Take football for example, this afternoon I got into a discussion with one of my colleagues who is an Arsenal fan and our opinion differed massively. I love opinion and the way everything weaves and has it's course of direction! How we don't know what is around the corner or how to prepare for it. After every high that is slowly built up is there a sudden drop just waiting to take us by surprise. It's like a roller coaster and here is where I lead onto the events that took place yesterday at Alton Towers...
04:30 - It's said that the early bird catches the worm, is it true in the sense that five early birds can beat the traffic and arrive at their destination in good time. Today we wanted to put that theory to the test and woke up early to head off to Alton Towers. We got on our way and made good time, I had printed out directions using AA Route Planner and set about passing the various check points on route. We passed several service stations, eventually pit stopping at Watford Gap. Shame that it weren't a proper pit stop as I could have done with some new wheels, a new nose even a wash wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Watford Gap isn't bad and as we were hungry we had breakfast here. After eating we were soon on our way and really having it out to Vampire Weekend. If you don't have this album you need to invest into it as it's a great listen and would be a good addition to any music collection. Once the album had run it's course, so ended the rest of the activity as everyone fell asleep...
09:30 - Eventually we arrived at Alton Towers and jumped on the train to the entrance. The children were really excited and I could feel their anticipation as they were looking out the windows and physically shaking with eagerness. Had a result with the tickets and vouchers I had collected and only ended up paying £28 for the entry and this also included the four pound for the car park token. Wicked!
A novel new feature in the park is that they provide you with a wrist band, when you go on one of the main attractions/rides it picks up on this and records the action. The park opened and we headed into Old MacDonalds Farm, here we saw farmyard animals and also a curious toad. A worker had come across it whilst cleaning in the eating area and was panicking about it. After navigating the various rides, one a carousel that on leaving we were informed that we were the nosiest riders ever!
After here we headed to Mutiny Bay and walked passed the first ride Battle Galleons, these were basically Pirate boats armed with water cannons. This not only allow the riders to shoot each other but also guests walking passed. Around the edge are also water cannons so that the guests can get some vengeance. I positioned the family strategically and drowned two boats carrying people ha! We quickly left this area afterwards! Moving on my Girl and Baby went to eat and me and the older two children went on the Flume. They were really eager and jumped straight in the front, I knew what to expect so settled for the back seat. We travelled around and as we began our final climb for the main drop it clicked and they wanted to sit with me. I reminded them to stay seated at all times and then at the top it dropped. The ride photo was classic!!
11:30 - After this we moved on to Gloomy Wood and on to Duel which was like a haunted house but with guns. Basically the aim is to shoot as much as possible to get points, it wasn't very scary but it was good fun!
Here's where the day started to go off course as on exiting the ride my Girl had moved on, we had no idea where so headed off in search. Her directions weren't too great and after walking one way we came back to where we were and moved onwards still without luck. We waited by the Rapids for a while but the lure was too much and we went on to the ride while we waited for her to show up. On getting on the ride I got a call from her telling me that she had got trapped inside a disabled toilet. We couldn't abandon the ride so continued on around, the kids nervous when we went through the water fall area.
The ride finished and we ran to rescue my Girl who by now had managed to break free. There was no flying or soaring though as she didn't look too impressed after her ordeal. Trying to replicate the fault with the door my son went into the other toilets and fell over ending up like this...
12:30 - We walked around and then eventually located her at Air where we met her and then took a short cut through the Gardens. This was easier said than down as if you are reading this and you have a push chair it's not something I would advise. Especially as I had to navigate a lot of steps to get to our destination. Once through here my Girl went on to Hex with the older children and I headed to the Bar. I don't think she enjoyed the ride to much as Boy tried to escape several times which wasn't good!
14:30 - From here we moved on to Cred Street and first went on to the Chocolate Factory ride, it was aimed at children but we pretended to be petrified. Even the jazz hands came out briefly to show the sheer fear we were going through!
15:30 - Whilst everyone was on the Carousel I got the drinks at the Cafe, out through the back of the Cafe was an inflatable area to occupy the children. I entered the football inflatable area and soon ended up being like a red coat as all the kids wanted to play and were trying to get the ball from me and score. Then some staff came and told me that the area was just for children, I think that they were just jealous of my skills! From here we headed outside to where there was a really cool car track. I wish driving around the streets really was like this with the pavement decorated with interesting sites and the like instead of grey boring surroundings. If one of the candidates had of featured that in their manifesto I would so have voted!!
16:30 - We headed back to the Bar and Grill area to eat and even though the food took a while to come it was well worth the wait as it was delicious. As a gift for the time we waited we were presented with a Spongebob cuddly toy, which was well appreciated. After eating we had a chance for one more ride (finished at five) and then headed on to the Towers Castle. Here we walked around the large rooms gradually making our way to the roof much to the nerves of my Girl who was uneasy about the children running around the roofs. After leaving here we headed for the exit and wished that we were able to spend the night in the Hotel. There is so much to see and do that you do really need two days, especially if you are going with children as it is a lot for them in one day but they seemed to really enjoy it even with all the walking!
23:45 - The journey home was a very long one, I was feeling drained after driving such a distance and ended up missing the Dartford exit so had to navigate through central London. Everyone else managed to catch some sleep during the journey, even Boy who still sleeps with his eyes open. I was greeted with the below photo on checking my mirrors ha! Eventually after several hours of driving I dropped them to their mothers and headed back to my Girls. A roller coaster of a day complete but I think it was good fun. The amount of driving I did though I could have flown to Florida!!
Today I feel really drained and really couldn't be bothered with work but I went and saw out the day. Thankfully I have three days off now what with it being the Bank Holiday, with a double header birthday celebration Sunday it should be a good few days! Lets get it started....
