The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 6. Having More Fun

The next morning, I called each of the rooms and made sure everyone was up and getting ready again. Today, we were going to the Adventure Aquarium in Philly, since I figured it was another activity that all of us could enjoy. Once we were gathered together, we set out to be amazed.

We started off at the ‘West African River Experience,’ where we met Button and Genny, two humongous Nile hippos. We learned that hippos were the most dangerous animals in Africa and can open their mouths up to four feet. That’s wide enough for them to be capable of snatching Kylie, Joshie or Lucas while they are standing up. However, as we watched these particular creatures, they didn’t seem to be very dangerous. Instead, they acted like a couple of kids, as they frolicked together in the water and pressed their noses against the viewing glass.

“Papa, I could fit in his mouth,” Joshie squealed, when one of the hippos opened wide.

“Yes, you could, but I don’t think you’d want to do that,” I teased.

“No! It would squish you,” Lucas added, while giving his cousin a concerned glance.

The hippos were actually quite comical, but we were also impressed by the variety of birds that were in the enclosure with them, along with the African porcupine.

From there, we went to ‘Shark Realm,’ which was a fascinating, yet slightly terrifying exhibit. This was due to the fact that we were in a transparent tunnel running through the tank and surrounded by an assortment of sharks and other creatures. It really made us feel as if we were underwater and at the mercy of those terrifying creatures.

“Can we go somewhere else?” Megan asked, as one of the sharks swam in her direction. “I feel like that shark wants to eat me.”

“He probably does,” her brother, Jordan, quipped. “At least until it finds out you don’t taste very good.”

Megan shot daggers in his direction, to let him know she wasn’t amused.

“Well, he’d throw up if he tried to eat you,” she countered, looking satisfied.

“Not throw up,” Jordan replied. “It might look that way, but I’d really have just fought my way back out.”

The others ignored the siblings little give and take and continued to talk excitedly about this experience. They did this until we left that area and made our way to the ‘Jules Verne Gallery.’ Here we got to see a few of the creatures that make the deepest parts of the ocean their home. This included a translucent jellyfish, a Giant Spider Crab and a Giant Pacific Octopus. These were truly weird looking creatures and something Captain Nemo might have seen if he’d looked out a viewing window in the Nautilus.

“Those are funny looking!” Kylie exclaimed, while pointing at the unusual creatures.

“They are probably thinking the same think about you,” her brother, Nicky, retorted.

“I’m not funny looking,” Kylie whined. “I’m pretty. Just ask Papa.”

While Kylie looked for my approval, her brother decided to let it drop, since he figured he wasn’t about to win this discussion.

After we finished up there, we had to hurry to the ‘4-D Theater,’ where we got to enjoy the ‘Happy Feet 4-D Experience.’ This is a 12-minute clip from the movie that has been made into 3-D, and then enhanced with 4-D multi-sensory effects. Of course, the younger ones loved it and squealed in delight as the movie played. This was followed by a viewing of ‘Planet Earth 4-D,’ which gave us a unique view of interesting animals, exotic plant life and some splendid natural features, such as a waterfall. This was truly worth the time spent there and we all enjoyed it immensely.

Upon leaving the theater, we made our way to ‘Irazu Falls’ and could hear the rumble of the massive rainforest waterfall long before we could see it.

“What’s that noise?” Joshie wanted to know.

“You’ll find out soon,” Dion told him, “and I think it will be more fun if you discovered what it is on your own.”

Joshie seemed slightly disappointed by his father’s response, but agreed to do what Dion suggested. The falls is two full stories high, with 400 gallons of water flowing into the pool below.

“Wow, that’s really big!” Joshie exclaimed, as he strained to look up, so he could see the top of the waterfall.

“I wouldn’t want to be up there,” Lucas added. “I’d be afraid I might fall.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Kylie told him.

Her comment shocked Lucas, but didn’t surprise me at all. As I mentioned earlier, Kylie is the adventurous type and doesn’t shy away from risks, much to her parents’ dismay.

