Published: 1 Feb 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

All of the travelers got their things packed with what they wanted to wear tomorrow set aside. They talked with the adult they were staying with about how they enjoyed seeing the park all lit up and riding the rides, too.

Charles told his dad that he took lots of video and he was going to charge the batteries overnight. He added that he hoped the videos he took come out, especially the one he took of him and his ‘brothers’ riding the Comet.

Phillip told his ‘dad’ how he rode the Looper, twice, with Collin and that he loved how smooth it was. The young boy said he hoped that their next park had roller coaster just like that one. All ‘dad’ Ken did was smile and wish the boys a good night’s sleep.

Ms. Judy was already waiting down in the lobby, drinking hot coffee, when Mr. Ken arrived. The man spotted the woman, waved, and got himself a cup of the hot brew and joined her. She asked where the boys were and he told her they were finishing their showers and then getting dressed, when he left the room.

The two adults decided to get something to eat, hoping that it would tide them over until they arrived at their next destination. It was then that Wayne and Dennis joined them at the breakfast buffet. The four adults, carrying their breakfast plates, sat down at a window table and the talk centered around what Judy thought about Fantasy Fun Park.

It had been quite some time since Judy Turner had been at an amusement park. The last time was when her son, Eric, had gone to SeaWorld San Antonio with Mr. Ken, his ‘boys’, and the ‘boys’ friends, and she went along as a chaperone.

“Well, what can I say? This place is amazing. And I can see why the boys want to come here as often as they do. The last park I was at was when I chaperoned the boys at SeaWorld, about two years ago, and they didn’t have very many rides.

“Eric lassoed me into riding the Comet with him. I guess I should ride more with him, as he did remind me that he wasn’t getting any younger. But I will say that having the Fastest Pass was a blessing that we didn’t have to wait in line very long, if at all,” finished Ms. Judy.

It was while the adults were talking that the boys began to trickle down to the lobby with their suitcases. Billy saw that the vans were outside, so he told his ‘brothers’ to take their bags to the drivers before getting anything from the buffet. The teenager then had Robert and Charles help him with the adult’s bags.

It was then that Robert asked his dad why he didn’t tell them about the men going over the wall back home, and then having a gun fight with the security guards and sheriff’s deputies at The Cove. Dad Ken asked his son how he knew about it. Robert told him that he’d gotten a text message from Logan, and a few of his other friends.

The rest of the boys wanted to know more about what happened back home, and so they pestered ‘dad’ Ken to tell them more about what actually happened. Mr. Ken told them that the breakfast buffet wasn’t the right place, and that he’d tell them more when they got to the airport.

When Collin and Ryan came down to the lobby, Collin asked his Big Bro if he wanted to mix up who flew with whom. Mr. Ken told his ‘little brother’ that he should have thought about that last night. The man reminded his first foster son that it took an extra half-hour to get the manifest changed when they left Austin-Bergstrom, and that doing it last night would have negated that this time around. Mr. Ken asked if they could do it for the next park. Collin agreed to do it then.

When that conversation was over, Robert told Collin about the text he received concerning the shootout at The Cove. The teen told his older ‘brother’ that his dad would tell them more about it when they get to the airport. Collin thanked his younger ‘brother’ for telling him that. The young man then began doing a web search, so he could learn more about what happened before he hears what his Big Bro tells them.

Once the group arrived at the airport, Mr. Ken gathered everyone together and he told them everything that Mr. Dan had told him. The boys were shocked that three men would try to rob the estate knowing there were armed security guards roaming the grounds.

It wasn’t until ‘dad’ Ken told them who it was and that they had used ladders to climb over the estate wall that Phillip got scared and began to cry. Collin was the closest to the young Cover, so he grabbed the boy into a hug and told him that he knows exactly how he feels.

The college student reminded Phillip that he had men try to kill him, too, but that once they were in prison, he could go on living his life. Collin assured the youngest Cover that he would also do that because with Rafael shooting at the Sheriff Deputies, it would put him there for a very long time. Phillip thanked Collin for talking to him and hugged him back.

