My son is currently participating in a program called AVID. He is in Sixth Grade. Friday they scheduled a field trip to Christopher Newport University. They got to tour the campus including dining facilities, dorms, classrooms, library, and gym. A freshman gave them the tour and was very patient with the crazy questions the sixth graders asked him. We learned about the tree everyone climbs on campus, we learned about the hippy area, we learned about the academic buildings and programs, we learned about campus safety, and so much more. On the bus, I learned a few things too. It is somewhat fun to just sit and listen to what these kids talk about, what they find important, how they manipulate their parents, etc. One kid said "So you pulled the old 'I don't have money for food' trick to get your dad to meet you at Busch Gardens, sweet." These kids have cell phones galore. They take lots of pictures and videos. One such video taken at the end of the night, if I can get it I'll post it here, is of my son battling a host of upper classmen with a light saber on the steps of the Globe Theater. On the bus it became legendary and was reverently referred to as the "Brandon Video."
The fear I refer to is of letting my son ride a roller coaster by himself. This roller coaster was Appollo's Chariot. 210' high with parabolic curves to induce weightlessness. My son was talking the whole time about how he wanted to hold his hands up. He didn't want to ride with me because he knew I would hold them down. He is right. With six people we couldn't all ride together, and he took advantage of that to jump in another line. I let him, though I was nervous the whole time. They ended up two trains behind my group so I got to ride, and then watch him get on by himself, and disappear 210' up into night. He was just fine. It is very hard letting go.
When we got there we ate. The six of us were very hungry. We went to Italy. Delicious. We rode Appollo's first, then the Big Bad Wolf, Dark Castle, Dragon Land (for little kids but they wanted it), and the Loch Ness Monster last. I got them all snacks after the last one because it was nearly time to go. The ended the visit with the light saber duels at the Globe, and then had a raucous ride home, fueled by the sugar I gave them I am sure.
My own son, 11, recently watched a program with me about people jumping out of airplanes. I glanced over at him and his eyes were wide and the smile on his face was massive. "You want to do that, don't you?" I asked him. He just turned toward me and nodded and said, "Why wouldn't anyone want to do that?!"
ReplyDeleteI'm in for a long, fearful life with that one, I think.
It sounds like, dare I say, you had a good time!
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