A day at the amusement park

It’s a Sunday afternoon, I’m seated in the living room with my laptop in front of me, jumping from one blog to another, reading, laughing and leaving comments…the TV tuned to Africa Magic, watching a very silly Yoruba movie and chit chatting with hubby all at the same time…he’s holding a glass of cold chocolate and I think ok, maybe I should update my blog…

Last week we had guests, our friends from Lagos came to spend the New year with us and it was fun, they were supposed to leave on Saturday but somehow we convinced them to change their flight to Sunday …I’ve been meaning to visit the amusement park since we moved to Abuja but somehow it hadn’t happened so I convinced the whole crew and off we went to the Amusement park.

It’s called Wonderland and we paid the required fee at the entrance (I’ve forgotten how much we paid), the guys picked up the bill. We decided to walk around the place first before choosing the rides to go on. Our first stop was something called the Pirate ship, it was a ship suspended in the air with some iron like things, pardon me, I don’t know how to describe it. But the pully kinda goes back and forth with the ship swaying from one side to the other. The people on it were screaming and we wondered what they were screaming about. One of our friends was convinced it couldn’t be that bad considering they had been on a more difficult one in SA so we continued our walk.

We went to do the bumper rides and it was fun, it felt like being kids again…it took me back to age 9 when the Ibadan Amusement park was still new and we’d go there to have fun, Yes it was a lot of fun. Hubby said he’d watch so four of us went and rode the bumper cars while hubby captured the moment on video. It was fun, we were laughing and bumping into each other. The ride was too short though, the space wasn’t enough for the cars and it was sort of an anti climax. It ended just when it was being the most fun..but it was fun all the same. I was a kid again! I’m always a kid anyway, people are surprised when they learn I’m just a year away from being thirty (oops, there I told you my age, but isn’t it just a number?)

So we decided it was the Pirate ship next. My friend said she wasn’t going on it, she’d be too scared. We all convinced her and I even told hubby it would give us a chance to make out in our own seat…lol…well we went on the ship, I was really excited. Then the ride started, oh it was the ride of my life..i must say I’ve never been on anything like that. As the ship swayed from side to side doing about 180 degrees turn (hope I’m right cos my maths sucks), I felt like I was coming out of my body and the only thing I could do was scream, scream like I heard those people who were on it earlier did. I was not only screaming, yours truly was shouting yeeeh…one of our friends was at the back and we had recently watched Jenifa (that Yoruba movie, the first part cracked us up) and he said no Writefreak, say ouch, not yeeh and I said ‘Nooooo…it’s yeeeh not ouch’ and continued screaming. All of hubby’s attempts to keep his wife quiet went futile, I didn’t even remember I wanted to make out, the only contact I remember having with me though he was by my side was grabbing his jeans and shouting yeeeeeeh! I think I even teared up at some point, not sure. I looked to the side, my friend wasn’t shouting but it was obvious whatever was happening in that seat between her and her hubby, we’d all pay for it later.

I only got comfortable just as the ride was coming to an end, by then my throat ached! I was glad to come down from that ship, that made me feel like I was coming out of my body. It was wild and crazy fun. Will I do it again? Yes! I’m crazy I know but now I know what to expect and I will definitely have the Mr beside me the next time so I can make good on my promise to make out on a pirate ship suspended in the air…that’s if I’m not screaming again and begging them to stop!

Apparently my friend had threatened to divorce her husband if he didn’t make them stop..she had been saying ‘I’m not marrying you again’ to him. She was shaking when we got off and was useless the rest of our stay at the Amusement park. Not me, I was ready to try other things although my throat burned from too much screaming.

First I opted for a ride that’ll calm me after all the excitement. I convinced hubby to go on a ride where we’d see the whole city from up and just go round, I’ve forgotten the name. We were up there waving at our friends (the other guys thought it was a sissy ride, I didn’t care…and I love my hubby, he humours me). It was calming, just getting fresh breeze and looking at the world from up there, it ended too soon and it wasn’t scary at all!

My friend’s husband was still petting her when we came down ..in my head I was like haba no be the same ride. She was dolling out warnings to him quietly and shaking. We didn’t force her now though we convinced her. We were all scared up there but hey we’ve come down, move on and have some fun, but no way!

There was some water ride which hubby and I and our other friend with no Mrs went to look at, I seriously wanted to get on it but they didn’t want to get wet. There was another dangerous ride, we went there, my friend left his Mrs to calm down. I heard a girl screaming there but I was like, if I went through that pirate ship, I can do this too. The cars go up and down some kinda maze and bump into the sides of the iron maze. I wanted to ride with my Mr but thanks to his long legs, we couldn’t so I had to go alone. I was scared to pieces but I wasn’t chickening out…not when I’d said I’m a tough girl.

So I got in my own car. Held on to the iron rail very well and watch myself travel up and down bumping into things. It was like playing real life car race only I was alone and bumping myself. Was it fun? I’m not sure cos I felt like I was hurting myself for nothing but putting up my face and feeling the breeze while I did that was. What’s life without some excitement? Some adrenaline rush!

We ended it with another go on the bumper cars, my friend was still too shaken to come so she stayed behind with our friend without the Mrs and hubby joined in this time. It was fun bumping into ourselves but once again, the ride was too short and my car sorta liked to drive only in reverse

For me it was fun, crazy fun, reliving my childhood and being kids again with my hubby and friends. Who wants to grow up when you can be a child? lol