‘Dad’ Ken then told everyone to drain their dragons before going through security. He reminded them that this airport wasn’t as large as Austin-Bergstrom so, it wouldn’t take as long to be cleared through TSA before being loaded onto their air charter aircraft and being seated.

He then pulled Collin aside and thanked him for saying what he did to get Phillip calmed down. Collin explained that he knew exactly how Phillip felt, and he needed to do something to calm him down. The two hugged and then they headed to drain their own dragons.

After their bags cleared TSA, the travelers were loaded onto the same aircraft they arrived in and before long the vacationers found themselves flying onto their second stop, Mountain Top Amusement Park.

After their ride to the airport and their flight time, the Covers arrived at their next hotel around twelve noon. Mr. Ken was pleased they had the five rooms requested and that Collin’s people had come through and got him his own room for him and Ryan, as well as his flight crew.

After getting the keys to the rooms, Mr. Ken made the room assignments. Of course, Ms. Judy had her own room, Mr. Wayne would have Mark and Phillip, Mr. Dennis would have Charles and Matthew, while Billy, Robert and Eric would be in the ‘teens’ room.

After the travelers found their rooms and unpacked some of their clothes, and used the facilities, they met down in the lobby. They loaded into their transportation and went out for lunch before they headed out to the amusement park. That gave their stomachs time to digest their meal.

As the group arrived at the amusement park, there were reporters waiting to talk to Mr. Ken, but they didn’t know which vehicle he was in, as there were three coming towards the employee entrance. They figured he was in the limousine, so they all headed to that car, while allowing the two vans to proceed to the operations building.

The reporters were surprised when Collin and Ryan, two twenty-year-olds, exited the limo and not Mr. Thomas. It was then, that Mr. Ken, waiting over at the operations building, called the reporters over to him.

The reporters quickly walked over to Mr. Thomas and asked him about the shooting that occurred at The Cove early Sunday morning. Mr. Ken told them that he and his ‘family’ were away when it happened, and he knows as much about it as they do. The reporters then asked him if he knew a Rafael Ruiz, and the other three men who were also arrested after the shooting.

Mr. Ken told them that Mr. Ruiz was arrested the day of his Easter Egg Roll, and so were two of his associates, but beyond that he doesn’t know the men and never had any dealings with them. The reporters persisted with their questions and asked him if he knew why that man and his cohorts would want to enter his estate at that time of night.

All Mr. Ken would say was that he didn’t know why Ruiz would want to enter The Cove that early in the morning, especially by coming over the wall. Mr. Ken told the reporters that Mr. Ruiz was detained by his armed security the day of his Easter Egg Roll, and was ultimately arrested for trespassing, and he couldn’t fathom why he’d try such an undertaking knowing they were there.

The owner of The Cove then suggested to the reporters that they all needed to talk to the man and to ask him why he did it. Mr. Ken then told the reporters that he was on an inspection tour of his amusement parks, and was now behind schedule. The parks owner then turned away from the news people and walked into the building, leaving the reporters standing there with their mouths open.

Once inside, Mr. Ken apologized for his delay and shook the hand of Clayton Williams, Mountain Top’s new operations manager, who was appointed when Ben Walthers was elevated to be the President of Three Finger Entertainment, LLC.

Clayton told the park’s owner that he totally understood what happened outside and then warmly greeted Mr. Thomas. Mr. Ken then introduced Ms. Judy, Collin, Ryan and Phillip to the Operations Manager, as he’d never seen them before.

Mr. Williams welcomed them all to the park and reminded them that they had a new ride that year called the Crazy Mouse, which was a Wild Mouse coaster that Mr. Thomas had bought for the park that year. Mr. Williams then had someone take all of them to the FFF Booth to get them their Fastest Passes for the day.

But Charles stopped and asked Mr. Williams if he could fly his quadcopter, while he was there. The operations manager looked to Mr. Thomas for some help in answering that question. The teen’s dad told Charles to catch up with his ‘brothers’, and he’ll let him know later today if, and when, he can fly the copter.

Charles was disappointed, but knew not to argue with his dad right now, as he still had tomorrow to fly the quadcopter, if he was going to be allowed to do it at all.