The pool below the falls was filled with a variety of marine life from the Amazon, which includes Arowana (which has a bony head and elongated body), Pacu (which is related to piranha) and Freshwater Stingrays, as well as several other species of aquatic life. As we viewed this area, we were enveloped by the beat of primitive tribal music and surrounded by the exotic calls of various Rainforest animals. This only added to the impression that we were somewhere deep in the Amazon and occasionally caused one of us to turn quickly, to see if what was causing the noise we heard was nearby.

From there, we made our way to the ‘Caribbean Currents’ area, which contained an assortment of exhibits displaying many different types of creatures. There were brightly colored tropical fish, sea horses, pipefish and barracudas, along with some colorful birds. We saw blue and gold macaws, and double yellow-headed amazons. I think we all found this to be quite fascinating, but it was soon time to move on.

Next, we journeyed to the ‘Ocean Realms’ exhibit, where we were introduced to Pearl and Opal, the two shark rays.

“They really do look like a shark and a stingray had been messing around with each other,” Jordan whispered to Little Ricky, Andrew, Jesse and Nicky.

I also overheard his comment, but didn’t say anything. However, I did wonder if anyone else had heard him or had caught any of the other comments the boys were making about whether such a mating would be possible.

The shark rays are also called bowmouth guitarfish, although I’m not sure why. These creatures can grow to be up to nine feet long and are typically found in Indo-Pacific waters. They are often referred to as the pandas of the aquatic world, because they are extremely rare and not often found in an aquarium setting. There are fewer than ten places in the world where you can see shark rays on display and this is one of them. Knowing this tidbit of information made our time here a truly unique and memorable experience.

In this area, we also got to see Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Cownosed Stingrays and a school of over 2,000 Blueback Herring. Joshie and Lucas seemed the most fascinated by these creatures and continued to talk about them as we made our way to the next location.

Before long, we arrived at ‘Seal Realm,’ where eleven seals spend their day playing and swimming with their trainers and each other. We got to see them from two different angles, with one of them being underwater. We were able to peer at them through the side of the tank, but we also got to see them on the surface of the water and on the land areas too. The kids even got to observe the trainers feed fish to the seals, when they rewarded them for performing for our benefit.

“Can we feed them too?” Joshie wanted to know.

“I’m afraid not,” Dion told him. “Only their trainers get to do that.”

Joshie was a little disappointed with the reply.

“They’re funny,” Lucas commented next. “I like their whiskers and they do neat tricks.”

“Yes, they do,” Jake assured him, as we were leaving that area and moving on to our next location.

Having arrived at ‘Penguin Island,’ we immediately knew the children would love being here. In fact, it was the highlight of our time at the Adventure Aquarium. As happened with the seals, we got to see the African Penguins from two different vantage points and were impressed with how they swam, dived and frolicked about in the water.

“Are they all babies, Papa?” Joshie asked, while looking into the tank.

“No, Little Man, that’s as big as they get,” I answered.

“But they’re tiny,” Lucas added, after overhearing our conversation.

“They are about the same size as a chicken and grow to be about twelve inches tall.”

“I was bigger than that as a baby,” Kylie added, joining our discussion.

“That’s very true,” I confirmed, “since you were all at least eighteen inches long when you were born.”

The kids spent the next few minutes pondering this, because I think they all expected the penguins to be much larger. It wasn’t easy, but we finally had to drag them away from there, so we could see the other exhibits.

I could tell the parents were a little nervous as we entered the next area, which was the ‘Touch-a-Shark’ exhibit. This was on the second-floor of the aquarium, where there was a tank with an assortment of Indo-Pacific Brown-banded and White-spotted Bamboo Sharks, along with some Smooth Dogfish Sharks. I was somewhat amazed to see how bravely Jordan, Nicky Joshie and Kylie placed their hands in the water and began to stroke the small sharks as they swam by. Eventually, most of the others joined in too, but in the end, it turned out the kids were braver than their mothers. The women weren’t as eager to touch these aquatic carnivores, but they eventually did it, merely to please their offspring.

From there, we went directly to ‘Creature Feature,’ where the children were able to see and touch a variety of other animals. There were several varieties of colorful seastars, anemones, crabs, snails and much, much more. This area was a little less frightening for the parents, so the kids were able to participate more freely here.

