Storyland

Woo hoo! We just returned from Storyland in Glen, New Hampshire. Didn't think I would like the fairy tale theme, but the park was terrific. And the kids had a great time, too!

It was a quick overnight trip. We left home at noon on Monday and traveled 135 miles north near the White Mountains where Storyland is located. The kids and I played Michael Jackson songs the whole time! ("Mommy, can we hear 'Beat It' again?")

The weather was sunny and warm on Monday but rainy and downright awful on Tuesday, but we didn't care. In fact, the rain kept people away so by the end of the day, we rode many of the rides, like the Bamboo Chutes water flume (in photo), multiple times. Can't tell you how many times I heard, "I want to ride this ride again!" I really enjoyed spending time with Alex and Ella, watching them romp around, ride their first roller coasters, make silly jokes, get their faces painted, and just have fun! And as a parent, I loved seeing how they decided to spend their time.

The only wrinkle we hit was a little car trouble, which turned out to be nothing, but at the time I thought it was a big deal. On the ride up, the temperature gage started to fluctuate about 10 miles away from the hotel. The car was fine to and from the park. Yet, in the back of my mind, I kept imagining worse-case scenarios for the ride home: the car will overheat, we'll be stranded by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain. What am I going to do? I also kept thinking, my husband would know exactly how to handle this. Damn.

Thankfully, we drove home without incident.

(Seems that the temperature gage will do that in the mountains because of the higher altitudes, I guess … I dunno ... When my mechanic told me what was happening, my eyes glossed over. I'm not one for car talk!)

Selfishly, I needed to do this for myself. I seem to need constant reassurance that we will be OK as a family, and I can make it as a single mother. In truth, this would probably be a ho-hum summer if things were status quo. So I'm happy for the chance to plan these little adventures for the kids. Who knows, we may even attempt another Storyland trip before the season ends.