Day Two--Santa Claus, IN

Saturday, May 27, 2006

"Morning Honey."

"--Uuugggh."

"Do you want to go to the water park?"

--"Not really. Well. I will if you want."

"Petulant s i g h."

--"Ok, let's go."

In my 34 years, I haven't always been kind to myself. I've been overweight for most of it, though I've done better over the past couple of years. The idea of exposing most of myself for a day at the water park was kind of daunting. This is a little different than swimming, which I don't really mind. This is walking around shirtless, shoeless ( I wish I had less gross feet), in my case, tanless and exposed for several hours with lots of people around watching.

I got over it.

By far, Dawn and I were in the upper ranks of body quality there. So I quickly lost the insecurity and began to enjoy myself.

We got there as the water park opened for the day's event--we first took a dip in the wave pool. It was unusually warm in Indiana that week, however, at 10 AM, the water still had quite a chill on it. We eased our way in and it was invigorating.

After a few minutes there, we shared breakfast with a very nice couple from Tennessee. Very normal folks in their middle years, they'd just sent their son off to college at Stanford in California. We enjoyed hearing about their travels and how they worked amusement park visits into their son's college visits. Holiday again provided the meal--a variety of muffins, fruit, fruit dip, coffee and juices served buffet style by the always lovely park staff.

After breakfast and a short rest, we headed over to the water slides. We first rode an open racing slide called Jungle Racer that was really fun! you ride down a hill with several hops, one or two of which induced a little air time sensation. There's a screen at the end of the ride that tells you how you placed against the other riders.

Following that, we got on the larger water slides, Zinga--which is a long, curvy tunnel out into what resembles a big toilet bowl (now I know what it's like to be flushed) and finally, Zoombabwe, the world's tallest enclosed water ride.

After the big water rides, we took a long, leisurely trip on the lazy river. We floated around, pushing each other into the various spout and waterfall elements. Dawn finally sank me--she pushed me under a water fall and I adjusted myself right out of the float. We enjoyed this for a good, long while, soaking in the sun and talking to folks as they floated by. Finally, we got out, rode some of the smaller water slides, and then started back toward the hotel.

Along the road from Santa Claus to Jasper, there's a cute town called Ferdinand, where you'll find a delightful monastery, Monastery Immaculate Conception. We drove up to it and looked around for a bit from the car, and then discovered they had a gift shop. We decided to drop in for a visit, as Dawn thoughtfully thought to look for saints for her co-workers Mario and Maylen.
It's hard to find saints in Boone, NC.

So she called Mario, who wanted a St. Joseph, and we asked one of the nuns working in the shop to recommend something for Maylen, who is from Guatemala. The sister suggested Mary of Guadalupe since she is is very dear to the people of Central America, and Maylen's name may have "Mary" in part as its source.

Following this, we drove back to the hotel where someone putzed, and then finally, since both of us were starting to think the Chinese food/air freshener lobby smell was appetizing, went out to find food in downtown Jasper.

Dawn had selected a local restaurant/bar with German food in Jasper that looked appealing. They restaurant part wasn't open when we got there, but the bartender offered a nice recommendation and we headed over a block to the Millhouse restaurant. We were seen to by a very friendly staff who brought us refreshing water and fun local beers from the tap. We got free self-serve soup, which was a very nice start since we were really hungry, I chose the chicken soup, rich and savory, and Dawn chose broccoli/cheese soup which was also nice.

I was feeling hungry and in need of protein, so I ordered the meatloaf. It came with thick, brown gravy (unlike what I'm used to here in the South), very nice mashed potatoes, and the best grilled veggies I think I've ever had--red onions, a little garlic, bell peppers, zucchini--a very nice collage of color and healthy things to offset the beefiness of my entree.

Dawn ordered a pecan crusted chicken salad that looked yummy--mandarin oranges, chicken, fresh greens, and other surprises.

Feeling rested, refilled, and refreshed, we headed back to the hotel for awhile and relaxed for a bit before we had to head back out to the park. We had to be on time--entering the park just as it closed to the public. The meal at the park was a nice cook out, with hot dogs, hamburgers, and other treats.

I failed to mention in my previous post that pizza , veggies and ahh yes. delightful and delicious Holiday World fudge were the highlights of the first night's meal.

We wanted to get a ride on the Voyage before dark. It's better to be able to see what's coming, if you can manage to look straight ahead!

They lines were pretty immense so we didn't make it on for awihle. When we did, it was pretty dark already, and the first ride damn near broke my ribs...we were sitting near the back and on one banked turn I was tossed against the side of the car pretty hard, so much so that it actually knocked the breath out of me. I whined for the rest of the evening :).

Dawn and I got our share of rides on Voyage pretty early on. We got with Danny P., Matthew, and Matthew's dad--they have the best relationship, and they go to lots of parks and events together--and headed over to ride the other new, featured ride in the Thanksgiving area of Holiday World--the Gobbler Getaway.

You're given a turkey caller (gun) with which you are supposed to call (shoot) turkeys. You ride through a very nice array of animatronic turkeys and things, shooting away. I think John did the best in our car...

I'm certain his wrists and dominant hand are in excellent shape for gaming...

I was a terribly distant second, but then again, I've been on a date.

One more ride on the Voyage...in the back...we had finally learned to ride it. This isn't a hand's up, relax and get the most out of it kind of ride. Brace yourself...pretty hard.

Dawn and I spent the rest of our time at Holiday World happily walking back and forth between Raven and Legend, getting great rides on both with virtually no wait.

We held hands, and walked out of the park finally, after another free soda--I think it was hard for both of us to leave, it's a really enjoyable place.