“How come some of them have hard skin and others have soft skin?” Lucas asked his mother.

“Some have a type of shell, to protect them from others,” Elizabeth told him.

“But it isn’t fair if some of them have it and others don’t,” Lucas reasoned, although his mother didn’t try to explain why this was so.

The hands-on experience continued when we reached ‘Interactive Inlet’ and my grandchildren got to safely touch a pulsing moon jellyfish, slimy shrimp, freshwater stingrays and lobsters, to name a few. Once again, the kids were fascinated and the parents were slightly on edge, until we left this area and made our way to our next stop.

The ‘Rainforest Rendezvous’ is a Mayan-inspired exhibit where we got to meet another collection of animals we wouldn’t normally encounter. Here, we got to see a chinchilla, a short-tailed Opossum, diamondback terrapins (turtles) and a Degu – a six-foot long boa constrictor. Although the children weren’t able to touch any of these, for obvious reasons, they were able to handle a collection of fossils that were hidden within this charming display.

“That temple looks the same as the ones from that group that said the world was going to end in 2012,” Nicky observed.

“Yes, the temple was meant to represent one of the Mayan temples,” I told him, “but there is some question as to whether they were actually predicting the world would end or if we’d just be starting over on their long calendar.”

We discussed this a little longer and Jordan, Little Ricky, Andrew and Jesse all got involved in our conversation too. Eventually, I think I convinced them that the Mayans calendar did stop on a specific date, but they expected to start a new calendar cycle, once that point was reached.

We were nearly finished seeing all of the exhibits when we approached ‘Feather Ridge.’ This area is designed as a West African River Experience and gave us the opportunity to view a variety of birds, which included Cattle Egrets, Abdim Storks and Violet Turacos, among others. We even climbed up to the second-story platform so the kids could feed the birds. Megan, however, wanted nothing to do with this activity, since she was still upset about the earlier accident, but the others got a thrill out of doing it.

We finished up our day at the Adventure Aquarium by stopping at ‘Gill’s Clubhouse.’ This is an interactive play zone where the kids had a chance to view the inner workings of a shark. This was done via a shark x-ray and then they tested their sense of smell compared to that of a shark, by smelling some infamous odors.

“Some of that stuff is stinky,” Lucas told me, once he finished his little experiment. I merely nodded my head in agreement.

The children were also given a chance to build a shark from scratch on one of the virtual games. This turned out to be a very interesting, and humorous activity. I’m not sure even Mother Nature could have imagined some of the weird creatures the kids managed to put together.

While we were there, the kids were also able to get a good look at some Zebra Sharks, which had only recently arrived there. These creatures also go by the name Leopard Sharks, because although they start out with stripes, they end up with spots.

We were all very upbeat as we left the building, so I decided to stop and ask the children what they thought of this stop.

“Did you like the aquarium?” I asked.

“It was great, Papa,” Lucas answered first. “I had a lot of fun there.”

“Yes, it was fun touching so many different things, but I didn’t like it when that bird pooped on my arm,” Megan chimed in. “I didn’t think I’d want to reach in and touch all the other animals after that happened, but I’m glad I did.”

“Me too,” Kylie added. “I wasn’t scared the sharks were gonna bite me, so I had fun too.”

Overall, I’d say these comments vindicated my decision to bring them here. Heck, everyone else had favorable comments about their time there as well, even the adults.

Since our visit took us past midday, we stopped for a late lunch and then hopped on I-75, as we headed toward our next destination. We arrived there in the late afternoon and decided to spend some time at the motel pool first, before going out to dinner.

The young ones had a great time in the water and seemed as much at home there, as the creatures we had seen at the aquarium. They even interacted with the handful of other children that were there, as they splashed and batted around the beach ball one of the other kids had brought with him.

As the minutes flew past, I finally urged them to get out of the pool and dry off, so we could go back to our rooms and change. Once everyone was properly attired, we went out for a quick bite to eat, before we took in a movie. We ended up splitting between two different theaters, as the younger children and their parents went one way, while Jake and I followed the older boys to a different location. We felt there should be some adults with each group, since none of the boys were extremely large or overly intimidating, and I wasn’t certain if I was willing to classify Robert as an adult, after watching him with the others.

