In her relatively short life, Ellie hasn't encountered much that she is afraid of. I mean, she is afraid of Cruella de Vil in the original '101 Dalmatians' but who among us isn't at least a little bit unsettled by her? After all, as Roger Dearly eloquently composed, "If she doesn't scare you, No evil thing will." Outside of Cruella and the occasional out-of-control ride on her bike, Ellie really does know no fear. Never fear though as the events of our last daddy-daughter date may have finally taught her what it really means to fear something. Muhahaha.
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| At this exact moment, Ellie decided she was afraid of Cruella. |
Side note: I know that last sentence sounds ominous and threatening but it's really not meant to be.
For what seems like close to a year, Ellie has been begging to go to Powerplay Family Entertainment Center. Now, I think most of her interest in Powerplay stems from two sources. The first being that she knows Bethany and I went there on a date last year. Second, and more likely, I think she's just drawn to the bright neon paint scheme adorning the exterior of the old 'Best Buy' housing Powerplay. Regardless of the reason, last Saturday was the day that Ellie finally got to go to Powerplay.
The beautiful thing about going to a place like Powerplay at 10 o'clock in the morning is that you pretty much have the place to yourself. Therefore, there were no lines when it came to the attractions and it made it pretty easy to move around the building. The first thing that Ellie found herself drawn to upon our arrival was a kids' Ferris wheel. Despite the fact that she may have been a little tall for it, that didn't stop her from cramming inside a pod and going round and round. By the time her ride finished, Ellie already had an enormous smile on her face.
Over the next hour, we headed from one game to another. Duckpin bowling, air hockey, ski-ball, pinball, Dance Dance Revolution and Deal or No Deal; we tried them all. My personal favorite had to be the motorcycle racing game that we played together. Ellie sat on the physical bike and worked the gas while I steered the bike by pushing it towards the direction of the curve. Between the two of us, we finished third which seems pretty good considering Ellie never touched the brake!
After an hour or so, we were out of points on our card meaning that it was time to go home. While Ellie had definitely had a great time, there was something missing as far as she was concerned. That thing was a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl. Just so we're on the same page, this isn't a little kids' version of a Tilt-a-Whirl. This was the real deal, grown-up Tilt-a-Whirl like you would find at an amusement park. Her disappointment was so palpable that I couldn't take it anymore and finally added another $3.00 worth of points to our card for a ride.
We wandered onto the ride and took our seat as the only people on the ride. Then, the ride attendant made certain we were buckled in tight and proceeded to give us comprehensive safety instructions. Then, it was time to sit back and ride...for about 35 seconds. That's all it took for me to wave to the operator to stop the ride. The second the spinning started totally coincided with the instant that Ellie began screaming. While I thought we might be able to ride it out, I realized I was mistaken when she buried her face in my shoulder.
Ellie for her part wasn't permanently scarred from the incident. She will still admit that it was scarier than she would have liked. However, she has mentioned on multiple occasions that she would like to ride it again when she turns seven. Don't ask me why seven is the age of note; it just is. No word yet on if she'll still be scared of Cruella de Vil at age seven. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. #DaddyWrite
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