Sunny Day

Yep, our big vacation destination is . . . Sesame Place!

Until we pulled up to the gate this morning, Peeper had no idea where we were going. Actually, she had no idea that such a place existed. We just told her we were going "somewhere really fun."

As we arrived at the parking lot, she saw pictures of the Sesame Street characters on the fence, and started figuring out, "It's a place with Sesame Street friends."

Waiting outside the gate to get in.

As we were waiting, I told her that we had reservations for breakfast. "Why do you think this breakfast is going to be special?" I asked. "Because it's the most important meal of the day?" she guessed.

Well, yes, there's that.

Also this.

And this.

And this.

And these gals, too.

And then, I was a major dumbass, and didn't get a photo of her with Elmo. They were taking real photos of that, and I was so busy making sure she smiled for that photographer, I didn't take one. Then, at the end of the day, we figured we had our own photos with the characters that we also got official photos of, and we didn't want to pay for theirs, so we didn't even stop to see what they'd taken. I realized later that I didn't have that one. Arrrgh!

After breakfast, we rode some rides. We did the carousel together, Shrike and Peeper rode "Flyin' Fish" (shown here) and then we all rode Blast Off, which is the baby-version of a free-fall ride, and Peek-a-Bug, which is swirly.

As soon as she's tall enough, I'm afraid Peeper is going to outstrip our ability to go on rides with her, because those two were about our limit. I had fun on both, but if they were any rougher, it would've been too much for me. Peeper on the other hand, loved them both, and didn't seem to be anywhere near her limit.

Then Peeper and Shrike did some other activities, and we had lunch, then changed into our swimming gear for some wet fun.

First, we hit the some wading pools, and then Peeper wanted to climb and slide, but they don't allow you do to that wet (then why did you put it in the middle of the wet attractions?), so instead we rode what looked to be the tamest of the water slides. First, Peeper decided that she wanted to go with me, so I put aside my nervousness about the height and the drop (I have enjoyed water slides in the past, actually, as long as they aren't too straight down) and having to get in and out of a tube, and did what a mama has to do.

Peeper tried to change her mind halfway through the line, but I knew she'd enjoy it, so I made her stick with it.

Wheeee! About to make our big splash. Can you see Peeper in the front of the double tube? No? Me neither.

Oh, there she is!

At this point, I knew I'd flip the tube over trying to get out, so I asked the lifeguard to just lift Peeper out before I bailed. All I could see was the back of her head, so as he grabbed her, I asked, "Is she laughing?" and he said she was.

Indeed she was. When we got out and went to Shrike, the first thing she said was, "I want to do it again!"

So, the next time, she rode with Shrike and I went on my own, and we had a race. (It was a tie.)

From there, we tried to go to Big Bird's Rambling River, but it was closed for while, so we took a walk down Sesame Street, got some ice cream (twice) and visited with some Sesame Street friends (thrice).

When we finally got on the river, we rode it three times in a row!

Then Peeper found some sand to play in while we rested a while.

After that, we changed back into dry clothes, and had some dinner. We thought we could catch the parade, but it was ending by then, so we just headed to the gate with everyone else.

Whew. Exhausting, but lots and lots of fun!