{Sweet} Watkins Park Carousel

There's nothing quite like a carousel ride. It's a rush - mounting a horse or mythical creature as the music surges and you are thrust toward the decorated ceiling and slide down again. The world spins around you - family, friends, life itself a blur.

There is a frenzy of excitement as you whir around the circular path. The swelling melodies drown out the noise of everyday life - the idle conversations, the street noises. And then, as though melding with the sweet harmonies of the simple carousel soundtrack, laughter erupts.
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You close your eyes, then. Allowing the swirling carousel to rock you with its undulating figures. You dance from within remembering sweet tasting cotton candy, holding hands with Mommy and Daddy, skipping along through county fairs and festivals without a worry or concern.

The music climaxes (too soon, it seems). The carousel spin slows to a stop. You are whisked back into reality - ushered through the "Exit here" swinging gate and into your everyday.

Oh, if only there were time and money for one more ride. If only.

Linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesday and Communal Global.

{Sweet} summer's end

After Ya's party, we ventured to a community day held at a local high school.  There were carnival games and rides.  Ya rode the swinging ship - a look of nausious dread on his face getting worse as the ride dragged on.  He spun in the twirling buckets.  And then he marveled at his sister's new ability to sky dance:

After we'd exhausted the rides and the sweltering heat exhausted us, we went to Oma's house were she gave young Ya the best gift EVER:

And the biker boy quickly discovered how to balance his ride and how to speed down the neighbor's sloping driveway.

And because we were trying to fill the last day of summer break with as much fun as possible, we spent Sunday at the Maryland State Fair.

Ya @ VA Beach

Before the tides came in, he was happy to stand near the water's edge - just past the waves that were crashing and gliding up the shore.

But the tides pushed closer to him. And when they touched his feet, it was OVER.

He huffed. He sucked his teeth. And then, I think, he screamed.

He moved his bucket and tools further back from the water in frustration.

Then he elicited the help of Mommy and big sis Chi to carry buckets full of water to him.

Which he promptly dumped out, so he could hand the empty bucket back to his carrier for a refill.

I ♥ Faces Beach Fun

Just a quick glimpse at how Ya actually spent his time at the beach... He waited patiently for Chi or Mommy to fill his bucket with water (as he would not go near it) and then immediately dumped said water into the sand to watch it disappear.  Repeat about 100 times and time lapses about 30 minutes.  Ughh!  Then it was time to offer him new activities to occupy his attention while Chi chased (or ran from) the tide's waves for a few hours.

 

I got you, babe

At this very moment, there are no fewer than seven browser windows open... I'm primarily flipping between Flickr, Blogapalooza, FaceBook, my Blogger dashboard, Love That Shot, and entries from I ♥ Faces.  My PhotoShop is running, and I've opened a folder for August 2010 images. I'm either a great multitasker or am suffering from a bad case of undiagnosed ADD (no hyperactivity in my profile). 

It's 7ish and I've not gotten up at this hour without an alarm clock since two weeks into my summer vacation. (Ah, the life of a teacher in the off season).

The brain has decided that I should uphold the "A picture is worth a thousand words" quip, and so I am letting yesterday's pool excursion speak for itself.

Do you see the devotion that I see?

 It makes my heart happy.

A low budget escape (Part ii.2)

The Virginia Zoo is in Norfolk.  Ms. GPS took us through a residential neighborhood and a small city street before turning us into the almost hidden zoo entrance.  I was surprised to see the sign welcoming us into what must now be described as a diamond among zoos.  A little beyond the sign was a large parking lot, which was empty when we arrived 15 minutes prior to the 10 a.m. opening.

I should mention that I LOVE zoos.  I did my documentary photojournalism project behind the scenes at the Oakland Zoo (OZ); the highlight of my 17th birthday marathon to Texas was the Fort Worth Zoo; and I can spend hours admiring the animals on exhibit.  Perhaps I am easily fascinated, but there is something very special about these unique creatures that inhabit the zoos.

We waited in a short line of parents and children and busied ourselves with photos in front of the interesting potted foilage (a glimpse of the lush plant life that was held inside).

It cost $8 for my ticket, $6 for Chi's and Ya was free because he's still not two. (Did I mention that everything costs money when he hits that age? Ugggh.)  I splurged a bit and spend an extra $4 for a train trip around the perimiter of the zoo, which turned out to be Ya's biggest lure, as he spent the entire day calling for the "Choo choo" and saying "All aboard!"

What is absolutely amazing about this particular park's set up is the seemingly open areas for the animals to roam.  They have an abundance of space and with the exception of a few reptiles and a pair of fox-like animals that resembled Chihuahuas, nothing felt caged in.  Except Chi, who happily went ape.

The open air dwellings during the day offered great opportunities for photographic and artistic study, and the raised walkways made enjoying the animals easy.