The travelers were going to break up into two groups, as they did yesterday, but when Collin said he wanted to ride with Matthew, Mark and Phillip, the other boys decided they’d tag along and ride whatever rides they younger group chose.

Back at the operations building, the owner of the park talked with Clayton about what protocols he had in place for people to use Go-Pros on the rides, or other types of video equipment.

Clayton told Mr. Ken that he hadn’t changed those rules from what Ben had established, so Mr. Ken asked to see what was down in writing. While Mr. Williams went to get them, Mr. Ken made a note to talk about those same protocols at their fall meeting after Labor Day.

Out in the park, Phillip didn’t know which ride he wanted to go on first. So, Collin told him they should just walk to the right and ride them as they come to them. So that was what the group did.

Phillip easily rode the Pirate Ship, Octopus, Scrambler, Ferris Wheel and the Bumper Cars. All of the boys, and the adults, joined him on those rides and they all had fun.

The next ride the group came up on was Ghoul World. Phillip asked his ‘brothers’ what that ride was all about. So, Matthew told him how they got to walk through it one time when they arrived. The pre-teen explained that it was raining that day and the men allowed them to see it from the inside.

The twelve-year-old Cover told Phillip how neat it was to see all the scary things first-hand, but for now he would have to ride in a 2-person car that ran on an indoor track that guided the cars as they traveled through specially lit scary scenes.

Phillip asked who had ever ridden it and all of his Cove ‘brothers’ raised their hands. He asked them how scary the ride was and they told him it was more funny than scary. They then told their youngest ‘brother’ that they were all going to ride it, since they were there.

As the Covers were loading into the ride cars, Phillip was still trying to decide if he was going to ride it himself. Then, when he finally decided to ride, the only person outside with him was Ms. Judy, who had decided not to ride. Now the boy had to decide if he was going to ride by himself, or not ride at all.

“Ms. Judy … would … would you ride with me, please?” pleaded Phillip.

Ms. Judy stood there not knowing what to do. She really didn’t want to ride Ghoul World, but the youngster was just about begging her to ride with him. She knew how hard it was for Phillip to decide to try new rides, but she also knew that after he did try them, he liked them. So, she decided to ride with the youngster.

As the two finally got into a two-person car, the other Cover boys began exiting Ghoul World and as they did, they were laughing. Phillip saw how they were acting and now hoped he would be just as happy about the ride as they were, when he finished.

Phillip and Ms. Judy rode through Ghoul World and as they did so, the car would turn them this way and that way to show them the different characters. At first it made them dizzy, but as they viewed the different scenarios, they began to laugh at what they saw. When they finally exited, they were laughing just as hard as the other boys did.

The older boys also wanted to ride the coasters, so they asked Phillip if he would head towards one of them. Phillip said he was working his way to them, but since they wanted to get to them, the youngest Cover looked at the park map and indicated they would go over to the coaster known as Through The Mountain.

That ride was considered a family friendly ride that didn’t have a very high first hill, but it did have lots of turns and twists. The coaster trains were boxy and looked like mine cars, as they followed the track that went through tunnels and around big boulders.

Seeing it wasn’t a very high ride, Phillip decided he’d ride in the first car, but not the first seat. When the ride was over, he told everyone he needed to ride that one to get his courage up to ride the bigger ones next. The boys ‘brothers’ applauded him and asked him, “Where to next?”

The group headed to the next coaster, but again it wasn’t the biggest one. They stopped at another family type coaster called Mountaineer, which was about 80 feet high and just over 3600 feet long with hills and valleys that had some gentle twists and was considered an out-and-back.

Phillip rode up front as compared to riding in the middle of the Comet at Fantasy Fun Park. He figured it wouldn’t be as intense as the Comet, so the young Cover felt he could handle the faster speed and hoped it would be as smooth as the Comet was when he rode up front there.

When the ride was over, Phillip told everyone that he loved that ride and now he felt like he was ready for the biggest coaster, Mountain Run, that was 120 feet high, but only had a 90-foot first drop and went on for a total of 5050 feet.

Phillip knew that if he could ride the Comet and the Looper, this coaster couldn’t be any worse than them. So, he walked up the Exit with his ‘brothers’, and the adults, to activate his Fastest Pass and wait his turn.

