Happy Hollow

Thanks to some friends here in the Bay Area giving me the inside scoop, we found a really great little amusement park in San Jose called Happy Hollow. It's perfect for those weekend days where you just want to get out for a few hours and not have to dedicate your entire day. It's small - there are a handful of rides, a petting zoo, and different structures scattered throughout the park to play on. Merrick had a blast there. The cool thing is that Merrick is *just* tall enough to get onto every single ride.

The 3rd picture down is on this Frogger ride - the kind of ride that lifts you up in the sky and then quickly drops to the ground. Kid appropriate of course. We stood in line for this ride and I saw that parents were getting on, so I thought...okay no problem, I'll ride right next to him so he doesn't get scared - since it is something he's never done before. Well I started to sit next to him and apparently the rule is there is only 1 adult allowed on the ride, and this adult has to sit in the middle. That seat was taken. Merrick really wanted to go so I thought it would be okay. You'll notice that he's so tiny his head barely hits above the safety bar!

I stood right there and watched him -- he had a look on his face of uncertainty the entire time, but didn't panic or anything. The ride stopped and the operator lifted the safety bar, and I went in to grab him. He started crying, and I felt like the worst mom in the world, until I discovered the reason he was crying is because he didn't want to get off! He had to ride that about 3 more times.