Saturday, July 23, 2005
Enought chlorine to last a lifetime
Our company outing was yesterday (have these become a relic of the past? I hope not!). Like last year, the outing was at Six Flags New England. This year, I took a 1/2 day vacation so we could get there early and enjoy the park before it got crowded.
Well, getting out the door is never as easy as it sounds, so we weren't exactly early. Plus there was major traffic on Springfield's South End bridge, so we doubled back and took the Memorial Bridge, then 5 south along the river. We were in the park at 11:30, and headed right for Hurricane Harbor, the water park. Last year was our first year at the water park, and we learned a lot. First and foremost - rent a locker. Carrying stuff all around the park is a bummer. Getting chafed because you're in a wet bathing suit is also a bummer. Dry clothes after swimming = not a bummer.
Second lesson we learned this year - go deep. As in, go deep into the waterpark. Last year we pretty much stopped at the first big pool. Mistake. As you go back into the park, the crowds thin out and the attractions get better. Emma and I found this out somewhat by accident. We'd be at the top of one waterslide and would see something in the distance. We'd check it out, find more stuff, and see even more in the distance. By the end of the day we were deep in the park, with hardly any crowds, and having tons of fun.
Some highlights:
- Cannonball Falls. This is a body slide (no raft) that is basically a 7-story drop. Emma and I both went on it. She went first, then me. When I went, I kept my eyes open until the spray got too much. All I could hear then was the wind whistling in my ears, and all I could feel was my back burning as I rocketed down the slide and splashed down at the end. Both of use survived, but were a little bit red afterwards.
- We discovered this attraction that was like a playground play structure & fountain combined. The usual stairs, rope climbers, etc, but add water everywhere. Plus lots of ropes & levers that would trigger water sprays on other people. PLUS a gigantic vat of water at the top of it all slowly filling from a pipe then upending and dumping hundreds of gallons at once in a thunderous downpour that shook the entire structure.
- Emma and I went on a waterslide that was totally enclosed (i.e., Dark!). No idea when the next turn was coming until you were into it. Cool.
- Gina learns that screaming with excitement/fear on a waterslide means you get a big mouthfull of chlorinated water. She is not amused.
We stay until the water park closes at 7:00. On the walk back thru the park to the car we hear loudspeakers announce that some rides were closing due to "imminent inclement weather". Lightning starts flashing as we walk to the car. Thunder booms as we reach the car. Driving out and across the South End bridge, I look north and can't see the city - it is engulfed in a grey-brown maelstrom. We decide to try fleeing east & north to go around it. It keeps up with us - we get ahead then it catches up at the red lights. Finally forced to turn north for home, and we're in it. Man oh man - lightning to light up the skies, rain to flood the roads, wind is roaring. Serious s&*t indeed. We flee for the shelter of Gina's parents and wait it out. Weather Channel shows big magenta blob moving west to east at 20 mph. 1/2 hour later and the fireworks are over. Finally stagger home at 10:30. Everyone sleeps in the next day.
No sunburns, slight slide-burn, and everyone home safe.
teebee
Well, getting out the door is never as easy as it sounds, so we weren't exactly early. Plus there was major traffic on Springfield's South End bridge, so we doubled back and took the Memorial Bridge, then 5 south along the river. We were in the park at 11:30, and headed right for Hurricane Harbor, the water park. Last year was our first year at the water park, and we learned a lot. First and foremost - rent a locker. Carrying stuff all around the park is a bummer. Getting chafed because you're in a wet bathing suit is also a bummer. Dry clothes after swimming = not a bummer.
Second lesson we learned this year - go deep. As in, go deep into the waterpark. Last year we pretty much stopped at the first big pool. Mistake. As you go back into the park, the crowds thin out and the attractions get better. Emma and I found this out somewhat by accident. We'd be at the top of one waterslide and would see something in the distance. We'd check it out, find more stuff, and see even more in the distance. By the end of the day we were deep in the park, with hardly any crowds, and having tons of fun.
Some highlights:
- Cannonball Falls. This is a body slide (no raft) that is basically a 7-story drop. Emma and I both went on it. She went first, then me. When I went, I kept my eyes open until the spray got too much. All I could hear then was the wind whistling in my ears, and all I could feel was my back burning as I rocketed down the slide and splashed down at the end. Both of use survived, but were a little bit red afterwards.