Once the movies ended, we returned to our rooms and turned in for the night. It had been a long day, although an extremely satisfying one, and we all slept very well.

The following day was intended to merely be a fun day for the kids, because we were spending it at Hershey Park. I had brought the family here several years back, but since it had been so long ago and they were all older now, I felt they’d enjoy going there again.

When we got to the park, there was some discussion about how we were going to split up, but this got settled very quickly. The older boys were more than ready to try out the wide selection of rides, so Robert volunteered to go with them. Then Michael and Adrian decided they wanted to spend some time with their sons, so they went with them as well. Before they left, however, the rest of us could tell that Tim and Jake wanted to be part of that group as well, but were reluctant to suggest it. After watching them squirm for a few minutes, we told them to go ahead and have a good time. This left the ladies, Dion, Trey and me to take the younger ones on the kiddie rides.

I thought Megan might want to go with the older group, since she was nearly ten, but she decided she’d rather stay with Kylie and spend time with her. Therefore, we set out with our little group and got ready to enjoy the thrills the park could provide them.

The little ones were having a blast moving from one ride to another, and there even were a few rides that we, as adults, could go on with them. Not only that, but there was a wide array of possibilities, from the water variety that went around in circles to rides that scrambled your insides and others that lifted you up into the air. During this process, the kids were also able to sit in or on a variety of animal shapes, trucks, balloons, helicopters and a pirate ship.

Just after midday, I called the other groups and told them where to meet us for lunch. I thought we should chow down together, so we could discuss how the morning had gone, before we split up again. Everything was pretty much as I’d imagined, until it was time to form our groups again. This time, the fathers decided their wives should go and spend time with their sons and Jake encouraged me to go with them too. He also tried to get Dion and Trey to go with the older group as well, but they wanted to stay with Joshie, so Jake quit trying to get them to change their minds. I’m not certain if Jake and the other guys were doing this for our benefit or because the boys had taken them on so many rides that they’d had their fill of having ‘fun’ in half the time.

The afternoon went about the same as the morning, except I was being dragged on rides that were more aggressive and exacted a greater toll than the ones I had ridden in the morning. These rides actually did the same things that the kiddie rides had done, but to a far greater degree, much to my discomfort. My sons, grandsons, daughters and daughter-in-law were having fun watching me suffer; as I endured what these contraptions were doing to my body. No matter how bad it got, I was determined I wasn’t going to sit this out. It was providing me with the opportunity to see my grandsons as the young men they have grown into, instead of the little boys I remembered from the past. In fact, the two of them joined me on many rides and, at one point, even made an admission.

“Papa, Nicky and I want to thank you for what you’ve done for us,” Jordan began.

“This vacation was mostly your parents’ idea, not just mine,” I replied. “You should make sure you thank them too.”

“No, it’s not just about the things we’ve done with everyone,” Nicky corrected, “but that’s been great too.”

“Then what are you talking about?” I asked, puzzled.

“We’re thanking you for noticing that we’ve grown up and for letting Jesse and Andrew show us the stuff we wanted to know,” Jordan explained.

“Ah, the sexual experimentation,” I acknowledged, in a very hushed tone.

“Yes, it’s been great and Jordan and I have learned a lot,” Nicky added. “That’s why we wanted to thank you. Jesse and Andrew said they wouldn’t have done anything with us, unless you said it was okay.” I merely smiled in response.

“At first we thought it was kind of gross that you’d know what we were doing,” Jordan admitted, “but then Jesse and Andrew explained that you were just trying to protect us. They said they tell you almost everything they do and you don’t get mad at them or make a big deal about it, but you do help them figure out what types of things would be all right for them to do. Since we began to understand this is one way you help them, we figured we should let you help us too. We were kind of uncomfortable about it at first, but now that we see you don’t think of us as babies any longer, we decided Jesse and Andrew might be right and we should trust you too.”

