Silverwood Visit at our Coon Family Reunion 2011

Silverwood!
Coon Family Reunion: August 2011

Click on graphic above for a map of
Silverwood Theme Park.
(A great place to visit!)

August 18, 2011

We arrived at 11:30 am and we parked in the handicapped parking lot. Dotti received a temporary handicap permit because of her hip pain before her First Hip Surgery and had it renewed once, to carry through until her recovery from her Second Hip Surgery was complete. We have watched her go from having the left hip being her primary problem, and that carried through to the first few weeks after her First Hip Surgery, when the pain in her right hip took the stage as the primary problem. When her right hip started hurting more and her left hip had strengthened up enough to tolerate the strain of carrying a full load easily, Dotti swapped her cane over to her left hand, and learned to walk that way. It was a bit clumsy at first, because she had been using the right hand to help suppor the left leg for so long. But soon she was doing great with it!

Glenn and Dotti are discussing the merits of space warps versus inertia suppression as the best approach to faster than light travel as they were walking into the park. Of course I am just guessing here. Big Smile

LeRoy was arriving in another car with his girlfriend Rachel and her two wonderful children Justin and Sarah. They were parking over in the regular parking lot.

If you click on the Silverwood graphic at the top of the page, you will see a map that has all the areas we visited shown on it. (The map came from the Silverwood Theme Park, and if you are ever in the area of northern Idaho, or Spokane, we highly recommend you visit this wonderful and fun park!)

You will find the handicapped parking near the middle of the map vertically, and most of the way over towards the right side. Right below it, you will see Highway 95, which we arrived on. Below that, the huge gray area, where the rectangle holding the key for the map is located, is the main parking lot. When you park there, you must walk to the pedestrian underpass, and then up a ramp to get to the main gate.

And a little farther ahead, perhaps, and again I am only guessing, Big Smile Miho was emphasizing the importance differences between the thought of Plato and Aristotle on the concepts of forms and being, while Kai is thinking, where are the rollercoasters? You can see Dotti and Glenn in the background as we all were heading for the front gate to the park, and I was walking ahead of the group trying to see if I could get some pictures looking back.

Once inside the park, we turned left and went straight across the train tracks to the rental booth so we could rent a cart for Dotti to drive for the day. While her left hip was getting better, it still was a bit weak, and the right hip was getting more and more painful every day that went by. So, the cart was a very important part of our plans for the day.

Kai and Miho were visiting out on the lawn, while we were waiting for Dotti to work things out for the cart.

Justin, Rachel's son, brought a friend with him, a young lady who likes roller-coasters! The signs behind them shows the wheelchair rates, and indicates that this is also the "Lost and Found," which is what this building is labeled as, along with "information," on the main map of the park.

While we were waiting, Glenn had wandered over by the train tracks to see what shops were available. He was already having a good time as you can see!

I can tell that Glenn feels about Kai as I always felt about him. And Kai loves his daddy too! I just love watching the two of them together. I am blessed to have such a wonderful son and grandson in these two. I am so very happy that they choose to come and visit us on their vacations as often as they do. It is like the joy I used to feel on Christmas morning as a child and it was time to open the presents. Only this is better!

My beautiful wife now had her cart, and was putting her cane away when I took this picture. She was also talking on her cell phone, or "multitasking" as she calls it. Big Smile

Here is another picture of Justin. In the background you can see "Boulder Beach" the water park section of Silverwood. (It is located at the upper right-hand corner of the map.)

Kai showing proper respect for his father, with a roundhouse kick to his backside. Seriously, the three of them make up a family that is happy, with fun and seriousness mixed in proper proportion to create long term contentment and stability, as well as a passion for living. Dotti and I like Miho a lot. We haven't seen Glenn this happy for a long time. Kai and Miho have a good relationship as well, and the three of them create spontaneous bursts of fun that show that they like each other at a basic level.

Dotti is ready to roll! The cart had a full charge on it, and the park was open to her in all directions. It was just a matter of choosing which way to go first.

Here is Rachel, LeRoy's lovely girlfriend, and soon to be mother of our granddaughter. Her pregnancy was fairly far along, so the walking for the day was a lot of work for her. But she did awesome, and went everywhere the group wanted to go.

