In my twenties, I took a vacation in which I met up with all my family members down in Florida and we had a wonderful time in condos on a private beach. It was pure relaxation, lots of fun. But that's not my story. My story begins when most of the family had flown back to their respective states and towns, leaving just one sister and one brother. The three of us decided to drive upstate and stay at a motel near Universal Studios, and have a day of fun there.
That morning in Universal Studios, we stood in line for the King Kong ride, We stood in line for the Back To The Future ride. We stood in line for the E.T. ride. We stood in line for the live shows. We stood in line for Ghostbusters. The point is, we spent most of our time standing in line. Looong lines. It was clear that we would not get to see the whole park in one day, but at least we were going to try.
In the afternoon, with just hours remaining of our vacation (we were all due to fly home the next day), disaster struck. A storm moved in overhead, and driving sheets of rain soon emptied the entertainment park. Everyone bailed and the last of the vacationers ran for their vehicles to go home. My brother, sister and I became stuck in the Star Trek Make-A-Video shop, watching the storm rage outside, wondering what we were going to do. Frustration and disappointment over bad luck filled the air as we stared out at the deluge. I looked at my siblings and at the relentless downpour. The sky was gray, overcast and the rain looked like it would go on for hours.
I began to have a deep sense of rebellion inside me. I was NOT going to let a little thing like an apocalyptic rainstorm defeat me; this was MY vacation! Wet or not, I wasn't through having fun today!
With a sense of both shock and glee I stepped out into the storm and was drenched in a split-second. I closed my eyes and lifted my arms and felt the rain pound down on my head. Then I looked at my siblings, smiled and said, "Come on out; the water's fine!"
Suzie and Jim looked at each other as if agreeing that my brain had just melted out of my ears. Then they too stepped out and got drenched with me. We grinned at each other and ran off to where the best rides were. We were so soaked, with every step little spouts of water gushed upward out of our shoes. There wasn't any possible way we could get more wet than we were.
No more lines! We ran right up to rides and could go immediately. When we were done, we'd quickly run around to the beginning and do it again. And again. Until the people running the rides told us to just stay put and they'd start the ride over again. We were laughing like fools and everything was funny. Out of the corner of my eye I could see park employees grinning at us.
We got around to the entire park that afternoon. It never stopped pouring. We never stopped laughing. Driving home was interesting because we were all so slap-happy it was hard to grip the wheel and steer. At the motel, we put our clothes and shoes in the drier but still had to wear moist shoes the next day going home. Totally worth it.
I have a photo of the three of us clutched in King Kong's hand, before the storm. It's a good photo, but nowhere nearly as great as what followed when it rained.
The next time I visit an entertainment park, I'm hoping it rains really hard. :D