When the youngster came off the Mountain Run wooden roller coaster, he couldn’t contain his exuberance. He’d ridden the coaster in the first car, but in the third seat and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He was proud he had ridden it. He told everyone that he would ride it again if they had the time.

Billy went up to him and told him that with his riding the Mountain, the Comet, the Looper, the Faster Up ‘N’ Down and the other big rides he would be ready for the next two parks. The older ‘brother’ then said he was ready to ride everything else and anything twice they had time for.

The younger Cover’s ‘brothers’ took him up on that boast, and directed the boy over towards the new coaster, the Crazy Mouse. Phillip forgot about the new coaster, but he’d already ridden the Mouser at Fantasy Fun Park and this was supposed to be just like it, so he figured he wouldn’t have any problem.

But when the group arrived at the Crazy Mouse, the Wild Mouse coaster was a bit different than the one they rode the day before. This one was a spinning wild mouse.

“I thought ‘dad’ said he bought three Wild Mouse coasters?” exclaimed Phillip.

“He did,’ offered Robert, “but he didn’t say they were all alike. So, we’ll just have to try them to see if he got his money’s worth,” now laughed the teenager.

The group went up and activated their Fastest Passes, including Phillip. The saving grace about the spinning wild mouse was that the coaster cars sat four people and Phillip had asked to sit with Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis and Collin.

Mr. Wayne did ask the group to allow the people in line to go in between them, so they didn’t have to wait so long. He reminded the group that they had Fastest Passes and that they would be back tomorrow to ride and they might not. So, that was what the large group did.

The ride operator and the two attendants appreciated that the large group did what they did, not knowing that they were there with the park’s owner. They wouldn’t learn that piece of information until later in the day.

Phillip went with the second group of riders. He wanted to watch his ‘brothers’ first to see how they handled the spinning coaster car. All he heard from them was laughter the entire time.

So, when it was his time to ride, Phillip sort of reluctantly got in the coaster car and belted himself in. Collin told him to ‘lighten up’ and enjoy the ride. Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis smiled to themselves as they belted themselves in the car.

As the coaster car went up the lift hill, Phillip looked around as much as he could from being in the middle of the car. At the top, the car followed the track and it didn’t start spinning until after the second loop and after that the car spun some or a lot as it continued down the remaining track.

Phillip was startled at first, but as the coaster car followed the track and spun some, or a lot, he and the other three riders laughed and laughed. The spinning car twisted and turned through the dips, valleys and finally the bunny hills.

At the end, Phillip told everybody he has got to stop being afraid to ride something that he’s already ridden that was like it. All of those close by that heard that agreed.

The group then headed over to the park’s newest rides for last year, Flying Around Town, Skateboard and The Hatchet. Since they were the exact same rides as what he rode at Fantasy Fun Park, but with different names, Phillip had no problem riding them with his ‘brothers’.

The big group also rode the Swings, Himalaya, and the Tilt-A-Whirl, before going back and riding Mountain Run again before it was time to head back to the hotel, but with a stop for a nice dinner.

After dinner, when the group returned to the hotel, the boys went up to their rooms to relax and get ready for bed, while the adults went to the hotel’s pub for a few adult drinks and to talk about their day.

The day had been a nice one, but dark clouds had approached as the day ended and they all wondered if their next day would be a wash out. Only time would tell.

During the night a huge storm came through the area. The thunder and lightning flashes woke many of the boys and then they had a difficult time getting back to sleep. The next morning when it was time to get up, and head out to the amusement park, many of the boys didn’t want to get out of bed.

“I take it that the boys are still sleeping,” commented Ms. Judy to Ken, when the man came down to the breakfast buffet.

“Yes, that storm last night probably woke some of them up, and then they probably had a difficult time going back to sleep. If they’re not down here by, say nine, I’ll go up and rouse them,” responded Mr. Ken.

As those two adults were talking, Wayne and Dennis came into the buffet area. Both men said that their boys were still sleeping, as that storm woke them up and they didn’t get right back to sleep. The four adults then went and got something to eat, while they waited for the boys to come down.