We had made it over to Boulder Beach now. They have more lockers in this area and Dotti and Miho were waiting in line to rent some lockers. These two ladies really hit it off. They are very much alike, in that they both are outgoing, willing to take charge of a situation, and make things happen, and eager to laugh. The got along extremely well the entire visit, and there was not of that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stress that sometimes enters into a married situation. They are both jewels in my eyes, and I am glad they got along so well.

This is Sarah, Rachel's beautiful little daughter. She is sweet and a little princess to be sure. LeRoy and she get along famously, and it is hard not to smile when she is around. (She has taken a liking to our foosball table as well and I enjoy knocking the foosballs around the table with her.)

Here is Justin with his school friend, and my son LeRoy, all eager to start having some fun. (If you look closely into LeRoy's sunglasses you can see my reflection as I am taking the picture.)

Glenn is checking out his map, while Kai is looking at Grandpa taking the picture. In the background, to the right of Glenn, you can see Sarah, and Rachel, who was partially blocked by a green sweatshirt. The sky was overcast a bit and there were few sharp shadows.

Time has passed, and suddenly my sons and my grandson are all wet. They have been enjoying the pool and are looking for more fun!

We have had some water fun over the years with our sons. In 2008, it was white water rafting, thanks to Dotti's brother Rip, on the Deschutes River in Oregon.

Also, in 2006, during our Coon Family reunion, we wend down to the South Umpqua Falls and that led to this picture of Dotti with the boys, when they were sliding down the rock slide into the pool of water at the base of the falls.

Since Dotti and I were not going to be swimming this day—for fear of Dotti slipping on the wet ground and possibly hurting her hips, either new or old—we went to explore other parts of the park.

Now, you might call this a study in trains, where you can inspect the various parts of the is remarkable steam engine, which made up such an critical part of our western history, but the real point of the photo was the plastic spoon Dotti was holding and the countertop stir-stick collection. Or am I missing something important in the picture? Big Smile

Here is my happy girl enjoying the day. I know I am biased, but I can't begin to explain how much Dotti's smile lightens up my day, every time I see it!

Lunch break! The swimming was done. We had all met back up again and headed out into the handicapped parking lot where we had the food stored in our van. We thought it would be cheaper and more fun to have a picnic lunch together rather than braving a restaurant during the lunch rush inside the park.

LeRoy joined me inside the van, where we ate in comfort on soft seats, while everyone else "roughed it." I enjoyed the quiet time with my son, since he was pretty busy all day with Rachel and her kids, while also interfacing with Glenn, Miho and Kai. A little time alone to visit was very welcome!

After eating the boys were acting up with Mom, just like old times. The years have come and gone, and taken their toll upon us older folks, but it has brought growth and maturity to the ones we love so dearly. Looking at this picture today reminds me of the other times we have been in this position with my wife and two sons in front of the camera and me behind it.

When our little family left the Navy and moved up to Massachusetts in 1988, we stopped to take this photo of Dotti and the boys, out in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. When my ship pulled out to sea, that huge carrier had to go over the top of this bridge, because they ran a tunnel under the channel where the ships traveled. When the road came up for air on the other side there was a place to stop and shop or eat, before continuing on to land on the other end of the bridge. We had sold our little Fiesta, and our Vega had its engine blow up when I was driving home from work one day. All we could afford at the time was a used Reliant, and you can see the back of that wagon on the right of this picture. (Earlier that day, a few minutes after we loaded the car to start this trip, the tires were found to be dragging on the wheel wells, because of the load. So, we had to stop and have air shocks installed right on the spot before leaving Norfolk. Memories like these are funny, how they seem so important today.)

Clowning for another shot the group was about ready to return to the park and have some more fun. The day was sunny and there was a lot more to do before it was to end.

Rachel flashing her beautiful smile. Looking into her glasses you can see LeRoy, yours truly and the front of our white van, reflected in the lens.

A handsome couple! Here is a more direct picture of LeRoy, together with Rachel. I managed to sneak into this one as well in both of their glasses. Big Smile

Miho said, "The park is that way!" She used her parasol to keep the sunlight off, and it was an effective sunscreen, as well as being an attractive fashion addition.

Two lovely ladies! Grandma Dotti was also visiting with our granddaughter.

