Monday, August 6, 2012

Land of Make Believe

We live in northern New Jersey, and, despite the fact that I also grew up in northern NJ, I don't think I ever went to the Land of Make Believe (http://lomb.com)  as a child.  And, despite the fact that it's less than a forty-five minute drive from our current home, where we've lived for four years, we had never taken Frank there before, either. I decided to remedy that today.

I had always assumed that it was a place full of little kid rides and not very big.  Well, it is a bit compact, but there's plenty to do, for little and big kids. The fact that it's so compact actually works in the favor of the short legged little ones who walk with their parents!  There's also a decent-sized water park with slides and a wading pool, as well as different water-based activities.

Frank LOVED it. We were there for about four hours, and he didn't want to leave! We spent about an hour and forty-five minutes in the water area, which I was very happy about. You see, while at camp, after he had gotten a good start with swimming, he fell into the pool at one point, and had to be fished out by a lifeguard, which scared him, and he had developed a serious fear of the water. His counselors, once I alerted them that was what was bothering him, helped him to become more relaxed in the water.

Today, in the 18-inch-deep wading pool, he and I practiced his kicks- I held him while he lay prone in the water, kicking like crazy.  He also had no problem frolicking around in all of the water areas, and even dragged me onto a terrifying-looking water slide! Thank God.  I'm not a strong swimmer myself; it took me years to get over fear of even putting my face in the water. Now, though, I am an awesome dog-paddler, but that's pretty much it.  I do not want him to grow up with the same fears and inability to swim that I have. He doesn't have to become a competitive swimmer, but I want him to be a better swimmer than I am.

All in all, it was a really nice day.  The weather even cooperated, giving us relatively low humidity for a change. He wants to go back, soon.  I think I do, too.  The rides were just scary enough for him, but not too much so even my wimpy system could handle them. And the water park was actually pretty great.

If you live in the area, and decide to go, I recommend first thing.  (They open at 10am.) It really wasn't crowded at all when we first arrived, but by the time we left, the place was PACKED!

2 comments:

  1. Just the other day my aunt was recommending this place to me. Glad you had a good time. Wondering if we should have gone when Ashley was smaller.

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  2. I think she might actually still like it now! I saw a lot of high school aged kids there. Some of the rides are still fine for older kids, and there is, of course, the waterpark there that kids of all ages enjoy.

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