I Don't Wanna Do This Anymore

In my last post, I told ya I'd write about riding the Rocket with Sabrina. If you don't know what it is, there are two towers, two different rides. Here's Lagoon's description of them.

"Blast Off starts out with the carrier at the ground. The car lifts a little as the ride prepares for launch. And then without warning the car is blasted upward 200 feet in 3 seconds reaching forces of 4.5 g's. Once the ride reaches the top the car is then blasted downward at 2 g's. Then the ride slows with air-cushioned bounces and brings the passengers gently back to earth.

Re-Entry starts out much the same way Blast. The car lifts a little to prepare the ride. Then the carrier is slowly taken to the top. It takes 20-25 seconds and the riders are given a great view. But it doesn't last for long. When the car reaches the top of the tower it is then blasted downward at 4.5 g's (faster than falling). When the ride reaches the bottom it is then blasted upward and slows with air-cushioned bounces." 

Sabrina has been waiting to be tall enough to go on this ride since she first went to Lagoon years ago. She is my only daredevil. I had only been on it (both towers) a few times during a trip with the young men and women in the Spanish ward since no one in my family would ever go with me, but I had a Rocket buddy during that trip.

Just to clarify, Alex and Elisa did go on all the other roller coasters with us and love them, but neither of them will try the Rocket. They are funny since they both have their own fears. Even though they go on the roller coasters that go really high up and dive down and the ones that go upside down, Elisa is afraid of the very slow Sky Ride that isn't even a ride. It's just the horizontal ski liftish transport that takes you from one side of the park to the other. And Alex hates the giant ferris wheel. He does not like to go at all, but especially hates when we use the wheel in the car to turn it in circles. So funny kids.

Anyway...Sabrina and I first went on Blast-Off, starting at the bottom. When it was over, she said she had tried to scream when we blasted off, but no sound came out. But she also said it was a little boring. It is a very short ride, especially considering how long you have to wait in line. But she still wanted to go on Re-entry. I told her we'd do it later since Alex and Elisa were just waiting at the bottom for us, too afraid to go on, but having fun laughing at all the screaming, terrified people.

So later in the day, we went back to the line for Re-entry, the one that starts at the top and drops down. She was so excited in line, having waited all this time to be tall enough. We got on and then they raise us slowly up, up, up until you can see a be-au-tiful view of the valley all around. Well, that depends on what side you get put on, but we were lucky enough to get that side. After the ride stopped at the top to keep you in suspense before throwing you downward, Sabrina looked around and said, "Mommy, I don't think I want to do this anymore." Poor girl! I just grabbed her hand and said, "I'm sorry. But it'll be over really fast and then it won't seem so bad."

She barely made a sound when screaming on that one. But it really was a short ride and she was okay. Alex and Elisa said her face was so pale. She said she was afraid at the top, but then it was boring too. She does not like to admit she gets scared. She wants to do it again next time we go--next year maybe.

This is just a random video from YouTube in case you want a rider's view. Unfortunately, they had a view of the end of the park instead of the valley view. See how short the ride is? Although, I must say that it feels lots faster when you are actually on the ride.


Sooooo leave it to me to have a lesson with this story. I even thought of it while Sabrina and I were up at the top before we started plunging to the earth. Hehe It's just like all of us in the pre-existence, before coming to Earth. We were told that it wouldn't all be easy and smooth. We'd have trials and even huge challenges while here. It didn't matter to us. We were still so excited to come down and have all these experiences. We waited anxiously for our time to come. Then we get here, forgetting our past life for now, and find ourselves at one time or another at the top, ready to plunge. We see and feel all the pain and fear. We cry out to our Father, "I don't wanna do this anymore", but he does not stop the ride. He could rescue us, unlike me with Sabrina, but he choses not to. Why? He knows we can do it. He knows we will grow and become strong and more like our Savior if we chose to hold on tight and do our best to get through it. Then at the very end, probably not until we pass into our next life, we'll say how short that seemed and maybe even that it was fun.
So let's hold on tight!