About 8:30 Collin and Ryan came down to the buffet and asked where the other boys were. Learning they must still be sleeping, Collin said he’d go up to their rooms and get them up and started on their showers and getting dressed. Ryan followed along to help in that process.

Collin and Ryan began waking the boys by knocking very hard on their room doors. It took some doing, but eventually the boys answered the knocking and told their older ‘brothers’ that they didn’t appreciate being woken up like that.

Collin told them what time it was and that they needed to jump into the showers and then get dressed, so they could get out to the park. Mark and Phillip talked and decided to jump into the bathtub/shower together to speed up their getting downstairs for something to eat. The other boys decided to each jump in and take their shower separately before getting dressed.

Mark and Phillip, by taking their shower together, were down in the buffet area just time to get a muffin and a box of milk, as the buffet is taken down at nine o’clock. The other five Cover boys didn’t get downstairs until 9:20 and by then the buffet was long gone. They all complained that they were hungry.

Collin suggested to his Big Bro for him, and the others, to take the limo and he and the boys would take the vans and stop at a fast-food place and get something to eat, and then they’d catch up with them at the park.

Mr. Ken asked the other adults if that was what they would like to do. Ms. Judy said that she was fine with that and if they got out to the park early enough, she hoped that maybe Clayton could set up a ‘behind the scenes’ tour for them, too.

Wayne and Dennis agreed with her saying that the tour at Fantasy Fun Park showed them what it took to keep the park open, the employees in uniforms, how many rides spare parts they keep on hand, as well as a myriad of other things needed to run the whole operation.

Before the group went their separate ways, Charles asked his dad if he would be able to fly his quadcopter at the park. Dad Ken told his son he could and to be as careful as he was at Fantasy Fun Park. Hearing that put a big smile on the teenager’s face.

The adults loaded into the limousine and headed directly out to the amusement park, while the boys loaded into the two vans and they headed to a fast-food restaurant that was along the way to the park.

Collin told everyone to get what they wanted, but to make sure they ate what they ordered. He also reminded them that if they ate too much, they could get sick on the rides and that none of them wanted to be laughed at because they did that.

The young man added that if his ‘brothers’ got hungry at the park they’ll stop and eat there, too. The boys got in line and they each ordered a simple, but filling meal. It was close to 11:30 when the Covers arrived at the operations building.

As soon as the boys arrived at the park, there was somebody waiting to take them to get their Fastest Passes. Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis and Ms. Judy, after getting a brief ‘behind the scenes tour’, joined them as they walked to the FFF Booth.

Then, Charles, once he got his pass, told everyone that he would fly his quadcopter to take some videos of the park, and that he would then catch up with them where ever they were.

This time, since Phillip had ridden all of the rides yesterday, the older boys said they wanted to ride the coasters first, so that they could ride them a few times before they had to leave. Phillip said he was OK with that, as long as they started slow, as they did yesterday.

The group headed over to their first roller coaster of the day, the mine train, Through The Mountain. Phillip was glad they did as this coaster had cars that looked like mine cars as they followed the track that went through tunnels and around big boulders. And that it was a simple one as it didn’t have a very high first hill, but it did have lots of turns and twists that made it fun.

The group’s next stop was the family friendly coaster called Mountaineer. This ride was about 80 feet high and just over 3600 feet long with hills and valleys that had some twists and was considered an out-and-back. Phillip liked this one as it gave him some reminders of what the bigger coasters would be like when he rode them next.

After the Mountaineer, the large group walked over to the biggest wooden coaster Mountain Top had, Mountain Run. This roller coaster was only a little taller than the Comet at 120 feet high, but it had a 90-foot first drop and it went on for 5050 feet.

Phillip asked Billy to ride with him in the first car. Billy said he would, but he wanted to ride in the first seat. Phillip thought about it for a few moments, and then he agreed to do that. But they had to wait for the next train after they activated their pass, as Robert and Eric had already called First Car/First Seat for the train they all would have been on.

