In my race packet I also received a shirt (pretty standard) AND two tickets to get into Hershey Park in the Dark. We had talked about taking the older boys, but we knew that the park would be a little overwhelming to Ryan who is getting big enough that he doesn't care to be in a stroller but is too little to walk long distances without tiring quickly. For the price of what it would cost to take the older boys with us (I think even discount tickets would have been over thirty dollars each) combined with already feeling the need to hire a babysitter, we decided just to make it a date night for the two of us to enjoy. I was SO excited!!! I lined up our babysitter and was almost giddy with excitement all week for Saturday to arrive.
We decided to go late afternoon. The park opened at noon, I think, but we didn't leave until closer to 4 pm because the idea was to go "in the dark." To do over again, we would go earlier in the day as the temperatures get cold once the sun goes down and we had the most fun when it was light out. I hadn't been on a roller coaster in years! We were trying to remember the last night and I was coming up blank. I remembered going to Hershey Park with Shawn's family when we were dating, and I think that may have been the last time for both of us. The first ride we got in line to do was the Comet. I was genuinely nervous! I'm terrified of heights! But, Shawn held my hand and is very calming and we had fun.
The ride he enjoyed the most was that little mouse one that doesn't look like it should be scary but it really is as it makes you feel like you are going right off over the edge before it whips you right back around. It is intense for looking like such a piddly little thing! We also did the lightning racers. I was too scared to go on some of them. Shawn insisted I go on the sidewinder and I really didn't want to. I mean I REALLY didn't want to. Luckily for me, it was closed when we got there. Whew! I would have gone since he insisted but I felt like I might throw up from fear. So, I was just as glad we didn't.
This was the last weekend to use the "free" tickets and the last weekend for the Park in the Dark, I think, so it was PACKED. We waited a long time in line for rides, but it was great to be just the two of us. No one was whining that they had to go to the bathroom or was bumping into strangers or was fighting for our attention. We got to just be together and enjoy each moment of chatting and laughing and being downright scared! I LOVED it!
We saw a Plinko game that cost extra. Shawn knows how much I used to love Price is Right and that Plinko was my favorite game on there. In fact, before we had kids we traveled to California to be on the Price is Right before Bob Barker retired. :) :) :) So, when we saw the game, even though the prizes were lame, Shawn insisted I play and paid the money for me to do it even though I protested that it wasn't worth the $5 to get three chips. It was an experience, he insisted. So, I did. And it WAS fun! On my first chip, I got one for some fudge. On my second one, I got the kiss doll that I really wanted to win (the only "cool" prize, in my opinion) and on the third one I landed on a "butt in line for a roller coaster fast pass." The kids in front of me landed on a hat or a discount on food or a whole lot of nothing! So, I was thrilled to have won my little kiss doll as a souvenir of our date and of my race. :) :) :)
When we saw the kissing tower, Shawn suggested we wait in the long line to go on. Neither of us had ever bothered to go in it before. It takes you way up high and you get a view of the entire park as it spins. The signs on the way in were cute. The one above said "In preparation...moisten your lips and pucker up!" Shawn did kiss me in the tower, which I thought was sweet. :)
The one below said about no food or drink or smoking - you'll need that mouth for kisses! ;-)
At the end of the night, we decided to do the sky view cable car ride (what is it called there?!?!). I was picturing the one at Dutch Wonderland that took you to the other end of the park. While we were near our car, Shawn LOVES that ride so I said it didn't matter if we had to walk the whole way back, let's do it! There was two older couples behind us that were obviously friends chatting away. As we rounded the corner, the one gentleman said, "You must get this all the time, but we were just talking about how you remind us of the actress who plays on Thrones" (or at least I think that was the show he said). She played Anne Boleyn, but her real name is Natalie Dormer, and he said I was "the spitting image of her" and they all couldn't get over it. I told him I had NEVER gotten that before, and I didn't even know who that was because I'd never seen the show. BUT, I giggled, and said that I hope that she's an attractive actress or I shouldn't be thanking him for the "compliment." They all laughed and said that she was indeed beautiful. Shawn knew who it was and said that she's "hot" and looked her up on his phone. Here, I had seen her before as she plays "Moriarti" in the show "Elementary" that we enjoy watching for his cleverness (a show based on the Sherlock Holmes books).
I wouldn't say she's as hot as Shawn thinks she is, but I was flattered by the compliment of these total strangers. They made my night (well, I was already having a pretty awesome day with the love of my life!).
This ride didn't stop at the other end of the park. Instead, it circles and takes you right back to the start. That was perfect for us! I felt like I had had enough "motion" for one day and was feeling just a little nauseated from all the roller coasters and movement, so we decided to end on a positive note. We left while we were ahead. Shawn stopped at the fudge shop and we tried something pumpkin that was so awful we immediately threw it in the trash (no need for the calories if it doesn't taste good!). We decided to eat at Red Robin that was right there because I love that place. While there was a wait, it wasn't too bad and we let our date go just a little longer. We talked and dreamed and just enjoyed each others' company. It had been a FANTASTIC date. Thank You, God, for my husband!
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