I think the adreniline was kicking in pretty hard at that point.

I went down a spiral slide a few times with her. She also rode the kids train one time around by herself. She was a bit skittish on the kids rides about being alone. She rode a couple of them with another kid on the previous visit. I think she's just not real keen on riding without anyone quite yet.

We also rode the big train, though that was honestly not as much fun as I remember it in previous rides. They had a guy rambling on over a loudspeaker about all the rides at Worlds of Fun. That in itself wasn't bad, but the volume was extremely LOUD. You couldn't talk to the person next to you and the ride quickly became about getting off the ride rather than actually enjoying it. I'll be sending an e-mail to the park about that one. You know it was bad if I'm bothering to send an e-mail.

Kali rode the carousel and the flying ships that go around in a circle. She was screaming when we first got onto the ships (yes, I saw all the parents giving me dirty looks), but once the ride got going, she actually liked it quite a bit. I got dizzy, so maybe Kali knew something I didn't know. We also rode the taxi cars, though Kali was starting to get tired at this point.

Mrs. Lime and Kali made a quick ice cream stop so I could go and ride the new coaster in the park. It's called the Prowler. Great ride with a lot of speed and really smooth turns for a wooden coaster. I'll be taking in a lot more rides on that one.

We finished the day with another ride on the log ride (which Kali loved even more the second time). She thought she was a pretty big deal when she got off the ride for a second time. The ride home was only 5 minutes, but she still was asleep before we got home. She even went to bed relatively early for her. Being sick plus log rides equal a tired two year old.