Phillip didn’t care that he didn’t ride with the rest of his ‘brothers’. He was happy he was riding with Billy, and he knew he was going to enjoy this ride. Then, when it was their turn, the two Covers sat in the first car-first seat and when the brake was released Phillip got a bit anxious. But Billy reminded his little ‘brother’ that he rode that coaster yesterday and for him to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

At the top of the first hill, the train car the Covers were in went over the top, but it didn’t immediately go down the hill, as it had to wait until the rest of the train came over. But after a few moments, when the rest of the coaster train did catch up with the front, the train raced down that 90-foot hill and the wind in Phillip’s face got the boy smiling.

Phillip immediately remembered his ride from yesterday and his anxiousness went away and he began to enjoy himself throughout the 5050-foot length of the ride. At the end of the ride, Phillip was whooping and hollering, as the rest of the riders were, because he just had a great ride.

The rest of the group had waited for Billy and Phillip to come off the ride and once they came down the exit, they all headed off to ride more of what Mountain Top had to offer.

The group’s next ride was the new wild mouse coaster, the Crazy Mouse. This time the ride operator and the ride attendants knew the group was with the park’s owner and they were going to have them go one after the other.

But Mr. Wayne told them that they had all day, and the people in line might not have Fastest Passes as they did. The Estate Master told the operators to let the people in line go in between them, as they did yesterday. The ride workers thanked the man for being so considerate and said that’s what they’d do.

The group mixed up who rode with whom on the Crazy Mouse. Phillip rode with Mark, Matthew and Charles this time around the four of them laughed throughout the entire ride.

At their next ride, the Pirate Ship, Phillip made sure he sat in the upper most seats, so he could experience some of the ‘air’ time you get when the ship reaches its peak. The boy loved the feeling he got when his body lifted off the seat some.

The group then rode the Ferris Wheel, the Scrambler, the Octopus and then the Swings. When they came to the Himalaya Phillip balked at being against the outer wall, telling his ‘brothers’ that as one of the lightest, he should be on the inside.

Mr. Dennis heard what Phillip said, so he told the youngster that he’d ride with him and that he’d be on the outside. Mark then asked if he could join them and getting the OK, he joined the two on their ride.

All the Covers, except Ms. Judy, rode the Himalaya. Eric tried his best to try to talk his mom into riding with him, but to no avail. So, Eric had to settle riding with Robert and Billy, who took the outside seat.

When the ride began it started going slowly forward, but it eventually sped up that the people on the ride were almost a blur as they passed the onlookers, and all the time the music blared. Then the ride came to a stop and then went in reverse. Ms. Judy could hear Phillip laughing as he rode the ride in both directions.

When the youngest Cover came off the Himalaya, Ms. Judy asked him what was so funny about the ride. All Phillip could tell her was that as they spun around and went up and down the hills he was being squished by Mark and he was squishing Mr. Dennis and it was funny to him.

Mr. Dennis heard what the boy had said and he then deadpanned to Phillip, “I’m glad you thought it was funny. You weren’t the one being squished by two youngsters.” Then Mr. Dennis laughed. Both Mark and Phillip laughed right along with the man.

Their next stop was the Bumper Cars. Everyone activated their Fastest Pass, including Ms. Judy, and when it was their turn, they took up half of the available cars out on the metal floor. Then, when the switch was thrown, and the cars were activated, the younger boys all headed to smash into the older people in their group, including Collin and Ryan.

It was seven young Covers, aged 16 down to 11, against five adults, aged 20 and up, and it would seem that the younger ones had the advantage. But Mark and Phillip were still novices when it came to driving the bumper cars, so the adults took no mercy on those two and Matthew.

Eric did go after his mom more than the other adults and vice versa, and Robert, Eric and Charles headed more for Mr. Wayne and Collin, which left Mr. Dennis and Ryan free to hit anyone they chose. The twelve were having a good time and they were all disappointed when the timer ran out and the power was turned off.

As the large group exited the ride, the boys talked about how they hit which person the most. But it was Phillip who complained that he was hit the most, because he didn’t know how to drive the darn thing. All of his ‘brothers’ laughed at him and told him the more he drives the better he’ll become, and then they all told him to, “Suck it up!”

The Tilt-A-Whirl was next and the boys tried to get the most weight in the car as they could, so, in theory, it would spin more. Mr. Wayne decided to ride with Phillip and Mark. Ms. Judy rode with her son, Eric, and Robert. Mr. Dennis rode with Matthew and Charles, which left Collin, Billy and Charles to ride together.

