Six Flags

It's a rite of passage for kids in Texas to go to Six Flags. I've been going there since I was riding in a stroller (last week...not really). Growing up with a bunch of stinky boys meant that I had to be fearless; otherwise I'd get left behind. So when we all went to Six Flags, I had to be brave enough to ride the big roller coasters. Luckily, being scared like that is right up my alley.

One of the first roller coasters I remember riding is the Runaway Mine Train. It's a classic coaster full of deep turns and stomach lurching drop offs. It's also...ahem, how do I put it...rough as hell. The turns are sharp enough and the seats are slippery enough to toss you about like a rag doll. Your shoulders could get bruised from being slammed against the side of the car.  It was more fun than it hurt so multiple rides were always in order.

Usually we would run full out to get to the next ride which was the Big Bend. It was an awesome coaster that created suspense while your car went around and around and around to get to the top of the hill. It was a metal coaster like the mine train but it was much smoother. I always thought it was a cool ride but I guess too many people got thrown off of it and it was removed from the park.

The next ride that we always had to visit were the old cars that you could drive. I always felt so cool on that ride because I was just a kid but I was driving a car! Never mind that there was a steel bar in the center of the "road" to keep the cars from crashing. I was just a kid but I was driving a car! It was always an insult to be relegated to the back seat as a passenger. That wasn't cool. Being front and center was the best because I was just a kid but I was driving a car!

One of the rides we always hit, even though we were big kids was the Mini Mine Train. It wasn't scary, your knees got banged from the tight quarters but you rode it anyway. I took my daughter on this ride a few years ago and she was scared to death. It took me 5 minutes to get her calmed down. I guess she's not a roller coaster fan.

By the time we had ridden the rides listed above, it was usually time to have one of these wonderful treats: Six Flags is the only place where I've had pink things. They were/are the most wonderful, sticky, sweet treat ever! We sometimes rinsed our sticky hands by riding the log ride. Who doesn't love the log ride???

It was always a challenge to get in the boat before my brothers so I could sit on a dry spot. More often than not, they shoved me out of the way and I ended up sitting on wet plastic anyway. We always tried to rock the boat but the dang things were too heavy to move much. I used to have dreams that I was riding along the flumes of the log ride only I wasn't in the log. I was just swimming along in the artificial blue water.

Another great water ride was the Cave. In there, you could cool off because the air conditioning was always blowing and it was dark. Even though I knew all of  the little characters along the ride were fake, they still creeped me out. They sort of remind me of an armadillo only creepier.

I haven't been to Six Flags in a couple of years. I'm not keen on waiting 45 minutes in a line just to ride a 25 second ride. I may go back one day but for now I'm good just reminiscing. Yep, I'll reminisce about swimming through the artificial blue waters of the log ride, thinking about how I'll keep from getting my shins knocked up when I ride the belt-thingy to the top of the hill. Then I'll imagine myself slip sliding down the hill and making a splash, only to start the whole thing over again.