Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Boy Loves Monsters

On the way down to the Outer Banks we pass the home of "Grave Digger" the monster truck. Over the last couple years it has changed from an old monster truck sitting in a grassy area with "no climbing" signs on it, to a tourist attraction.

Everything there is big huge and Austin can hardly contain himself he gets so excited. As soon as he spots it, he starts wiggling in his car seat and saying, "I need out pleeeease. Out pleeeease!"

He often just stands in awe of the enormity of the trucks and we wonder exactly what is going through his little mind.

I am not kidding when I say he could stand and stare at those trucks all day.

He is absolutely mesmerized by all the stuff (awesome mechanical term right?) under the belly of the beasts. Our boy loves monster trucks...not in a redneck way (though I have nothing against rednecks)...more in a "fascinated by all things transportation or with wheels" way.

Within the last year they added a gift shop with all sorts of monster truck merchandise. The last time we were there, in May, it was closed because the team was at an event. This time we were able to go inside and Austin had fun sitting in the shiny championship chair a good 5 feet off the ground. Honestly, I think he was a bit intimidated and scared at first.
In addition to the gift shop they have also, in the last couple months, added a diner with a surprisingly wonderful crab melt and...

a MONSTER TRUCK RIDE!!! Initially, our plan was just to let him go see the monster truck run the course because he was too little to really appreciate or enjoy riding it. Austin had other plans. "Ride the truck pleeeease Daddy? Mommy, ride the truck pleeease?"
We walked over and discovered that there was a $5 a person fee. Mark asked the attendant at the ticket counter if he would have to pay for Austin since he was only two. She said they would both be charged, but Austin could ride it by himself. I. don't. think. so!!! He may be tall for his age, but he is still only two. So, we forked over the $10 dollars (ugh!) for the boys to ride the monster truck.

Who looks more excited in this picture, Austin or Mark? Boys will be boys!

Anyway, notice the little girl climbing the steps to the truck? She and three of her sisters/cousins joined the ride without a parent. In fact, Mark was the only adult on the ride. (Apparently, at that price, the other parents weren't going to pay to accompany their kids.)

As the truck pulled away from the loading dock Austin was beaming and VERY excited. That is until the four little girls started to scream and cry as the truck went over the first little bump of the course. It scared Austin that they were so upset and he started to cry as well.

Honestly, it was probably the noise of the truck that was scary to the girls because this bump is really not worth losing your mind over. And, Mark said they were losing their minds screaming, crying and asking the driver to stop and take them back to the dock. Of course, the driver could not hear them over the roar of the engine.

Now this is a little more worthy of freaking out. For goodness sakes the truck is going over a bus! By now Mark had calmed Austin down and the girls had resorted to whining since their cries were "ignored."

Mark said the course felt like a roller coaster and was "AWESOME!" He loved it! Mark, I mean. Austin liked it, but was glad to be away from the high pitched screams of scared little girls.

All in all it was a great break from our hours upon hours in the car. Had we known we would be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for three and half more hours, though at that point we were only an hour away, we would have at least had some ice cream before leaving!

(**Notice he was appropriately dressed for the day in his monster truck t-shirt. I have to hide that shirt and his John Deere tractor shirt or he would insist on wearing them everyday.**)




PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

26 comments:

Chris said...

The sign of a great mother and wife is the one who is willing to let the boys be boys, once in a while!

Mary said...

Good grief, that is boy HEAVEN! What a fun day (minus the traffic)!

Supercool Hotmama said...

Oh Wow! My 3 yo son would be in Heaven too!

Unknown said...

Great story! I loved the picture of him looking under the truck!

Izzy, Emmy 'N Alexander said...

Great story and I really like the photos! It looks like a really great experience! Thanks for sharing!

tiarastantrums said...

I love this post - I can't believe he is so brave! My son won't go near those big trucks!

Anonymous said...

Talk about livin' large! What a great day you guys had!

My PSF is HERE.

Claremont First Ward said...

What great parent you are to take him to do something that probably made his year. Such a great PSF. Thanks for stopping by!

BTW, I'm going to start hosting a Wordful Wednesday ons my blog starting next week, and I'd love it if you wanted to play along. It's for those of us that just can't keep it Wordless.

Pdyrholm said...

Now that is just too awesome....
I wanna go for a ride too :-)

wow :-)

Great photos you got there. I have seen the monster on tv but your photos show them much better :-)

Robyn said...

Super story, Boys and trucks you can never go wrong. He looks like he loved it!

Ryanne said...

Great story/pictures. Boys sure do love trucks don't they. He looks like a king sitting on that throne! I am in awe of the size of those things, I can only imagine what a little boy thinks of them. I am sure my son would have love it too. I am not sure I could have coaxed him onto one, but that did look like a TON of fun!

Tyne said...

How cool! I am sure they loved it. My son loves trucks, too. I can't believe they charged you for Austin. Lame. How weird, my word verification is nhhhhhhc... random

Shannon said...

Fantastic! It doesn't get any bigger or any better than that for a little guy!

Leslie said...

Oh how cute is he staring up at the truck! That's really awesome that they have a ride too. What fun! I know my little man would love it as well. ;)

tommie said...

Boys and trucks....it never gets old! My boy would be in truck heaven.

Thanks for visiting my story.

Unknown said...

Oh wow!! That looks like a ton of fun! I bet he totally enjoyed himself!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow!! I enjoyed the story and the photos just made it better..:-)

Carol said...

Oh goodness my boys would adore that. Actually driving over a bus. Boy heaven!

Melissa said...

My son used to love monster trucks. And....who was his favorite???? Grave Digger.
When we visited St. Louis, my BIL took him and my nephew to see BIGFOOT. I have pics of my son and nephew in the wheel of that things. HUGE!
Something about trucks. Bugs. Dirt. And bodily functions. All that is good about little boys.(Well, not all that is good, but all that is characteristic....)

I hate it when I cannot verbalize my comment the way I want to. It could be sleep deprivation.

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

Oh, man I would LOVE to take a ride! When My oldest was 3, he went for a desert race in a class 5 bug, just his and the driver flying down the course. HE was strapped in to the racing harness, helmet and hooked up to the radio. In the pits all that could be heard was "WOOHOO!" I was unaware of this little even as I was waiting for the guys to come back! We went to the pits and collected our child who smiled for a month straight! Oh the fun of cars and trucks! :)

scrappysue said...

i love it when words totally describe the thing. monster truck - no explanation needed!

Amanda D said...

My boys would love this too! It looks like great fun.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Big trucks=fun times!

Wendi said...

Looks like Boy Heaven!!!

Unknown said...

What is it about boys and trucks? I'll never know.

tricki_nicki said...

Oh my gosh, that is so awesome. My boys would DIE to be near those trucks! I'm going to show them your pictures tomorrow, they'll love them!