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March 3, 2004 |
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What a week. Whether standing in the aisles of Air Force One, experiencing the chimpanzees of darkest Africa, feeling the ground move while witnessing Mt. St. Helen’s blowing her top, standing three feet from a live boa constrictor, riding in a jet simulator piloted by a six year old, going bowling with a four year old or staring wide eyed at a dining octopus, life the past seven days has been anything but mundane. Exhausting? Amen. But never dull. Last week was mid-winter break in and around Seattle. Our grandsons, ages six and four, have parents who work. With the first grader on hiatus for seven days it provided the optimum opportunity for Grandpa and Grandma to have both boys all to themselves. Day one saw us heading for something called The Pacific Science Center. It turned out to be a magnificent facility that, for comparison’s sake, was a humongous Do Zoo, located a couple of blocks from the Space Needle. Kids find the Science Center to be a treasure trove of fun. Be it hands on a boa constrictor (Grandma says “Yuck”), the butterfly pavilion (Want an impossible job? Try convincing a four year old not to touch the butterfly that just landed on his shoulder.), a live TV studio weather set where little guys get to be the weather geek, (Being a TV weatherman in Seattle is hard, you have to think of so many different ways to say “expect rain”.), or a play area off limits to anyone over forty inches in height, there’s always something exciting to do at the Science Center. Grandparents also learn that, with the exception of the food court, the Science Center contains exhibits appealing to a six year old or to a four year old but never to both. We quickly settled into a weeklong pattern of Grandma “hanging” with the four year old while I tagged along behind the older brother. Occasionally Jan and I passed one another like two ships in the night. After three hours of non-stop activity we realized why the Science Center required two IMAX locations. Both theaters were filled to the rafters with wired school children and exhausted grandparents. The film that day dealt with Jane Goodall and chimps. The boys said the movie was “really cool”. I liked it too, at least the parts where I was awake. The Pacific Science Center outing was so successful we opted for a day at the Seattle Aquarium, (lots of fish and an IMAX presentation of Mt. St. Helens blowing her top) and then a trip to the Northwest Air and Space Museum. We toured the Concorde, Air Force One and a myriad of aircraft from the Wrights to the Stealth. But the six year old had his heart set on a jet simulator ride. “C’mon Grandpa” was the constant refrain, “it’s really cool.” His schoolmates had briefed him on the excitement provided by a claustrophobic bouncing box. After a brief training session it was explained my grandson was the pilot, I was just along for the ride. Should you ever ponder experiencing a jet simulator never let the pilot be a six year old whose idea of “way cool” is flying upside down firing rockets at enemy aircraft. Actually upside down wasn’t the bad part. I learned the simulator only remains upside down for ten seconds at which point it automatically rights itself. That’s followed by the six year old immediately turning us upside down again. After four minutes, (four? It seemed like forty), of over and under amid shouts from the left hand seat of “This is so cool” our ride ended. Once the hood was raised my pilot yelled, “Awesome”. He was ecstatic. I was equally thrilled but for a different reason. I hadn’t wet my pants. What a great week, but Saturday arrived and we caught a plane home. By the time Grandma and I passed security, we missed our companions for the week. A half hour into the flight Jan suggested, “check the computer for a good fare to Seattle the third week in April. It’s spring break for the boys.” I live with a “way cool” grandma. |
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