Six Flags America June 2018

We went to Six Flags America in June for our daughter's birthday. We had gone a few years ago (see post here) and had even more fun on this trip. We noticed walking in that they did indeed have six flags over their entrance.

Six American flags at Six Flags America

We purchased online tickets and were able to get on a shorter line than the season pass holders! We got into the park and rushed through the "Main Street 1776" area because it's basically a strip mall. We did see some Looney Tunes characters but the kids were unexcited. We haven't shown them enough cartoons!

Main Street 1776

Classic characters

We were looking for The Great Chase, a rollercoaster that was mild enough for our youngster to ride. We wound up on The Great Race that would allow him to drive a car on an enclosed, controlled track. He had to share his car with his big sister who demanded to drive. He insisted on helping.

Two drivers?!?

Since we are a family of five, we couldn't all fit in the four-person car. My older son became my chauffeur.

Driving for me

We moved on to the "Mardi Gras" area, where I took the older kids on the Ragin [sic] Cajun, a mild-looking rollercoaster that was a lot more thrilling than any of us expected.

Entering Mardi Gras

The Ragin Cajun--needs an apostrophe is anyone has a spare

Getting on the ride

Ready to go down

More yikes than we thought

Mommy and our preschooler rode the carousel while we were on the Ragin Cajun.

Riding by himself

A happy face

We reunited for the French Quarter Flyers, a fun ride where I rode with the preschooler and let him fly our flyer.

French Quarter Flyers

Mom and daughter flyer

Older son flyer

A happy flyer 

The older kids wanted to ride another rollercoaster so we went to the oldest coaster in the park--The Wild One. It just celebrated its hundredth anniversary. We three all loved the ride.

Centennial sign

Why read about the ride when you can ride the ride?

Happy rollercoaster riders

A bit of the tracks

Our youngest son rode his own rides--a balloon ride, the Tea Party ride, and the swing in the "Looney Tunes" section of the park.

Looney Tunes Entrance

Balloon basket riding

Tea cup ride

Swing

The older kids convinced me to try another coaster--one in the "Gotham City" area.

Classiest wheels in Gotham

We tried out the Joker's Jinx ride, which again was more scary than we thought. Still, we loved the ride (which had scared us off during our previous visit).

Joker's Jinx entrance

We had lunch at the Johnny Rockets restaurant and then went on to what our youngest demanded..."big person wet rides!" We went to Shipwreck Falls, a log flume ride that is just one big splash. We watched the big splash from the ride and got excited for our turn.

Big splash on the bridge

On the ride, we thought we'd escaped soaking from the big splash. The splash didn't really hit us, but the ride goes under the bridge in the picture above and we did get hit by the water cascading off the bridge. We carefully crossed the bridge after the ride. "Carefully" for adults means waiting between splashes and racing across. "Carefully" for children means waiting in the middle of the bridge for the next big splash.

To dry off, I and the older kids rode the Mind Eraser, one of those coasters that leave your feet hanging as you ride. We enjoyed it a lot, perhaps the best coaster in the park. We did a lot more flips than we thought we would.

The Mind Eraser

The youngest wanted to ride another wet ride. We went on Renegade Rapids, a large circular raft ride that was fun and not very wet for most riders. I sat in the wrong seat and somehow managed to get all the splashing water that came in the boat. The other seven riders were fine.

Renegade Rapids entrance

The older kids dragged Mommy onto Roar, another wooden rollercoaster in the park. I took the toddler back to The Great Race so he could drive himself.

Going to Roar

Another chauffeur

Happy to drive

The older kids had one last ride before we left. The Flying Carousel is a fun swing ride that put us high in the air. The ride controller played "I Spy" with us as we rode. One of the spied items was red, which was the umbrellas seen in the background of the picture below.

Ready to swing

So long everyone!

We had a fun visit. The youngest is threatening to celebrate his birthday at Six Flags as well. So we may go again later this summer.

Movie Review: Mama (2013)

Mama (2013) co-written and directed by Andy Muschietti

Two young girls lose their parents and spend five years in an isolated cabin. Their uncle Lucas spends down to his last penny and finally finds them. The girls have gone feral so naturally they wind up in government care. They show signs of recovery. The shrink working with them wants the girls to have a stable home life to continue the improvements. Lucas is an artist and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) plays guitar in a rock band. They are not exactly model parents, especially when another aunt wants custody. The shrink recommends for Lucas and Annabel after cutting a deal where he can continue to observe the children. His practice offers them a normal suburban house to live in where they uneasily set up their new family. Too bad the supernatural entity that took care of the kids in the cabin came with them to the new home. And is jealous, very jealous, of the girls' affection.

The movie spends a lot of time and effort on the set up. Instead of making the story slow, they created interesting characters and a believable enough situation that viewers naturally want to find out what's going on and what's going to happen. The actors do a great job, making the movie more compelling and interesting throughout. It's a well-crafted and well-acted horror film.

The whole movie emphasizes atmosphere. A lot of the terror is created through the sound effects--the sounds of the ghost, the evocative music, etc. The visuals are effective because they are restrained. The spiritual entity Mama is, like the shark in Jaws, not really seen until the end. One or two of the jump scares are telegraphed too much, robbing them of shock value. Otherwise the film is very well crafted and thrilling. The gore is very minimal and probably why the movie is rated PG-13 (though it is more like 13 going on 21--not at all kid-appropriate unless your kid likes to have nightmares).

Recommended as a horror film in the vein of The Woman in Black.

