This last Tuesday, as of time of writing, my family decided to do something special. The summer was drawing rapidly to a close; my sister went back to school Thursday and I am in the slow run-up before I return to college. We had done a smaller vacation earlier in the summer with relatives, but we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been in a while. So, we all woke up early(well, I didn't sleep in), my parents called off work, and we headed up to Hershey Park, our local giant amusement park complex.
Complete with mildly-terrifying mascots.
We all were very excited, some more than others: while my sister went to the park earlier this summer and I a few summers ago with my college prep camp, it has been a very long time for my parents. Until this day, I have never seen my mother this excited and happy. My first reaction to the park was wow, this place has a lot of PokéStops. While I am now significantly less enthused about Pokémon GO than in my article about it, I still find it enjoyable; there were several lures throughout the park, and a semi-regular Staryu spawn as well. My phone battery died around lunch, but it was fun while it lasted.
The major drive for us(and presumably most people in amusement parks) was the roller coasters. The very first thing we as a family did was dash into the park to ride the Great Bear: one of those coasters where you get strapped into a harness with your feet dangling out while you get whipped around at high speeds. That had never sounded like my idea of fun, but it was my parents' favorite ride, and I didn't want to ruin this day for them. My head didn't explode during the ride, but then again, I kept my eyes closed for all of the loops and corkscrews. I do that for anything with a loop, even for the SooperDooperLooper where that is literally the main attraction of the ride. My personal favorite coaster was the Lightning Racer, a set of twinned, interlaced coasters constructed so that one side can go slightly faster and "win" the track. Yeah, it was old and wooden. It didn't launch you at 85 miles per hour like the Storm Runner, or send you straight down like the Fahrenheit. But it goes at a fast yet reasonable speed, and I can keep my eyes open the entire time. A close second is the newly opened(and awkwardly named) Laff Trakk, an indoor, funhouse themed coaster that spins you around in a neon wonderland. While the 45 minute wait and beforehand comparisons to Space Mountain(vaguely yet fondly remembered from Walt Disney World when I was 6) made it seem a tad underwhelming, it was still quite enjoyable.
Despite how awesome some of the coasters are, they weren't the highlight of the day: it was spending time with my ever-busy family. Normally, with both my parents working and my sister having all sorts of voice lessons and rehearsals for shows, we're lucky to get in an episode of Netflix, let alone family game night. Sure, the day wasn't perfect; Dad lost his car keys(thank you, Mom, for bringing your set), and the ketchup dispenser was filled with barbecue sauce at our food court(an additional thank you, Mom, for caring so much about my peanut allergy that you got me food at the one dedicated allergy-friendly eatery). But none of that really matters in the grand scheme of things. As I was sitting on a bench by the Wild Mouse(tightly-packed coaster with 90 degree turns; 7/10 would rather not ride again), eating a nut-free chocolate shell dipped soft serve alongside the rest of my family, I realized that I was perfectly contented. I wasn't worried about anything, I had no larger concerns about college or anxiety or anything. I was just sitting down, pleasantly exhausted, eating a delicious ice cream cone. It was beautiful.
After finishing off with the Coal Cracker, a simple flume ride with a few clever twists, we left Hershey Park, heading first to Chocolate World, better known as the Hershey(tm) gift shop, where we got some rare yet delicious chocolates, and then to an indie beer pub(for Dad) with the best popcorn I have ever eaten. As we drove back to Lancaster, and even when I went to bed, I felt this was the best day of my life so far. I don't know what I did right, but I want to figure out what so I could feel this way each and every day.
