lake george, part 1 | the great escape

I thought I would Blog Lake George in two sections: Six Flags Great Escape and everything else. I went to Great Escape as a kid but not since so this was the first time the Millers have all been there together. Plus, my Mom & Dad didn’t come with us (they went to Saratoga the day we came here and my Aunts and Grandma went to Bolton Landing) so these pictures are new to everyone, even our fellow travelers. :)

We waffled back and forth between taking the kids to Six Flags or the smaller Magic Forest during breakfast but I am glad we went with Six Flags. We were afraid there might be too many big rides but honestly, there were maybe 4 roller coasters and the rest of the stuff was perfectly fine for the kids! They had a section of the park that was just redone this year and it was geared towards the littler ones. It had 11 rides in it that were perfect for Grace but even Emily and Andrew enjoyed them.

Park highlights include: riding the Ferris Wheel together, sharing an entire, expensive pizza for lunch and watching as Grace dropped her slice on the pavement (5 second rule? Kidding. We tossed it.), watching Andrew climb to the near-top of the wiggly ladder, meeting Scooby and Scrappy Doo, everyone bowing out of my request for a partner on a rickety old wooden roller coaster but Andrew, who stepped-up only to sigh and tell me “I would but… the line is too long” (sure buddy), orange and purple squid hats and the largest wok we’ve ever seen. Little things impress us.

Our first ride was actually this one:

Nauseating! I don’t know what happened to me in my “old age” but yuck. I used to love the craziest, tallest roller coasters and I did that bungee jump thing where you fly through the air on a cable back in the day. I was a little surpried that a hot air balloon ride completely turned my stomach. Thankfully, it was short-lived.

After that ride we let the kids poke around in Tiny Town which was a few little houses that made them feel like giants, a pumpkin house and Jack’s beanstalk.

Then we headed into Timbertown which is where the bulk of the kiddie rides were. Grace hopped off the line at the last minute so only Emily and Andrew rode this adorable “free fall”. LOL! So cute!

There was an airplane ride…

…and swings.

This was a boat ride that Grace went on while the other two and Vin waited in line for the kid coaster.

This one makes me laugh. Check out her mischievous face. Right after this picture, she leaned over and dipped her hand in the water.

When that finished, we went over to the roller coaster to meet up with Vin and the kids. Grace decided she wanted to go on with them and so she did.

Oh. Can you not see her face clearly in the bottom shot? Wait. Let me blow that up for you.

LOL! And the best part is, she gets off every. single. ride. and tells us how awesome it was and how she wants to ride again!

After we left this kid section, we walked past the game area. There was a tightrope and it was $3 for one measly try across the rope. I mumbled “I could totally do that” and Vin heard me. Challenge extended.

Challenge accepted.

I was a little bummed that I had to wear shoes though. I blame my loss on the fact that I was wearing flip flops. Who walks across a tightrope in flip flops? I still think if I was barefoot I could have done it.

The next ride that we all rode together was the ferris wheel. I was planning to sit it out with Grace but she really wanted to go on. I was surprised she liked being up so high!

Right around here we stopped for lunch and a locker rental. Inside of this park is Splashwater Kingdom, a nicely sized water park! No pictures here since I wasn’t going to carry my camera around in a wave pool. We had a good time. The lockers were weird though. They opened with a pink wristband. I’ve never seen such a thing. I thought I was being clever when I told the girl to put the band on Vin’s wrist but uh, he was then the only person who could open the darn locker. Unless I cut his wrist off and took it with me (and I admit, I stupidly did ponder this idea just to kill some time waiting for the waves to start back up in the wave pool) to swipe under the scanner, I couldn’t get my camera, my cell or a towel. Hmph.

About the lockers. I made him try it out after I put my bag in there. You don’t know what locker is going to open when you scan your wristband. You put it under the red light and BAM – a locker opens (and if you’re lucky, hits you in the head). So I locked away one bag and then shut it. Scan. Ok, the same locker opened. Just checking. I wasn’t going to just leave my camera for any old pink-wristband-wearing-park-goer to come and take.

After the water park, we stopped in another kiddie area on dry land as we got ready to wrap up our day. More airplanes.

We were walking past a ‘penguin’ show at 3:28pm and the next showing was at 3:30pm. We walked in and promptly sat in the front row marked SPLASH ZONE. It was a cute 20 minute show with people dressed as penguins. Yes that sounds a little weird. I guess I should say it was one of those high-dive performances. We probably could have done without the penguin costumes but it made it fun for the kids. One of the ‘penguins’ came over and helped Andrew throw a bucket of water on his father. Needless to say, the splash zone lived up to it’s name and we left soaked.

The kids spotted the cars in Thunder Alley when we first walked into the park so we promised them they could ride before we left. Do you remember loving cars like these as a kid? I do. You felt like you were really driving. My kids had the same reaction. “We’re not on a track (they were). We are REALLY DRIVING MOM!”

The original plan was for Emily to ride with Grace but when it was their turn to get in a car, Emily wasn’t old enough to be Grace’s chaperone. Guess who got to hop in the powder pink car?

“Big guy in a little car, big guy in a little car…” (please sing to the tune of Fat Guy In A Little Coat. Thank you).

Andrew was driving to the right of the shot here yet mysteriously facing backward. That’s some talent for not being on a track. Eyes on the road son!

One more game before leaving. Yes, another game I told my husband I could do. And yet another game where I failed, this time landing on my rear. This stuff was a lot easier when I was 12. Emily and Andrew took the first two tries and Andrew was *so* close to reaching the top. We were so surprised! Two tries = two small prizes. Two small prizes does not = 3 kids. So Mommy had to try one last time, at least resulting in three stuffed frogs.

And a family shot, in all of our tie dyed glory.

As the old saying goes, “The family that plays together, stays together.” I have since amended that to:

“The family that wears tie dye together… looks like a bunch of hippies.”

Peace.