Aloha!
Still a little worn-out from all the fun yesterday, but we’ll
be resting just fine on Saturday!
Yesterday was another great day. I feel like I am typing that line just about
every post now. The fact is, the things
these boys are doing is pretty awesome.
I’m even having fun going to some of these places as a staff
member.
Tuesday was Cedar Point day, which was the most anticipated
day of the year for many boys. If it’s
not the biggest and best amusement park in the world, it has to be on the short
list at the top. To put it in terms you
may understand, Cedar Point makes Valley Fair look like the Sherburne County
Fair on wristband night. Tucked in the
shadows of the enormous roller coasters and thrill rides are the rides that
would still dwarf the best in Minnesota.
It was pretty sweet!
The day started with breakfast in our accommodations in
Sandusky at First Presbyterian Church, where we performed the night
before. Since we were all together, it
was a little quicker to get everyone on the same page and loaded in the
bus. We took it pretty easy since the
park didn’t open until about 10:00 anyways.
We had the whole day to spend there, so time was on our side for sure.
The park is located on a point out in Lake Erie. After a scenic drive down Cedar Point
Causeway, we arrived at the Taj Mahal of thrill parks. The boys measured their height and divided
themselves into two groups: the crazy,
extreme group, and the grounded, reserved, logical group. Lisa, Kenny, and Adam took the extreme group
while Aaron and I led the group of 10 boys who live a little further from the
edge. We let the boys find new partners
for the day so everyone had the chance to do what they wanted. It was a nice break for some of the
partnerships.
A very short, but wet line of storms played with us
throughout the morning. By the time the
boys were on their second ride, every single one of them was soaked to the
bone, but that wasn’t going to derail their plans of fun. The rain was actually our friend on this day,
as it helped keep the insane lines away for the entire day. The boys were able to get in several more
rides because of the shorter wait times and crowds to navigate. It was a pretty good deal for us.
The boys spent the morning getting their fill for rides
until we met for lunch in a pretty sweet picnic area around 1:00. Then it was back to the park for more
rides. The extreme group was able to get
on every big ride in the park during the course of the day. The less extreme group went on several car
rides, tilt-a-whirl, and bumper car trips. To get their money’s worth. Everyone had a good time.
The only pictures we managed to take during the day at the park were on this incredible extreme ride by Lisa. The ride shoots you straight-out and then straight-up at 120 MPH. Many boys thought it was the best one. Crazy boys.
While the boys were exhausting themselves, I ran up to
Wal-Mart to find some dinner for the boys.
The picnic area had permanent grills on site that we could use, so I
bought foot-long hotdogs, chips, and pop for all the boys to eat. By 6:00, we had it all ready for them to eat
as they came-out from the park. The boys
were pretty beat and the majority had feet so sore from walking that they just
needed to sit for a few hours. We made
the decision to head back to the church for the night and get an early bedtime,
given the late night we would be having in Chicago the next day.
We did give the boys the option for a sunset walk just a few
blocks away on the shores of Lake Erie.
A handful of boys took us up on the offer and had a neat time
checking-out the beautiful shores of the Great Lake.
Around 10:00, we gathered our freshly-showered boys and I
told a couple of short stories to help calm them down before they hit the hay. It was another good day.
P.J.
PS – There are only 3 more days left on our Tour
Fundraiser. We hope to raise $4,000, or
about $1 per mile and memory we are making for these boys. Please take a minute and check-out our page. Every donation helps to make an impact on
these boys! We can’t do it without
you! Click here to go to the fundraisingpage.
Thanks!
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