We wandered around the grounds at a leisurely pace, though I know Chi was trying desperately to speed up her overzealously photographing mother.  Ya seemed not to care that I was holding up our momentum, as he stopped and oogled over whatever I happened to point my camera at. 

And sometimes, because everyone else was doing it, my kiddos got into the act.

Unfortunately, they were getting into the action when the scurrying prairie dogs weren't anywhere near them.

And then it was time for our train ride.  I handed Chi our tokens, which we kinda wanted to keep as souvenirs. 

Ya was overjoyed about getting on the train - a scale model of a steam engine.    (Except the picture I got wasn't of Ya, because he said cheese and ran away with a peal of laughter.)

Don't both kids' faces scream excitement?  I suppose I should have timed my shots better...

I was hoping to see the tiger, but was told by our train conductor that she - a 13-year old Bengal - is off exhibit while they build the Trail of the Tiger - a huge area that looks like it is going to be awesome for whatever gets to live within it.  This tiger that is usually at the VA Zoo, however, has cancer in her leg and will likely never see the opening of this gorgeous setup.

A low-budget escape (Part i.2)

By the afternoon (3:30-4 p.m.), the beach was covered with people.  Seriously! There wasn't an empty space on the beach!  If one person sneezed, the guy on the blanket next to him could hand him a tissue without leaning over. 

Poor Ya was still wary of the tides, which continued to surge water higher and higher up the shore toward him as the evening hours drew closer.

I coaxed him toward the water several times, intially hoping to a get a great shot of him wading, but then wanting him to fully experience the beach.  Each time the waves crashed a few feet away and water surged toward us, he took off toward the hot, dry sand. 

On more than one occassion, I swear he sucked his teeth in disgust of the water's intrusion on his play, which at this point had covered him in sand.

And then this nutty photographer realized she should be Mommy.

I put the camera back into its bag. Seeing that our neighbors were so close that they'd have no trouble identifying a theif on my behalf, I hardly worried about the safety of my friend Canon; I also knew I'd be doing a thorough inspection of my belongings before I left should they turn out to be unscrupulous characters.

Free of Canon, I could take Ya onto my hip (or rather allow him to climb as high up my body as he could while clinging tightly in fear of the water) and move out into the ocean.  The waves Chi had been enjoying all day were stronger now, knocking people over with their intensity and allowing body surfers and boogie boarders to slide toward the shore (and sometimes into people) at awesome speeds.  The few times I attempted to put Ya down, he clung to my swimsuit in terror and tried to wrap his legs around mine. 

(I took this photo on an earlier attempt at getting him into the water, but it was obvious he wasn't letting me out of his clutches)

And so, we invented a game - with me holding his hands tightly in mine and raising him as the water rose into waves in front of us.

He loved it.

We added a yell of "jump" each time a wave came near, and  Ya squealed with delight as I lifted him.  And we played until Mommy's arms were tired and the waves were crashing into us with such intensity that they hurt and water was hitting our faces in sheets. We retreated, then, with Ya no longer in fear of the ocean.

A low-budget escape (Part i.1)

August 5: The summer is quickly winding down and I was eager to make one last escape before I went back into my classroom. We're equal distance away from Ocean City and Virginia Beach waterfronts, so I was hoping to get Chi to the Atlantic before school resumed. It took two weeks of trying, but we finally found a Virginia beach hotel with a reasonable (peak season) nightly rate. Here's where Mommy's surprise came in: For the bargain price of $114 - tax included - we were all set with a place to crash after our long day at the beach. Mind you, it was not walking distance from the shore, but it was less than a 15 minute drive from the water. And knowing there would be no drive home the same day we ventured down made Mommy very happy.

To the beach! Our travel details:

•  out the door at 8 a.m. (full tank of gas, $2.76 a gallon)
• expected arrival 10 a.m.
• stopped to relieve Mommy's ears of wailing toddler at 9:08 a.m. (breakfast, including tip, $20 - candy bribe to get back into carseat, $0.50)
• buckled into car and back on the road at 9:49 a.m.
• traffic... and more traffic...
•  arrive at parking lot ($10 for the whole day!) 11:43 a.m.
• rapid succession of events: hike one block to the beach; take off shoes and burn feet in sand (Ya says, "Ow, is hot!"); Chi immediately heads into the water; Ya positions himself with sand toys, then repositions in frustration as tide brings water near him.

(The early afternoon arrival meant few people had set up at the beach - - a BIG benefit for getting my pictures!)

Mommy initially considers renting a cabana for $20, but the attendant kept disappearing for lengths of time and she was impatient. This was a mistake, as preserving one's personal space bubble is impossible without a kiddie gate set up, the use of chairs and umbrellas, or a beach blanket so big it could fit half a football team.  Our stroller, beach bag, and camera bag ended up two inches behind a family's blanket (and chairs, and cooler).  They spread out around my belongings and claimed the space entirely.  For the remainder of our stay, I brushed up against one of the men every time I went into my camera bag or touched our towels - - they were that close.