Glenn enjoying the festivities, and helping the rest of us to do the same.

This time its Rachel and I who are caught in the glasses, as LeRoy looks seriously off in the distance.

Cheering up for this shot, LeRoy gave me a smile. We were almost set to head back into the park.

One final shot of Miho in the parking lot, with the van's rear door standing open as we were putting things away after lunch. It was time to head back into the park for some fun!

At this point, LeRoy and Rachel took Kai, Justin, and Sarah along with their friends back to Boulder Beach for some swimming, while the rest of us headed over to the roller-coaster part of the park.

We stopped for a little basketball along the way. Miho caught me shooting this basket. I won a Raiders basketball for Glenn and then he turned around and won two of them for me. That's my boy! Thumbs Up!

Father and son, enjoying the day together. As the years go by, I have grown to realize that it is moments like this that really matter. The ones we love count more than things ever could. To lose sight of this truth is life's greatest tragedy, but to embrace it brings joy beyond measure.

Miho and Glenn on the Corkscrew! They are both laughing and enjoying themselves. I was positioned under the track, and looking up at them as they raced by.

Zooming in on them you can see the ride was intense and holding their attention. The girl behind them didn't seem to be enjoying the ride much though. I think she was ready for it to be over.

This is actually the same photo as the previous one, but I left it in its original orientation, and showed more of the train. It was a moment frozen in time, when the players were experiencing a string of events hitting them far too quickly to process entirely. Just as one turn was upon them they were leaving it and hitting another in different direction. Upside down they defeated gravity only to plummet, twist, and then ascend once again. Wow!

Up in the air, first row second car, Glenn and Miho were experiencing an elevated heart rate and looking forward to see what was coming next.

Moving in closer, we see that the child behind them was looking much happier at this point in the ride.

Nearing the end, there was one more drop coming up.

And then they could safely walk away after a fun time on the roller-coaster. The name Corkscrew was very apropos to this ride, but they lived to fight another day.

The next "fight" they took on was the wooden roller-coaster Tremors. The line was fairly long, so Grandpa hit the park bench for a rest.

Meanwhile, Dotti was scooting around on her cart. She was about even with Glenn and Miho in this picture, and she was looking over to where they were standing in line. As you can see, we found that I could strap my backpack on the rear of the cart and it would safely ride there. It made life easier for me. Smile

Dotti snapped this shot of Glenn and Miho waiting in line. Just watching the two of them together, we could see how much they enjoyed each other's company.

Here Dotti was turning back and heading my way. She was loving being able to get around so far and so easily. Her hips have tied her down terribly and this was a lot of fun for her! I love seeing her smile like that.

She pulled up a ways onto the gravel where my bench was located and stopped so I could shoot her picture.

Another shot of the kids in line. Miho looks like she is about to lay a martial arts move on him.

They realized there were a couple of things they were carrying that might be bad for the ride, so Dotti drove over near where they were standing and got out of her cart to retrieve the items.

Back in her cart, she headed back in my direction with a big smile. She was having fun!

One of the problems I have always had, is that when I have a camera in hand and Dotti is anywhere in sight I am clicking away at her. She is the most beautiful woman in the world to me, and cameras are made specifically to take pictures of beautiful women. Ergo, I must do this.

Beautiful!

Dotti has received a lot of compliments on her cane, especially whenever she visits the hospital. The physical therapists ask where she got it, and they all think it is pretty. But we will be very happy when she can put it away for good and never need it again!

This is Dotti's picture, which she took along the path while we were waiting for Glenn and Miho to get on the ride. The bee had no idea she was in an amusement park. She was all business, doing her job. As dulling as it might be for Jack, all work and no play, make for a good bee.

And they are off, with Glenn and Miho in the very front row! You can see the structure is all wood, just like the roller-coasters of the past.

When I was growing up in the 1950's my folks always talked about "The Pike" over in Long Beach, California. It was a wooden roller-coaster that was built right on the beach, and most of the run went out over the ocean water. It was painted white, but other than that, I think it would have fit in pretty well with the two big coasters at Silverwood.

Off in the distance, you see a white tower, which is part of Dotti's favorite ride, when she is healthy: Panic Plunge. People are run up to the top of it and then dropped, only slowing down when they get very close to the bottom.