- We discovered this attraction that was like a playground play structure & fountain combined. The usual stairs, rope climbers, etc, but add water everywhere. Plus lots of ropes & levers that would trigger water sprays on other people. PLUS a gigantic vat of water at the top of it all slowly filling from a pipe then upending and dumping hundreds of gallons at once in a thunderous downpour that shook the entire structure.
- Emma and I went on a waterslide that was totally enclosed (i.e., Dark!). No idea when the next turn was coming until you were into it. Cool.
- Gina learns that screaming with excitement/fear on a waterslide means you get a big mouthfull of chlorinated water. She is not amused.
We stay until the water park closes at 7:00. On the walk back thru the park to the car we hear loudspeakers announce that some rides were closing due to "imminent inclement weather". Lightning starts flashing as we walk to the car. Thunder booms as we reach the car. Driving out and across the South End bridge, I look north and can't see the city - it is engulfed in a grey-brown maelstrom. We decide to try fleeing east & north to go around it. It keeps up with us - we get ahead then it catches up at the red lights. Finally forced to turn north for home, and we're in it. Man oh man - lightning to light up the skies, rain to flood the roads, wind is roaring. Serious s&*t indeed. We flee for the shelter of Gina's parents and wait it out. Weather Channel shows big magenta blob moving west to east at 20 mph. 1/2 hour later and the fireworks are over. Finally stagger home at 10:30. Everyone sleeps in the next day.
No sunburns, slight slide-burn, and everyone home safe.
teebee
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Latest Pool Pic
Pool, showing the stone I spread and the timbers to keep it into place. Also shows "new" lawn (is now dirt with straw on top - grass is just beginning to grow).Am liking this new ability of Blogger to post pics - works better than Geocities.
teebee
Fruits of my Labor
Coupla pics of the patio I built last week. Our yard was a mess after the pool was installed, so we called in a landscaper to straighten things out. One of the things he did was prep a site for a patio. We had all these 2' x 3' pavers from a neighbor, and this was the perfect place to use them. Man, were they heavy! I used a handtruck to cart them around, then lowered them into place by standing them on edge and lowering them into place with a hoe hooked over the top edge. Turned out pretty nice. Is now fave sleeping spot for our blobby cats.Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Tennis Camp
Both kids attended Judy Dixon Tennis Camp last week. 5 days, from 8:30 to noon, at the UMass tennis courts (the ones right next to Tobin Hall).
It was a really hot week, but the kids stuck with it. I had the week off (vacation), so either Gina, me, or both would drop them off at 8:30 (each had best buds that were also taking the class), then pick them up at noon. They both did great. Emma and I had been playing lots of badminton, so a lot of that experience (moving around, racket placement, etc) helped her. Alex did amazingly well considering he was almost totally new to the sport.
Afterwards, we'd usually go in the pool to cool off. Both kids wanted to play more later in the day, so we'd go out into the road and play, looking out for the occasional car. I'm hoping to find the time to play more as time permits - they like it and so do I.
teebee
It was a really hot week, but the kids stuck with it. I had the week off (vacation), so either Gina, me, or both would drop them off at 8:30 (each had best buds that were also taking the class), then pick them up at noon. They both did great. Emma and I had been playing lots of badminton, so a lot of that experience (moving around, racket placement, etc) helped her. Alex did amazingly well considering he was almost totally new to the sport.
Afterwards, we'd usually go in the pool to cool off. Both kids wanted to play more later in the day, so we'd go out into the road and play, looking out for the occasional car. I'm hoping to find the time to play more as time permits - they like it and so do I.
teebee
TeeBee Movie Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
As a kid, I was simultaneously thrilled and totally creeped out by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In college, I read the original Roald Dahl "Charlie and the Chocolate factory", and was surprised at how dark a book it was.
Now I'm a parent, taking my kid (just one - the youngest thought it looked "creepy in a bad way") to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. I had high hopes - I've always liked Tim Burton and Johnny Depp; the previews looked good; it was a good story from the get-go - how could they mess it up?
I think they did a fine job. The movie had many of the same elements as the first - the 4 naughty children with their idiot parents, the saintly Charlie living with his mom (and dad this time) and 4 grandparents, the recluse Willy Wonka and his mysterious factory, etc, etc. I had read that there was more emphasis placed on Charlie in this version but I didn't see it - he was still a main character but not any more so than in the first.