“I’m glad you came to that conclusion, but I also must admit there were still some times I think of you boys as being younger. I don’t feel that way any longer,” I confessed, “and after watching you closely, there’s no doubt you have each grown into very intelligent and handsome young men. That’s why the memories I have of the little boys who used to spend so much time with us are just that, wonderful memories.” This time, they both smiled.

“Do you think we could spend even more time with you guys, when our parents aren’t there too?” Nicky asked. I could see the anticipation etched upon his face.

“I would have no problems with that,” I confirmed, “but the final decision would belong to your parents.”

“What if we talk them into letting us spend another week with you, after they go back home?” Nicky asked, hopefully.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but I’m not sure your parents would be willing to say yes on such short notice,” I replied. Nicky looked crestfallen, but Jordan seemed undeterred.

“Let us worry about getting our parents to agree,” he offered. “We’ll talk to them about this and you won’t have to say a thing, except to tell them it’s alright with you.”

“That would be good, because I’d rather not get caught in the middle of this, especially if your folks aren’t keen about your proposal,” I clarified.

“And if they won’t let us stay now, what about at Christmas?” Nicky suggested. “We’re all coming to your house this year, so maybe we could stay longer and go home after New Year’s.”

“Again, you’ll have to talk to your parents about this,” I offered. “I would have no problems with you staying with us, but I hope you aren’t just doing this to have sex.”

“No!” Jordan shouted. “We’ve really had a good time with Jesse and Andrew, but we also want to spend more time with the rest of you too. Please, Papa. It’s not just about the other stuff we’ve been doing.”

Jordan seemed to be sincere, so I took him at face value and agreed I’d let their parents know this would be fine with me, as long as it also met their approval. The boys seemed satisfied with my response and each one hugged me, after we finished our little talk.

After going on another ride with my grandsons, I went on a few others with my sons, daughters and daughter-in-law. This gave me a chance to bond with them as well, since I don’t get to see the girls and Robert often enough to keep totally in touch with what’s going on in their lives. Sometimes there are things they will only talk to me about in private, such as when we are on a ride alone, so this was working out well. By the time we rejoined the others, I think we all felt we understood each other much better.

By the end of the day, we were all getting tired and felt we had been on more than enough rides. Once we left the park, we still had to drive to the motel, which was some distance from the park. That was because I had previously selected where we would stay tonight based on our last destination. Tomorrow would be the final day of our vacation and then we’d be returning home, so I wanted to make sure we were able to enjoy the final 24-hours of our trip.

After stopping to eat, we made the final push to the motel and turned in almost immediately. It had been a long and tiring day, so we were all more than ready to grab a few winks, as we prepared for tomorrow.

After downing a quick breakfast, we hopped in the vehicles again. Our last stop was to be another location my grandsons’ parents had suggested and a place I had not visited since their parents were teens. We were going to the Gettysburg National Military Park. As we pulled up in front of the Museum and Visitor Center, the boys figured out where we were.

“This is where they fought that big battle in the Civil War, isn’t it?” Nicky stated.

“Yes, this is Gettysburg,” Jordan added. “I learned about it in school, but I also saw a re-creation of the battle on that television program.”

“You are both correct,” I agreed. “A huge battle took place here from July 1 to July 3, 1863.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize it happened so close to the Fourth of July!” Nicky explained, as he put the pieces together.

“Yes, just thirteen years shy of the nation’s centennial birthday celebration,” I agreed.

“Papa, why was this battle so important?” Megan wanted to know.

“For several reasons,” I began. “First of all, the south had been winning most of the battles before this and it looked as if they might even win the war. Second, most of the fighting had taken place in the southern states, so the south decided if they fought some battles on northern soil it might turn the north’s attitudes against the war and then they’d pressure Lincoln to end the fighting. Third, by eventually winning this battle, the North proved it was capable of also winning the war, which silenced many of the war critics. Finally, President Lincoln’s speech, which he gave when dedicating the battlefield cemetery four months after the fighting ended, helped to immortalize this particular battle.”

“That speech started out funny,” Nicky said. “It didn’t make any sense.”

“It does if you look at it closely,” I replied. “It begins, ‘Four score and seven years ago, our Fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation…’”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Nicky insisted.