Coming around the corner into the first drop near the place where I staked out my camera. Miho has her hands up in the air, and Glenn, being my son, is holding on to the bar in front of him.

Another view of that same corner. Things were really moving, as you can tell from the looks on the people's faces.

The train has run through a lot of the course and is now heading into the tunnel drop, where they accelerate right into the mouth of a tunnel. The park snaps a picture just as they enter the tunnel, so you can buy a copy later, inside the gift shop. The shop has windows placed, inside the tunnel, where you can watch other trains run through. Because of the noise and vibration with each passing train, they call the gift shop the "Shake Rattle & Roll Gift Shop."

By the way, the place where the car was running for the pictures above, was the empty track to the right in this photo.

Moving closer, we see Glenn is holding on with both hands to the bar, and Miho is holding on to Glenn. The car was accelerating and the tunnel looked dark ahead!

Here they were, going full speed ahead and the tunnel mouth opening to gobble them up! The girl right behind Glenn looked like she was screaming, and nearly all eyes were on that tunnel opening.

You can tell this photo was snapped from the other side of the car, at almost the same instant as my last photo, just as they were entering the tunnel. (Behind them you can see the sky, and the support for the other track, so they haven't gotten all the way in yet.) It looks like they were having a really good time!

Dad, Son and Daughter posing for Mom to snap a picture. Miho is holding the small basketball that Glenn won. He and I each won a full-sized basketball shooting some baskets, but this little "8-ball" was perfect for the picture.

I should mention the hat that I am wearing. It was a gift from Glenn which I was happy to receive and proud to wear. Glenn worked on the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, assisting them with fixing some electronics problems they were having. While onboard he bought one of their ball caps for his dad. He tossed it to me and said with a smile, "He was the favorite president for both of us, and so I knew you would like the cap." (Thank you Glenn!)

Another interesting thing about the ship, as well as the cap is that the hull number for the Reagan is the flip side of the hull number of my last ship in the Navy (CV-67).

Dotti snapped this picture of me, as I was no doubt looking for something to aim my camera at. Photography is a habit that takes over when you are in an exciting setting, where colors and people, and activities are bubbling all around you.

It was about 5:15 p.m. that the swimmers returned, and the two groups merged once more. Rachel had had a busy day and was a little tired by this time, and found a comfortable bench, and so I used the dark background to surround her lovely smile for this shot.

Miho and Glenn, as always, were obliging when I wanted to take a picture of them. It was a fun day for all I think. I know I really enjoyed it!

Justin and Kai decided to give the Corkscrew a try and here they are, second row from the back on their train of cars. Kai has a big smile on his face!

Meanwhile, Miho and Dotti are looking at pictures on the camera and seeing how they came out. You can see the Corkscrew track reflected in Miho's glasses.

Glenn and I were walking by the Tremors roller-coaster ride, which you see behind us.

On the other sided of the path we were on, was another wooden roller-coaster, which is named "The Timber Terror." I actually rode that one once, but alas, my back was not feeling good for quite some time after riding it, with all the jerking around the corners. The drops were okay, but the corners were killers.

The next ride the group went to was the "Roaring Creek Log Flume." There is a little platform that is situated near the end of the ride, where, after the riders have been through the big drop of the log slide, people on the platform can drop a quarter and a spray of water would dowse the riders quite effectively.

Well, LeRoy and Rachel positioned themselves over at that platform, and they waited, for Glenn, Miho, and Kai to come floating by.

But first there were the other kids! Justin was at the back of the log boat, with Sarah directly in front of him. Then came Justin's friend, and in the very front was Sarah's friend. In this photo they were nearing the bottom of the log slide, and moving along pretty fast.

As they drop off the slide into the concrete trough, the water splashes up and gets them wet. [There is a sign at the entrance to this ride that says, "You will get wet on this ride!"]

This is a shot I included in order to show the alignment of things. It is not Justin's boat, and you will see on the platform behind that LeRoy and Rachel have not positioned themselves yet when I took this picture. What this shows however, is the way the water sprays all over the occupants of the boat when someone over on the platform "drops a quarter on them."

Here you can see that Justin and Sarah are hunched over and getting soaked. The sun was getting a little lower, but it was perfectly placed, where it was illuminating each and every drop of spray as it came over them.