The biggest change, of course, was Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder's Willy was clearly a grown man - wacko, but clearly an adult. Johnny Depp's Willy was a boy/youth in a man's body. As such, he wasn't as sinister as Gene Wilder's Willy - more of an adolescent's blith obliviousness to what others thought or felt. Nealy every review I read compared his Willy to Michael Jackson. I felt it was more of a Mr-Rogers-on-happy-pills type of approach. They added this whole subplot with Willy's father which I felt was unnecessary - you knew going in that Willy was addled; no need to explain why.
Another change was the music. The original movie's score was done in classic Disney style ('tho I don't think this was a Disney movie) - catchy songs, clever lyrics, stayed-in-your-brain-for-weeks-after stuff. The new movie's music was done by Burton's dependable music man Danny Elfman. He took Roald Dahl's original lyrics about each child and set each to a different kind of music - showtune, 60's harmony, techo-rap, etc. Each was great to listen to and fun to watch, but nothing stayed with you afterwards.
Of course, the effects were much different than in the first. The trip down the river of chocolate, the glass elevator, the "use one actor and digitally multiply him for all the Oompa-Loompas" - all pretty well done w/o getting in the way (pay attention, George Lucas!).
I also enjoyed the subtle (and not-so-subtle) in-jokes:
- Planet of the Apes references
- Busby Berkley musical montages
- the "march along with flags of different countries parading behind you to signify international travel" cliche
etc, etc, etc.
Anyhoo, TeeBee gives this one 7 out of 10 on the international TeeBee scale.
Now I'm a parent, taking my kid (just one - the youngest thought it looked "creepy in a bad way") to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. I had high hopes - I've always liked Tim Burton and Johnny Depp; the previews looked good; it was a good story from the get-go - how could they mess it up?
I think they did a fine job. The movie had many of the same elements as the first - the 4 naughty children with their idiot parents, the saintly Charlie living with his mom (and dad this time) and 4 grandparents, the recluse Willy Wonka and his mysterious factory, etc, etc. I had read that there was more emphasis placed on Charlie in this version but I didn't see it - he was still a main character but not any more so than in the first.
The biggest change, of course, was Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder's Willy was clearly a grown man - wacko, but clearly an adult. Johnny Depp's Willy was a boy/youth in a man's body. As such, he wasn't as sinister as Gene Wilder's Willy - more of an adolescent's blith obliviousness to what others thought or felt. Nealy every review I read compared his Willy to Michael Jackson. I felt it was more of a Mr-Rogers-on-happy-pills type of approach. They added this whole subplot with Willy's father which I felt was unnecessary - you knew going in that Willy was addled; no need to explain why.
Another change was the music. The original movie's score was done in classic Disney style ('tho I don't think this was a Disney movie) - catchy songs, clever lyrics, stayed-in-your-brain-for-weeks-after stuff. The new movie's music was done by Burton's dependable music man Danny Elfman. He took Roald Dahl's original lyrics about each child and set each to a different kind of music - showtune, 60's harmony, techo-rap, etc. Each was great to listen to and fun to watch, but nothing stayed with you afterwards.
Of course, the effects were much different than in the first. The trip down the river of chocolate, the glass elevator, the "use one actor and digitally multiply him for all the Oompa-Loompas" - all pretty well done w/o getting in the way (pay attention, George Lucas!).
I also enjoyed the subtle (and not-so-subtle) in-jokes:
- Planet of the Apes references
- Busby Berkley musical montages
- the "march along with flags of different countries parading behind you to signify international travel" cliche
etc, etc, etc.
Anyhoo, TeeBee gives this one 7 out of 10 on the international TeeBee scale.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Where to begin...
Many things to write about:
- finally broke down and got high-speed Internet service
- took a week off, didn't go anywhere, had great time
- continuing pool saga
- kids took tennis camp
- new Harry Potter book
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Emma getting braces
Stay Tuned!
teebee
- finally broke down and got high-speed Internet service
- took a week off, didn't go anywhere, had great time
- continuing pool saga
- kids took tennis camp
- new Harry Potter book
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Emma getting braces
Stay Tuned!
teebee
