Are We Having Fun?

Wednesday afternoon, the girls wanted to go ice skating. So, Masha, Yulia, Vera, Gail and Steve got on the bus and rode to the park, not far from Prevost market. The girls said that it was within walking distance, but it was cold and many of the sidewalks still have several inches of snow and a lot of slick spots, so we opted for the bus. The temperature was in the low 20s when we arrived at the outdoor rink. The girls got their skates, while Mom and Dad watched the shoes and took pictures.

I guess that I didn't mention that the rink is in an amusement park and much to our surprise the rides were operating in the cold weather. After skating, Masha asked her Dad if he would go on the Bomber ride with her.

You can see in the photo that this ride consists of a long arm on a central pivot point that has seats for four people on each end of the arm. When you are at the top, you are probably 50 or 60 feet in the air. While we were waiting to get on the ride, the operator connected an industrial strength hair dryer device to an extension cord and was warming up something on one of the units. I don't know what it was and didn't ask. Finally we boarded the ride. I guess it was made for smaller people, because when I got on, I slid back as far as I could in the seat, but when the restraint mechanism came down to hold me in place, the operator had to use his knee to push it into place so that it would latch. When it latched, it was so snug that for a moment, I thought that I wouldn't be able to breathe. On the good side, I was secured so well that I didn't have to hold on and when we were going forward, we were traveling so fast that it didn't take much effort to inhale. With the temperature in the low 20s and at the speed we were moving, the wind chill factor must have been close to zero. The ride didn't last long enough to get really cold, but Yulia was taking photos while we were riding, so her hands were cold. Really, it was fun. The girls and I enjoyed it, even though Gail thought that we were all crazy. I told the kids that I used to skydive when I was in college, so now they all want to jump out of an airplane too. We will talk more about tat after we get home and settled.