Justin is cringing from the cold spray and Sarah is shocked by it. You can imagine what she was saying at that moment.

Justin is enjoying the moment while Sarah is checking the damage to see just how wet she actually was. Justin's friend looks like she is having a ball.

Look at the seat back behind Justin. They got dowsed pretty good! Sarah still can't believe it.

Here come the Coons! Glenn has his hands in the air, and Miho is holding onto Glenn's hat, which he loaned to her for the ride, so it wouldn't blow off. Kai is ducking to keep the water off his face as they fall.

This is the same picture, but backed off to show you the run they were on. Also, you can see the greenery that surrounds Silverwood. It is set in northern Idaho in a very lovely part of the country. Lots of greenery to surround the park. Disneyland creates a illusion that there is no outside world, once you are inside the gates. You don't see the city of Anaheim surrounding you, the hotels or cars. There is just the park with the wonderful characters and buildings to make it truly a magical kingdom. But Silverwood doesn't need to do that. The area around it is rural and beautiful on its own.

Hitting bottom—Splash!—all you can see in the sun illuminated water is the very top of Miho's cap, and the front of the boat! Kai, and Glenn are completely blocked from view.

Whew! They made it! Miho is laughing, and Kai is starting to get his head back up where we can see the top of it. Glenn is smiling but he also has a questioning look on his face. Wait! Who is that over on the platform with a quarter in his hand and ready to drop it into the machine? It is brother LeRoy and he has a wicked smile on his face.

Hey! Hey! What are you doing? You wouldn't do that to your big brother would you?

Rachel has her camera going, and LeRoy has his quarter going, and you can feel the tension building. Miho is still coming down from the fall they went through and Kai is looking around to see if all is well. The water dropping from the rails is frozen in place by the camera, lit up by the bright sun. However, the water is not finished yet.

Both Miho and Glenn know something is coming and they are looking over where the spray of water will be coming from. They are wondering how bad it will really be.

This is the start of the spray. Kai hasn't ducked yet, but Miho has grabbed the cap once more, while Glenn is looking to see what is coming. The big spray was about to hit them.

I showed the intensity of the spray above, and this is after the main water was gone. Glenn is covering up, Miho is ducking and letting the hat take the water, and Kai is hunching forward.

The spray is over now, but the water is still with them, because they did get wet. You can see the drops in the sun and Glenn's hands, arms and shirt, and Miho's arm and shirt seem to have a layer of water rather than just drops. Kai is mostly out of view, but he got wet too.

Glenn took the dowsing as good clean fun and had a good laugh. And so did Miho. They both really enjoyed the ride!

I think Kai wanted to think about it a little before he made up his mind. He looked back so I could grab his picture as they were heading to the place where they could get out of their boat.

Notice the water drops still clinging to Glenn's hair.

Kai still had some water dripping from his hair and neck as he exited the ride. But he was smiling and I think he enjoyed it.

"Little Brother! He's the one who dropped the quarter." Glenn and Miho are both looking over at LeRoy and letting him know that they know. Big Smile

But no hard feelings, it was all in fun.

Miho and Glenn both really enjoy the ride and they came away laughing. Dotti and I were very happy that all the family had so much fun together!

Miho's side got pretty wet, but the air was dry and it was warm enough, so it all dried out quickly.

And Kai was smiling too, despite Grandpa making him look into the sun to take a picture. Shame on me!

Dotti wanted to ride the Super Roundup. This is a spinning ride that pastes you to the outside wall with centrifugal force. She has ridden it many times before, but she now had one artificial hip that was healing up and a bad hip that needed to be replaced. I really didn't feel good about her riding this one. If something went bad, there would be no stopping the ride in the middle to let her off. But Dotti is a free spirit and she wanted to ride it, and what could I do?

Justin looked it over and decided he was going to give it a try too. LeRoy wanted to ride and Justin's friend and Sarah's friend also wanted to ride. So, the 5 of them boarded the ride.

Here is Dotti walking up the ramp, with no cane or anything else but her two legs and whatever her hands could find to grab onto. I figured she would probably be okay, but how could I know for sure until she did it?

Dotti made it into place and that smile said she was confident this was going to be nothing but pure fun!

