Sesame Place

When I was a young child, large, costumed people -- even dressed representing beloved figures -- really freaked me out. There are pictures of me trying to frantically scale the flesh of my mother as a guy dressed like Yogi Bear wandered through his eponymous campground in the late 70s. I didn't care if he had designs on our pic-a-nic basket or not. I didn't like him, and I didn't want him nosing around our tents.

This memory has stayed rather fresh in my mind, and I thought about it as we drove the girls to Sesame Place for Media Day on June 1st.

Would a lifesize Elmo or Bert send them over the edge? Would Zoe's appearance induce tantrums born of terror? Would the sight of an 8-foot yellow bird send me into a panic attack? Or was I making much ado about nada?

So, with a large diaper bag filled with sunscreen, diapers and changes of clothes for both girls, we entered the park. It was barely 10:30am, and already the park was filled with people. We looked at our map to get our bearings and decided to head over to the carousel. I thought that would be a good first ride.

Hannah wasn't so sure. "Remember what I said last night," I reminded her. "We'll have to be brave today and try new things. That way, we'll have as much fun as we can."

The carousel was mostly horses, but also had two benches on it for parents with tiny babies. "I want to sit on the bench," Hannah said. Somehow, I talked her onto the horse while Dave found an orange horse for Lily. I kept seeing Hannah smile this sly smile, the kind that speaks to an experience being better than expected. Sometimes she needs that initial experience to convince herself that everything will be alright.

After the carousel, the girls were very animated. They wanted to go on the horses again but we decided to ditch the carousel and walk around to find some different rides. There was a section devoted to Elmo's world, so we headed over there. We went on something called the Flying Fish, and then a ride called the Peek-A-Bug, which is kind of like a miniature of those back-and-forth pirate ship rides, except this one twirled around a bit as well. It was a good thing that breakfast had been light fare, because I nearly blew chunks on this kiddie ride.

We decided on one more ride -- Big Bird's Balloon Race -- before lunch. The lines were starting to get to us. It took nearly 30 minutes to get on a ride that lasted 3, at best. When the sun is beating right down on you, those concourses of waiting families slowly filing forward have a tendency to seem more like torture than anything enjoyable.

At lunch I scanned the crowd for some of the other bloggers I knew would be there. I wasn't sure if I'd recognize Jozet, having only recently seen a picture of her standing next to Mick Jagger, but since I'd met The New Girl, I thought I'd have a good chance of finding her in a crowd.

Well, no such luck running into recognizable bloggers, but I did see her. Bert and Ernie were milling about as I set the girls down with their daddy to go get some hot dogs and hamburgers.

Do you think I got any pictures with the characters? That would be no, since the rechargeable batteries in our digital camera are no longer capable of being recharged, and we had no double A's. So, the charming way Ernie tickled Dave's ear? Not captured. The way Hannah and Lily shook Zoe's hand? Remains in our brains only.

After lunch, we did a little shopping for t-shirts and got some gigantic ice cream cones. A parade went down the Main Street area, and Bob was there. Bob! And he waved to me (and everyone in my general vicinity), but still. Bob!

The kids wanted to go see the live show as well, and since this would at least provide some shade, we thought it would be a good end of day option. I felt so much for the people inside those furry costumes. Dancing around, bouncing, leaping, twirling...it must have been hellish inside. How they were actually friendly to the children who kept leaving their seats to lean on the front part of the stage was beyond me. I get very testy when I'm too hot, so props to Zoe, Rosita, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby and Elmo for shaking hands and giving pats instead of kicking and shoving.

After the show, Lillian was practically comatose with exhaustion. The heady combination of sun, Zoe and a giant waffle cone was more than she could handle.

But Hannah didn't want to leave. "One more ride, please Mom?"

"Do you want to go on the rollercoaster?" I asked, thinking she'd be ready to leave then.

"Okay. I'll go on the rollercoaster."

Huh? My 5-year old, a mere four hours earlier afraid of the carousel, wanted to now go on the rollercoaster?

"Are you sure?" I kept asking as we got closer and closer.

Surprisingly, the line for the coaster was non-existent. We walked right up and right into our seats. I held Hannah as close as I could from under our restraints as we went up the hill and down, and around the quick turns. It was a great day.

Thanks to The Parent Blogger Network and Sesame Place for the opportunity to visit!


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And now for things off-topic. I am now an official counselor for the Nursing Mother's Network. My classes are over, and I'm on the schedule. Yeah! Call me. We'll discuss your sore nipples.

Also, thank you to her, her, her, her, her, and her for all donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at my behest. So kind, so dear, so loving. My thanks to all of you fantastic ladies.