The ride started slowly, but as it built up momentum, the ride cars began to spin around on their axis. It really didn’t matter how much weight was in the ride car, as they all had fun on the ride.

Sure, when the ride was over, some of the boys boasted they spun faster than anyone else. But the end result was that they all enjoyed the experience, especially Eric, who got to ride with his mom.

The group then headed over to Ghoul World. This time Phillip didn’t hesitate to ride. As a matter-of-fact, the boy was the first in line after they activated their Fastest Pass. The boy now knew what to expect, so he was eager to do this ride again.

Eric convinced his mom to ride with him. After she rode with Phillip the previous day, she really couldn’t say ‘No’ to her own son, so the two of them got in line right behind Phillip and Mark. The rest of the group found a partner to ride and the twelve of them rode one two-some after the other.

Phillip and Mark exited first and they were exchanging views of what they saw when the rest of the group came out. They all recalled something different that caught their eye during the ride and even though some of the boys had ridden that ride previously, they said they noticed something that they hadn’t noticed before even though they had a lights-on walk through the previous year.

By the time the group headed to the last year’s three new rides, ‘Dad’ Ken and Clayton Williams caught up with them. Mr. Ken was wearing his ‘Owner’s polo shirt’, while the operations manager was only wearing what would be considered a supervisor’s polo. The difference was very distinctive, but people who saw them knew they were someone important at the park.

“Dad, ride with us,” called out Charles.

“Yeah, dad, you haven’t ridden any of the rides with us, so you’re due!” called out Robert.

Mr. Ken looked to Clayton and told him he needed to join his boys out on the rides. The park’s owner also suggested that Clayton better stand by saying that the ride operators probably didn’t know who he is, even though his picture is posted in the building.

Clayton indicated that he would, but was confident that the ride operators would just do whatever he wanted. Mr. Ken said that is not what usually happens, because the ride operators are usually different from year to year and even season to season. Mr. Williams said he’d stick around.

The group headed for the Skateboard first and when they arrived the boys went to activate their Fastest Passes and all their ‘dad’ said, when walking up the Exit, was that they’d just get on the next ride. Clayton saw exactly what Mr. Thomas meant by the ride operators not knowing who the owner of the park was.

Clayton Williams had to run up the Exit and settle the confrontation that began after Mr. Ken told the ride operator that they weren’t waiting, and that they would go on the next ride.

The operations manager told the ride operator to load the group and as they were getting on the ride, Mr. Ken pulled the man aside and told him, “Clayton … your employees …they definitely need to know who I am and, when I am out in the park, I expect them to do as I say! Make sure that does not happen when I return!”

After Mr. Ken’s group of thirteen loaded, Mr. Williams had the ride operator fill the remaining places. Then, when the ride began, the ride operator asked the ops manager who that man was to be bossing him around.

Clayton told the employee, “That’s Mr. Thomas; he owns the park. Didn’t you see the polo shirt he was wearing? Remember him and his boys, as they will be back. And tell your friends who also work here that Mr. Thomas … that he will expect you/them to do as he says!”

The ride operator just said, “Oh”, and continued to watch the ride for any problems.

When the group headed over to Flying Around Town, the laying down, 2-passenger gondolas that lets the riders experience the sensation of free flight, Clayton Williams got ahead of them and went to the ride operators and the attendants and told them who that group was and to just load them when they came.

The park’s operations manager explained that Mr. Thomas, the park’s owner, would be riding along with his family. The ride attendants mentioned that they saw the group yesterday, but that the man in the white shirt wasn’t with them.

Clayton told the three employees to remember their faces, as they would all be back in the future, and to especially remember the white polo, as that is what the owner will be wearing when he is here.

Charles decided he was going to fly his quadcopter while his dad and ‘brothers’ rode Flying Around Town. So, he took it out of his backpack and got it ready for when the ride began.

But other guests saw him do that and called out saying that someone was going to fly a copter and they wanted to know why he got to do that. Clayton Williams had another problem he had to solve and he was glad he was there to experience it first-hand.

The operations manager went over to the people in line and told them a little white lie that the park’s owner was going to ride and wanted video of him and his family and park regulations allowed for it.

