A Good Time Was Had By All

I took some time off work last week. Four whole days in a row, in fact. It was lovely.

It was not, however, relaxing.

On Tuesday and Wednesday my mom and I took Alyssa, Olivia and a friend of Alyssa’s to Cedar Point. We stayed at The Breakers Hotel, which is right on the beach and about a hundred years from one of the roller coasters.

Let me tell you, the hotel was a huge hit. Next year, we’ll stay at the hotel, get there early and spend the afternoon in the pool and go to the park the next day. We paid for two days at the park this year and while it was fun, I think one day is enough. But the hotel and it’s POOLS were the biggest hit, especially as far as Olivia was concerned.

Next year, we’ll also take our stroller. I meant to take it this year but by the time we had loaded my mom’s car with all our other stuff, there wasn’t room and…well, I’d forgotten to go get it from the basement and we were ready to GO.

Olivia did really well in the beginning. She walked the entire length of the park at least three times before asking to be carried. She told me her feet and legs were tired. We’d headed back to the car for lunch when I realized I couldn’t do that for the rest of the day. So I made my own way back to the front of the park where the stroller rental is located. I left my mom with the girls so they didn’t have to make the walk. They found a fountain/splash area where the girls could cool off and wait.

$26 dollars later, I was on my way. And let me tell you, those were the best $26 I ever spent. Olivia was able to rest when she wanted, which let her enjoy that much more of the park. She loved the carnival-like rides and laughed the entire time she was being doused with water on Thunder Canyon. We turned a corner this year. There will be no more leaving this girl at home with Dad while the big girls go off and have fun without her.

The hotel pool, though, that was the best part of our entire day. By 6pm, we were all beat. We were done with rides and sweating and walking and yes, even riding in a stroller. We were finally able to get into our room and the relief felt by all was enormous. We changed out of our sweat-damped on clothes, put on our swim suits and followed the smell of chlorine to the indoor swimming pool.

It was only three feet deep so it was perfect for Olivia, who is three feet eleven inches these days. She bounced and sank and bounced some more. Alyssa and her friend Tracy loved the pool just as much, making their way back and forth from the pool to the hot tub and back again.

Seriously, next year, we’re getting the hotel room for one night and going to the park the next day instead of paying for two days at the park. We’ll get to the hotel early and just spend the day at the pool, on the beach, in the room.

We did go back to the park the next day but everyone was tired. Our feet hurt and we were on the road by 5pm.

A good time was definitely had by all but next year we’ll adjust our plans according to how well it worked and didn’t work this year.