Book Review: Asterix the Gaul by R. Goscinny and A. Uderzo

Asterix the Gaul written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Alberto Uderzo

Julius Caesar's Roman Army has conquered all of Gaul (modern-day France) except for one village on the coast. That village is the home of Getafix, a druid who brews a magic potion to make the villagers incredibly strong. The village is consequently unconquerable, though it is surrounded by Roman encampments. In desperation to find out the village's secret, the Roman commander Crismas Bonus sends a spy into the village. Will the Romans finally be able to conquer all of Gaul? The best warrior in the village, Asterix, is a clever trickster who is also unstoppable when he's got the potion. A better question is, will the Romans have a chance?

This is the first volume of the highly popular Asterix series. The story is entertaining and the comedy is laugh-out-loud funny. The creators clearly set a pattern for their comics that they consistently follow throughout the series. The characters are already well-defined and have their typical behavior found in later stories. The plots are an excuse for poking fun at the ancient Romans and making lots of clever puns. It's light, quick, fun entertainment.

Highly recommended.

Summer 2018 Nationals Blood Drive

Since we bought tickets to a Washington Nationals game, I am on the email spam list. One email they sent was announcing a blood drive at Nationals Park sponsored by Inova Blood Donor Services. I signed up since I am a regular donor with the Red Cross but made the switch because they were offering two free tickets to a game later in the season.

Donors got to park for free at the stadium lot, which was very convenient. The lot was mostly empty, as was the stadium. Walking in was a little spooky without anyone there, except for the security guys at the entrance.

Entering an empty stadium

In case you can't read the sign

The Nationals were on the road playing the Toronto Blue Jays, a game they lost. So the place was really empty except for the blood drive.

Empty outfield

Empty infield

I guess they were having some dinner on the infield later, that's why they set up a bunch of tables along the base lines.

Scoreboard welcoming us

I didn't take pictures in the blood drive because that seemed like it might be icky and, more importantly, illegal. They don't give you the free tickets until after you've given your pint. The donation went well though it was slow because it was fairly crowded.

My bandage

 One of the conference rooms had a bunch of snacks for post-donation refreshment. I took advantage of that. Then I walked down the hall to pick up the swag. In addition to free tickets (there was a choice between four different games, so that was nice), I also received a t-shirt.

Free tickets!

Free t-shirt!

 There's no player #18 this year, though last year Jeremy Guthrie and Ryan Raburn wore that number. Maybe they gave the number just because it's 2018.

The blood drive also offered a free back-stage tour of the stadium. My donation was at 3:30 which made it hard to hit one of the hourly tours. Plus I had to get home, so waiting for the 5 o'clock tour seemed like it would be too long.

Tour sign

 Happily, they are hosting another blood drive in September. I booked an earlier time and may bring the kids with me so they can go on the tour too.

Door to the blood collection room

I did see some of the cool posters and memorabilia on my way out. And we will be back for a game in August and another donation in September.

1887 baseball cards

Back when the Washington team was the Senators

Empty stadium hallways

Book Review: Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie

The wealthy Boynton family is vacationing in Israel which you'd think would be a pleasant experience. Unfortunately matriarch Mrs. Boynton is possessive, manipulative, and cruel to her children, who are all adults at this point. They live in misery and isolation. The trip serves only to emphasize their subservience and inability to connect to the outside world. Until Mrs. Boynton is found dead. Naturally, if foul play is involved, all the children are suspect. They stand to inherit equal shares of the family fortune. More importantly they will be free at last from her tyranny. Some other characters outside the family are part of the story, including one Hercule Poirot, Belgian detective extraordinaire.

The murder takes a long time to happen in the book, around page 100, almost half way through. In that first hundred pages, Hercule Poirot appears on maybe four of them. So the family situation is set up in great detail, providing interesting characters and a fascinating mystery. The story is a bit unusual for Christie but is very satisfying.

Poirot's investigation is more psychological than technical. He interviews the family and the other people involved. The situation is complicated enough that any one person makes a good suspect. By sifting through their statements he is able to come to the right conclusion. The epilogue is surprisingly sweet, like the end of a Shakespeare comedy or a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

The investigation is particularly interesting for two reasons. Almost everybody recognizes that the world is better off with Mrs. Boynton dead. Still, murder is murder and the evildoer needs to be identified and hopefully brought to justice. Doing evil to an evil person does not suddenly make the act good. The double negative principle in math doesn't apply to morality. Second, Poirot promises to discover the murderer but does not guarantee that he'll have evidence that holds up in court. His psychological approach yields the truth and circumstances provide satisfaction of justice (to some extent) outside the court of law.

Highly recommended.

The book will be discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast on July 10, 2018. Check it out!

Cute Kid Pix June 2018

More pictures that didn't make their own blog post...

We went for a haircut and the stylist thought she'd have some fun with our youngest. Check out the results...

Spiked

3/4 view

He was interested in microphones and decided to try out a little singing...



My daughter's birthday was last month. She received lots of cool gifts but the only one I got a picture of was the hula hoop.

Getting ready to spin

Hip action

She asked for an ice cream cake for dessert. We used a recipe for a tiramisu ice cream cake. The toughest part was making the lady finger cookies stand up before the ingredient were poured into the middle. The final result was fabulous!

The cake in a good light

Blowing out candles

Our oldest son started a baseball summer camp that emphasizes all sorts of specific skills. He loves it. The coach asks for parent participation to get the most out of the practices. I love it.

Throwing from third to second

More of the same

Second to first to get the runner out

Good form!

The library is just starting up summertime story times, so made it to one where the word of the week was "opposites," including a gumball craft...

A little coloring

A lot of gumballs

Opposites--empty and full!