One guest opined that anyone could come to the park and fly their copter then, too. But Mr. Williams informed that person, and the others in line, that to do so they needed to be cleared by the parks management, namely, him, as he couldn’t have a dozen people, or more, just coming into the park and flying those things willy-nilly. That quieted the crowd down.

When it came time for the group to ride The Hatchet, the ride operator was the same one from last year, so he knew exactly who the group was and told Mr. Williams that when the man began to explain to him who they were.

Charles wanted to ride The Hatchet with his dad, so he asked Robert to fly the copter while he rode. Robert begrudgingly did so, knowing that Charles didn’t ride the Comet, while he videoed it, so he felt it was fair he did that for his brother.

Mr. Ken sat between Charles and Phillip on that ride and Ms. Judy rode next to Eric and Billy, while the remaining members of the group took up six more seats before the ride operator filled the remaining seats with people who were waiting in line.

When the ride was over, Charles asked his dad to ride it again, but just with Robert. The teen said no one else needed to get on with them. So, Mr. Ken waited one ride cycle and then he and Robert rode together. Afterwards, Robert thanked his brother for doing that for him.

The large group talked Mr. Ken into riding the roller coasters with them and Clayton Williams knew he’d better follow along in case there were any more problems.

The lights were beginning to come on all over the park and Charles wanted to catch that on video, so he told everyone that he was going to fly the quadcopter and get some good video of the park all lit up. He added that he would also get some video of them riding the coasters.

Mr. Ken rode the three original coasters with the group, and Charles got some good video of them doing so. Clayton Williams did go up the Exit at all three to forewarn the ride attendants that the park’s owner would be riding and to just load his party when they presented themselves.

Then it was time for the group to ride the new Wild Mouse coaster, the Crazy Mouse. When the group went up the Exit, Mr. Ken told the ride operator that they would ride the next three cars. The ride operator told him that his group usually allowed one group of people in line to go in between them so their line moves along as well.

Mr. Ken and Clayton Williams heard what the ride operator said and were going to correct him when Mr. Wayne stepped up. The Estate Master told his boss that it was the fair thing to do as those people in line didn’t have Fastest Passes. Mr. Ken thought about what he was told, and agreed that for this ride they would do that.

The Cover’s argued over who would ride with their ‘dad’, so ‘dad’ Ken chose Robert, Charles and Collin to ride with him. The rest mixed up the next two cars with Ms. Judy deciding to sit the ride out as there were thirteen people and she wasn’t going to ride the Crazy Mouse by herself.

When his ride was over, Mr. Ken said he was glad he bought that different Wild Mouse rather than three of the same type of coaster for the three amusement parks. He told his group that it would give the people a reason to visit his other parks knowing they would have a totally different ride there.

It was later than Mr. Ken wanted to leave the park on that second day, but he did have fun riding with the boys and finally he got to see the park all lit up. He apologized to Ms. Judy for not getting her a good dinner that evening, but she told him that she had fun riding with Eric, and that a good burger was worth it.

Back at the hotel, Mr. Ken reminded everyone that they would be flying to their next amusement park, Discovery Kingdom, in the morning, so they should pack everything, and to leave out something nice to wear tomorrow. He told everyone to be down in the lobby by eight o’clock.

Collin asked his Big Bro if they wanted to change up the manifest, so they could get it done tonight. Mr. Ken told Collin he was sorry, but that it was late and he didn’t want to fool with it right then. But he did offer that they should plan to do it tomorrow night before their trip to Crystal Lake. Collin told his Big Bro that he would hold him to that.

The man then reminded Ms. Judy that on Wednesday she and Dan would be exchanging places, so she would only have one day to visit Discovery Kingdom, unless she wanted to extend her vacation. The woman asked if she could tell him after she saw the park. Mr. Ken smiled and said she could, but that he did need to let the charter company know as soon as possible.

The adults let the boys go up to their rooms to start packing, while they had a few adult drinks. Then, before long, the adults went up to their rooms and started packing themselves and talking to the boys about their trip so far.

Everyone was so tired from the long day that they all fell asleep quite easily that night.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com

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