Summer Adventures, Part I

I've had in my head a few things I'd really like to do with Meg this summer, now that she's old enough to really enjoy them. American Adventures, White Water, Six Flags, maybe even Chattanooga . . . just fun stuff for us to enjoy together. As I'm realizing every single day, it is a lot of fun to have a 'kid' around the house -- I want to take advantage and live it up while she is still plenty old enough to WANT me along. Today was Summer Adventure #1: a trip to American Adventures.

For those of you partial to activities for the younger crowd, I do recommend AA. The place is totally made for kids that are about 3 to 6 yrs old. The rides are all made to accommodate little ones, and so are the staffers . . . they'll buckle your kid in and out of each ride, no problem. Most rides require about a 32-36" height requirement, and most of them are meant to be ridden without mom or dad. Like I said, it's a place for the little kids.

I must thank my friend, Kellly, for the suggestion. We went with her and her daughter, and our girls really had a great time. We got them each a 3 hour pass -- $16.99 -- which allowed them to ride any ride they were big enough for as many times as they'd like, plus it got us into their giant, indoor (aka: air conditioned) foam factory. It also included mini-golf, but we decided that the girls wouldn't be up for that. All in all, a decent value for the price. Meg and Claudia rode each ride together, then happily jumped off and told us what they'd like to ride next. Meanwhile, Kelly and I just sat back and chatted . . . mostly about what a fun time the girls were having and how amazed we were that they didn't seem to need much help from us at all.

Today was my first visit to American Adventures, so (of course) some learning was done. When we go again, I'll take my own lunch. There are plenty of places to eat a sack lunch, and the cafeteria at the place was a little less than satisfying. I also would not even bother with the 'adult rider' pass you can purchase for $4.99. Though inexpensive, I seriously didn't use it. I could have just wadded up a five and flushed it . . . the girls really didn't need us on any of the rides. Save the roller coaster -- which they are too little to ride solo -- but really you could just hop on with the kids and nobody would notice. If you are considering AA, bring a lunch and skip the grown-up pass. (I also realized that Meg really is too small for Six Flags yet -- even just the kiddie stuff they have. The cost and the 40 minute trip out there just aren't worth what she'd get out of it at this age. AA is much more her style for now.)

Summer Adventure, Part 2, in on tap for next week . . . a trip to White Water!