First the ride had to spin up a bit, to get to speed and then they lifted it up into the air standing the wheel more up on edge. This gave me a chance to snap some pictures as they were up in the air and looking more or less back in our direction. Here you can see part or all of the 5 members of our group who were on the ride. LeRoy was having entirely too much fun clowning around. Smile

Spinning around like crazy, in a whirlwind, and Dotti looks like she is meditating at the top of a mountain, at peace with the universe.

LeRoy and Dotti are clearly having fun with this ride. Wee!

Glenn was enjoying the show, as were the rest of us watching the spinning wheel.

I was happy to see how much joy and laughter was created by the relationship that Glenn and Miho have built for themselves. And they brought that joy to everything and everyone around them.

I am very proud of my grandson Kai. He is bright, fun-loving and kind-hearted. I am so looking forward to watching him grow into manhood and seeing him do all the things he wants to do. He will be good at whatever he sets his hand to, and I will bet it will be something very interesting indeed. (For example, he is very interested in robots right now. That is a field that is on the verge of exploding into something as big as television or the internet have done in the past.)

The day was starting to wind down. The sun was heading to bed for the night soon, and Dotti and I wanted to grab a little something warm to drink at the coffee shop before ending the day. LeRoy, Rachel, and her kids and their friends, wanted to do some more rides before heading back. So, we left them there for a while and all agreed to meet up later.

Glenn, Miho, and Kai came along with us old folks to the coffee shop, which was located very near to the Information center where we had rented Dotti's cart.

I played around with a few photos in photoshop and tried to make some creative pictures.

I started with a photo I took of Miho, when we were just arriving at the coffee shop. I converted her image to a painted representation of my daughter-in-law, leaving the background untouched, with the people walking by coming out of Boulder Beach.

I pieced some Boulder Beach images together with a photo of Dotti in the foreground. The food, the water slides, and the people, all blend together at Silverwood to create a fun atmosphere. And of course Dotti is fun wherever she is!

I tried a few different things with this image, but I only included two of them here. This one is a sepia version of a painting. Miho makes a beautiful subject, and the setting was a fun one for our group.

I took this silhouette photo at about 7:25 p.m., as the sun was heading down. You can see Glenn and Miho clearly, just in the shape of their silhouettes. The orange and blue in the background tells you the time of day.

This was taken on the way over to the coffee shop, and Dotti was having fun with the kids. It is hard to avoid having a good time when Dotti is around. She just bubbles over with fun.

Miho took this photo of the coffee shop, with Glenn, Dotti and yours truly sitting at the table with our coffee. The setting sun cast an interesting shade on the scene.

Directly across the tracks from the coffee shop, there was the Mercantile. We headed over there to give the ladies one last shopping opportunity, and to wait to meet up with LeRoy's group.

Dotti, sitting on her cart, was talking with Miho in front of the mercantile.

Right across from them sat Grandpa and Kai. Kai had some popcorn, and Grandpa had a cane. My knee started acting up as the day wore on, and I had to use a cane to keep the pain down. I think Kai was enjoying his popcorn more than I was enjoying my cane, but it is just a guess. Big Smile

If you look behind us, you can see the coffee shop we had left only minutes before.

Here is the 8-ball again, and the two lovely ladies smiling for the camera, with a Silverwood tee-shirt in the window behind them.

Grandpa, Dad, and Kai sharing a bench. My arm is around two of the most important people in the world to me, and this is what makes life seem worth all the pain, and the struggles. This is what memories are made of, and what I will treasure for as long as I live.

In addition to being a wonerful son, Glenn has served his country for 20 years honorably, and with distinction, retiring as a chief petty officer. He is a great electronics technician and my pride is unbounded for him.

Kai has his whole life ahead of him and potential that is too great to measure.

I could go on and on, but I am six decades old and I only have so much time to work with. Smile

I am going to close with a picture of my lovely and wonderful wife Dotti, my great son Glenn, and my awesome grandson Kai. What more can I say about this picture?

Unfortunately, the meeting up with LeRoy's group didn't work out at the mercantile. We finally headed out to the car and LeRoy met us there so we could transfer some things between our cars. A lot of the day was more two separate groups than a single group, but it was great that we could spend as much time together as we did.

All in all it was a wonderful day!