Sunday, July 25, 2004
Yes, we now own an amusement park ride. Shorter than a Ferris wheel, more compact than a merry-go-round, and less prone to making someone sick than a rollercoaster. Plus I can easily deflate it and stuff it onto a shelf in the shed in a few minutes when done. ;-)
Here's the story: earlier in the month I had run across a deal at the local Mastermind store that was offering $50 off the regular price for an 8'x8' bouncing castle. Annie's turning three in a couple of week's time, and I figured that this would be a fun present for her (and her older sister) and would likely prove to be a hit at her upcoming birthday party.
But even at that discount, I still thought it expensive, and the discount was due to end at the end of the month, and I had pretty much forgotten about the idea of picking one up. On Friday I joined Bill W. for lunch, and as he had to do some grocery shopping, I went with him to the Costco nearest to work. Seeing somebody wheel out a paddle boat and then someone else emerge with a large inflatable pool kit, I kidded with Bill about the remote possibility of the bouncing castles being sold here too.
And of course, there it was - an inflated bouncing castle standing over a stack of boxes containing the same model. I couldn't believe it. The price was the kicker though: an extra $50 off Mastermind's sale price, though again the deal was only good to the end of the month. Feeling that some strange synergy must be a work, and that I would ultimately regret not getting it as this opportunity arose, I went and bought it.
That was Friday. Erika was working on Saturday, and as I was alone with the girls that day I figured it would be a good time to do a test inflate to make sure that everything was working properly and that I didn't need to return it - and that it would likely tire out the kids. Unfortunately I didn't need any help in the latter department, as Vanessa had come down with a fever, and Annie was also feeling under the weather as well. I think they had more fun that day playing with the large empty box once I had unpacked it.
So it wasn't until they were both feeling better on the Sunday that things got rolling. Word had spread to the local kids, and soon I was asked to set things up. It didn't take long to unroll the castle itself, and after staking the sides and corners of the castle down and finding a grounded plug for the blower, we were ready to go. From the time I started the blower to the time it was firm enough for the kids to bounce in took no more than 40 seconds.
For much of the rest of the afternoon I bemusedly watched the results, with both Annie and Vanessa (and the local kids) having a blast.
It was overcast and cool for much of the day, which seemed to deter the usual crowds of people who head over to the Beaches Jazz Festival. So we headed to Kew Beach playground after lunch, which is just across the park from the main stage. I understand that yesterday there were a few "names" that made the main stage the focus of attention, but all I heard for the hour we were at the park was the same wishy-washy jazz-fusion-crap that I always seem to hear whenever I've down by the main stage during the festival.
Hopefully there were better acts that the self-indulgent jazz-ish noodling I heard ("and now, here's a folk tune I wrote that I turned into a jazz tune" - nothing more needs to be said) but for me it just confirmed that the Street Fest held on the Thursday and Friday before provides a better overall selection and quality of music.
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