hands up!!! ALL THE WAY!!!
>> Monday, July 13, 2009
Last week was crazy!
I ended up doing so much that I forgot which day it was WAY more than once.
The highlight, however, was definitely Wednesday!!
Jordan was in Indiana visiting Seth, so Jonathan and I decided to go hiking, explore a cute little river town called Washington, MO, and end the day at our old stomping grounds... Six Flags.
He got to pick where we went hiking (I'm not an expert at knowing where there are good trails) and he decided on Shaw Nature Reserve. It's an awesome and HUGE branch of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I loved the idea, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're visiting in the early spring, or fall... summer is just too hot to enjoy yourself completely.
It was very pretty, and we got to see quite an array of woodland critters: we counted around 35 bunnies, a really big turtle, a crane, two snakes, a dead frog, AND 5098073847673648346 million ticks. Haha! Only kidding. There were A LOT of ticks. More than I'd ever seen in my life, and my limited experience with nature. I, personally conquered 25 of the nasty little vermin without a single one of them biting me.
But I think my luck in not receiving more bites/bugs was mostly due to the fact that I had a thick barrier of glistening sweat covering my entire body...
(Did I mention that it was 94 degrees and REALLY humid?)
It was nasty hot, and probably the most I've sweat in my entire life!
And although the view was awesome, and the trails were fun... I would have much preferred to take the adventure when the weather was cooler and there weren't so any bugs.
10 very hot and sticky miles later, we finished. Both exhausted, mildly dehydrated, and covered in sweat-- we decided to go to WalMart and buy some fresh clothes (and check one final time for any remaining hitch hikers) before heading to Washington, MO.
When we finally made it to Washington, we had a nice little walk along the river, and found a great restaurant called Cowen's. We both had delicious little diner* dinners and celebrated our victory over our long hike with a slice of pie.
After dinner we headed straight for Six Flags!!
We both have a soft spot for the park. Jonathan and I met and became friends while we were both working there in the summer of '04. Jonathan still works there, he calls it "his fun job", and once a year he takes me with him to say hi to all of the people we used to work with and have a fun, free day. By the time we got there is was 7pm, and we only had 3 hours to ride every roller coaster, say hi to people AND watch the new parade called Glow In The Park. And to quote Jonathan: "It's not Disneyland, but it's a good show," and he's right. So, if you're at Six Flags this summer, try and stay until 9pm and watch the show. Jonathan drives one of the floats almost every weekend, and the people at the park have put a lot of hard work into it.
I'm very happy to say that we were successful in our final adventure for the day. We rode EVERYTHING: Evil Kenevile (three times), The Boss, the Batman (twice), Mr. Freeze, The Screamin' Eagle, the new Tony Hawk ride, The River King Mine Train, AND he got me to ride Colossus. I hate ferris wheels... I've been stuck in the top of one when it broke, and ever since I have vowed not to ride rides like that... but I rode it... and he took a picture of me at the top, just for proof...
18 stories up, in a replica of the same ferris wheel that graced the great city of St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair.
And just for good measure, after the parade, we ran all the way back to Evil Kinivel, and rode it two more times!! the last two runs of the night. "HANDS UP!! ALL THE WAY!!"
A wonderful way to end a wonderful summer day.