“Let me explain,” I offered. “A score is a term that isn’t used much any longer, but it was a way to indicate a period of twenty year. Therefore, four score and seven years ago is a poetic way of saying eighty-seven years ago. Do you remember that I said the battle took place thirteen years before the centennial?” The kids nodded.

“Well, a centennial is one hundred years and thirteen years short of that would be eight-seven years or four score and seven,” I continued. Suddenly, I could see the light bulbs turning on in their heads.

“Oh, I get it now,” Nicky beamed.

“So he was just saying eighty-seven years ago the nation started, but he was using fancy words to do it,” Jordan added.

“Yes, I guess that’s one way to put it,” I confirmed. “The victory here helped shift the momentum of the war in favor of the North and was an important link in keeping the country together, rather than splitting it in half. That’s what President Lincoln was saying in his speech and what we celebrate at this special place.”

“Why didn’t our teachers explain it like this?” Nicky wondered. “It makes more sense now.”

“I’m not sure if I can answer for your teachers, but I’m glad you understand it now,” I answered.

I felt the kids were now prepared to see the sights. We started at the Museum, where we saw many artifacts from the Civil War era. During our time there, we were able to observe how the soldiers lived and the types of tents they would have used when camping out. We also saw examples of the clothes they wore and the various items they might have used in their daily lives. This included various games they might have played, an assortment of items required for drinking or smoking, and letters the soldiers had written home to their families. There were also many photographs of people who had lived during this period of history and examples of the musical instruments they might have used to entertain themselves and their comrades, when they weren’t fighting or marching.

The museum also had a special auditorium that featured the Gettysburg Cyclorama. This is a large painting that depicts one decisive skirmish that took place at Gettysburg – Pickett’s Charge. What makes it unique is that it has been enhanced with landscaping materials and life-sized figures, to give it a 3-D feeling. The background was painted in the late 1800s and has been restored several times over the years, but this display is also enhanced with sound and light-effects, which seems to bring the battle back to life.

As we walked outside to begin our tour, we noticed there were a large number of people roaming about, dressed in Civil War era costumes. When I inquired about this, I discovered they had arrived to participate in a battle reenactment, which was going to be held over the weekend. These were the first of the ‘troops’ to arrive, so they could help to get ready for the others.

“Papa, is that how the people would have dressed and looked during the war?” Megan asked, after seeing several of these individuals wander by.

“Yes, Megan, they are dressed in costumes appropriate for that period,” I answered.

“But not all of the soldiers’ uniforms look the same and some of them aren’t even wearing uniforms,” Jordan observed.

“That’s very true,” I confirmed. “Many of the soldiers had to supply their own uniforms and some couldn’t afford to purchase them. Those that couldn’t, would either have a family member make a uniform for them or not wear one at all. Instead, they would merely put on an appropriately colored jacket or a hat that would indicate which side they were fighting for.” That information seemed to suffice, so we loaded into our vehicles and set out to see the other areas.

From here, we toured many of the different battlefields and got to see where the actual fighting took place. We also got to see the plethora of memorials scattered throughout the park, which included the Eternal Light Peace Memorial that was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938. We also got to see all of the various state memorials, which are dedicated to the troops that had fought from those particular states. This includes the large Pennsylvania Memorial and the Virginia Memorial, which is a statue of General Robert E. Lee sitting astride his horse. Once we had seen what we wanted to, we finished up at the National Cemetery, which put a very sobering end to our visit.

After leaving the battlefield, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to see the David Wills House. It’s located in downtown Gettysburg and is merely a huge, three-story brick residence from that era. Wills was a local attorney and had invited President Lincoln to stay in one of the second-floor bedrooms in his house. This happened when the President came to dedicate the National Cemetery and give his now famous address. The house has since been turned into a museum and is furnished to replicate what it would have been like at the time of the battle.

After finishing up our tour there, we took everyone out to play miniature golf. We had to help the younger ones and explain to them what they were supposed to do. After they insisted on doing it themselves, we were mildly amazed when they managed to make a few unusual and unorthodox shots. All in all, we had fun doing this and it was our last activity before making the long trip back home.