While we were on vacation, visiting Haley's grandparents we went to Port Townsend for the express purpose of riding the new ferry.

When we got there it was lunchtime.

We went to a restaurant on the main drag, it was wonderful. We had the best fish and chips and Haley was really good. She fed herself and was very well behaved, she even used the restroom.

We walked around town a little, but it was really cold and windy. We needed to move the Yukon closer to the ferry terminal so we all piled back in.  Haley was riding in the very back with her sister. We drove down the street and found another parking spot and stopped. I got out and was standing in the parking lot adjusting my earmuffs and my gloves when my husband called to me.

He said he needed my help, Haley wouldn't get out of the car.

I went over to the car and looked in. Haley and her sister were still in the back seat. I said "Come on Haley it's time to get out."

She said "No."

I laughed, I couldn't help it, this child agrees to everything. If I ask her anything she says "Yeah." Even nonsense questions get a "Yeah." Haley's Sis said "I asked her to get out and she said 'no.'  She even shook her head like this." Haley's Sis shook her head, it was the universally recognized gesture that meant No.

I ended up grabbing her leg and pulling. I didn't really pull her out of the car, but I think she got the gist that I wasn't going to take "no" for an answer and she reluctantly came along. As we walked to the terminal Haley continuted to make her objections. She just kept saying "no," as I explained to her what we were going to do.

When it was time to get on the ferry she started getting hysterical. She was crying and shouting "No!" and I was kind of getting freaked out.

There have been times in my life when I really didn't want to do something; times that I almost felt I had a premonition that something bad would happen. I don't know if that is the way Haley was feeling, but her reluctance was starting to get to me.  It had been really windy in the last couple of days and there was some question that the ferry would even be running when we got there.  There were signs around the terminal that said something to the effect that if there was rough weather the ferry may not run and that walk on passengers could be stranded.  The water was choppy.  I was already a bit nervous myself. 

I was strong, however, I just kept pushing her on to the ferry.
She seemed scared, but her Grandma was standing right next to her and that seemed to help a little.  I sat down in a chair and asked her to come and sit with me.  She wouldn't move.  She had taken hold of the steel divider between the windows and was holding on for dear life.

She watched as her Dad stood outside the glass and took pictures.  He was taking pictures of the dock and the ferry and turning to take pictures of us.  It seemed to calm her down a little.  He came in and asked us if we wanted to walk around and check out the new ferry. 

Again Haley was reluctant, but I nudged her along. 

We went up one more level and found ourselves in an area that housed the elevator and the stairway.  Haley looked out the window at this point and said "Pretty."  I agreed that the view was pretty and we stood there for some time.  Grandpa came to stand next to us and talked to Haley a little while.  The ferry made a wide turn and I started to get a little queasy.  I told Haley that I wanted to go down the stairs and sit a little while.  She let me lead her.

When we got to our destination we had to get off the ferry.  I got nervous because we would have to turn right around and get back on in a few minutes and I didn't want a repeat of the last time.  As soon as we got off the ferry Haley said "Fun."  Then she indicated that she needed to use the restroom.  We went in and I discovered that she was wet. 

These days she is wearing an overnight pull-up and they don't have Velcro sides so I have to take off her pants and her shoes to change them.  I was in the middle of that process when Haley's Sis came in and said it was time to get back on the ferry. 

I started sweating.

I tried to hurry as much as I could and we rushed out of the bathroom and onto the ferry.  I didn't have time for protests.  I think Haley was aware of that.  We got back on and we sat down at one of the booths.  We stayed there the whole ride back and Haley rode without saying much, every once in a while she would look out the window and say "Pretty."

When we docked and got off the ferry she said "Fun."

So I don't know if she was scared, if she thought we should have headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house after lunch or if she was just cold.  She didn't want to go on that ferry, but apparently she was glad she did.

The Next Best Thing

Last night Haley was filling the air in our house with laughter.  She was having a marvelous time.  I was upstairs and I could hear "WhoooHooo!  Yay!" followed by riotous mirth.  I had to check it out.

She was sitting on the couch with the laptop perched on a pillow on her lap.  When I walked in and took a look over her shoulder she was watching videos of people riding amusement park rides on YouTube.  She was enjoying it as much as if she was on the rides herself. 

For the most part that is probably the closest she will ever get to riding on some of those rides.

The problem with amusement park rides is that Haley has either been too small to ride or too big to ride the rides that I feel are at her developmental level.  Now she is tall enough to ride the rides that have height restrictions, but I am not comfortable putting her on them.  It helps (me) that those rides seem to scare her. 

One of our favorite amusements parks is Silverwood in Northern Idaho.  Our family has a close attachment to it.  When it was first under construction my husband and I were dating.  We were driving by the site one day and we had to pull over to see what was going on.  We could see that it was under construction but the buildings looked like they belonged in the early 1900's.  From those humble beginnings the park has become a really great park.  It is like a giant country carnival and it has one of the best steam engine rides we have ever been on.

I like that at Silverwood the kiddie rides are fun and that parents can ride with their kids.  Haley and her Big Sis can ride them together.  One of our favorites is the Log Flume ride.  Last summer we decided that Haley was ready to try it.  Haley doesn't normally do well in lines anyway, but in this line she could see what was coming up and she seemed to get more and more nervous the closer we got. She saw all of the wet people getting off of the ride and I don't think it looked that fun to her. 

I just kept reassuring her that it would be fun and that I would be with her.  She backed into me a couple of times.  It was a little tricky getting her into the log but we did and she seemed to enjoy it until we got to the top of the big drop.  I was squeezing her pretty tight with my legs and I had my hands over her hands on the bar handles.  I could feel her shaking.  We were all yelling by the time we got to the bottom and when we stopped she said "Fun!"  When we got off the ride and asked her if she wanted to go again she said "No."

We took the girls to Enchanted Forest on Mother's Day this year.  That park also has a log flume ride.  We rode it, but I still don't think she wanted to.  She said "Fun!" at the end of that one too, but just like last time she didn't want to go again.  We also wanted to ride a roller coaster at that park, but she decided to stay with her Grandma and watch.

It doesn't bother me that she doesn't want to ride those big rides.  My Mommy instincts want to keep her on the ground.  I am glad that she gets such a kick out of the videos of rides on YouTube,  I think that they are close enough to the real thing for both of us.