Today was Nora's second birthday. Although we won't be celebrating with family for several weeks, we made the most of today by taking the Birthday Princess to Dutch Wonderland.
I highly, highly, highly recommend Dutch Wonderland for families with kids between 2-years-old and 6 or 7. And, if you can believe it, this recommendation is coming from someone who doesn't like crowds and hates to wait in line! (I usually don't go places unless I'm on the list.)
Now, to be fair, we've only been once so I can't say if what we experienced today was normal, but if not, we really lucked out. The weather forecast did not look promising, but this actually heartened me. I figured the possibility of thunderstorms and some early morning fog/cloud cover would keep the larger crowds away and either I was right, or it really pays to get there right when they open at 10am. We didn't wait in lines to get in, to get on rides or for food; the walkways were not crowded and everyone was extremely pleasant and well-behaved. I'm not sure who had more fun, me or Nora!
As I hope this trip will be an annual birthday tradition, I thought it would be a good idea to catalog what Nora liked and didn't like as I way of keeping track over the years. So here goes:
When we arrived we got Nora a sticker that said "It's my birthday!" We also got her a wristband so she could drink all the alcohol she wanted. Just kidding! The wristband was a "lost child" bracelet and we were able to write our cell phone number on it and then attach it to her in case she wondered off. Morbid? Slightly. Brilliant? Yes!
Then we took a train ride around the park to get a feel for its size and scope. The train was just like the one I used to ride at the Pittsburgh Zoo, complete with an Indian pained on the side of each car. She loved it so much - I thought if nothing else went right the rest of the day, at least we took her on a fun, if not pricey, train ride. I loved that instead of staying on my lap she sandwiched herself between us on the bench, like a big girl. I remember the extremely safe feeling of mushing myself between my parents and I could tell Nora was having the same feeling.
As we traveled on the train through the park, I was amazed at how much Dutch Wonderland reminded me of Kennywood, which of course made me happy, but scaled down for little people just like Storybook Forest, which I also remember fondly. It also reminded me of Enchanted Forest in Old Forge, New York which I went to with my summer camp back in the early 1990s. I was so excited to be doing something with Nora on her birthday that made her so happy, and that Sam and I were able to enjoy, too.
After the train we went on the Merry-Go-Round - I was hoping Nora would enjoy it more than she enjoyed the Merry-Go-Round at Kennywood last year, but no such luck. Maybe she just thinks that every time she goes on a Merry-Go-Round she has to move, and to be fair, judging from past experiences, she would have every right to think this...
After the train she drove on The Turnpike - another Kennywood throwback - twice, once with Momma and once with Abba and then we went to meet a princess and hear her read a story.
Nora liked the picture of the princess more than she liked the real princess...
She couldn't really sit through storytime (even though a "real live" princess was reading the story!) so she went on the nearby wiggle rider, which she couldn't really figure out and then we stopped for some fries at the Potato Patch (not as good as Kennywood's, but not half bad!).
After lunch we took a walk to to look for a boat ride, but the thunderstorms this morning had flooded the creek and they were closed for maintenance. We did find some ducks, geese and baby ducks though and Nora had fun walking with them, though they did some hissing at us.
Once we realized there would be no boats, we headed to the BIG SLIDE, the kind where you sit on burlap sacks. This was a BIG HIT and also reminded me of being a kid and riding the BIG SLIDE with my parents and our friend Jay. Nora LOVED the BIG SLIDE as did I. I did not love lugging her up the steps three times and I gained a new appreciation for everything my parents have done for me. I'm pretty sure I was lugged many, many places in my childhood!
After the BIG SLIDE we took some silly pictures and she took another spin on The Turnpike and then we watched some creepy animatronic animals with instruments play and sing and sway robotically (not pictured). Strangely, she loved that!
Although she didn't want to leave, she was too tired (and a little hot and sweaty) to fight it, so we made our way to car shortly after 12:30 and a good long nap was had as soon as we came home.
I loved our morning at Dutch Wonderland as did Nora but I think she may have loved dinner even more. After her nap we went across the street to have dinner and cupcakes (and potato chips and cookies!) with Missa, Loo-KISS, Keg and Timmy.
It is such a joy to have such good friends so close by and on that front we are very sorry to be MOVING ON TUESDAY but on all other fronts we are very excited!
I hope never to move again, but if we do, I hope it's not the same week as Nora's birthday. That said, if you have kids aged 2-7, GET YE TO DUTCH WONDERLAND and let us know, we'll meet you there!
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