Three Finger Cove: Billy ~ Book Six

Chapter Sixty~Six

Matthew and Charles were dragging that Monday morning when they came down for breakfast before their fourth sailing lesson. It was a long weekend for them, with everything they were involved in, and it was showing. Mr. Ken told them to take a nap after their sailing lesson, so they could catch up on their rest. Both boys smiled and said they would.

The other four Cover boys looked equally spent that Monday morning, when they came down for breakfast. Mr. Ken told them to go back to bed for a few more hours of rest before their friends arrived, so they could be fresh and ready to host them when they arrived.

Kevin and Kyle were all for that, but Billy and Robert said if their friends began arriving at eleven, as their 'dad' told them they could, one of them needed to be out there. 'Dad' Ken agreed with that logic, and told everyone to get to bed early tonight.

The sailing lessons started at 9 a.m. like clockwork. The instructors had them practice the knot tying they taught them, then they taught them about coming about and docking their boats. The instructors changed up the pairings so the boys with better skills were now working with the boys who needed someone who could help them out in the sailboat.

The boys then practiced their sailing skills by tacking up wind and then jibing down wind. The instructors wanted each boy to do that by themselves, so they built up their sailing skills. Two hours went by fast when you were having fun, but the instructors told the boys they could stay out as long as they wanted, and they would see them tomorrow.

After Mr. Chris got his first cup of coffee and a sweet cake, he went to the Study to talk to his boss to see what he missed over the weekend. He learned there were two new female lifeguards and he was to buy a paddle/electric boat and a paddle board and two rescue manikins, an adult and a child. He was also to get the females swimsuit and t-shirt sizes, and buy those for the new lifeguards, so they would look the part.

Mr. Ken also told him the guards would work for two days over the time he was gone, so they were totally familiar with the new equipment and could 'save' the rescue manikins while using them and the floating lifeguard stand. He told Chris they could spread their two day's work over four days if they wanted and to monitor their time and efforts.

Mr. Ken then called his construction/design group. He told them he wanted them to develop a linear park that followed along his estate wall and the street from the Main Gate to where his property ended. He told them to have the area surveyed to ensure they didn't encroach on any other private property.

Mr. Ken told them as a start, to put twelve parking spaces at the Main Gate and to place a few along the linear park. He said if at the end of his property was county property they were to get with Parks and Recreation and talk with them about expanding the linear park there. He told them to get with him when he returns in two weeks.

The Cover's friends began to arrive at eleven. Some still arrived at twelve noon, as that was what their moms had planned in her day. But it didn't matter as it was now the summer and they had all summer to play on the new Cove Skate Park, swim in the indoor pool and then out in the cove and enjoy the water toys when the lake water warmed up.

The lifeguards arrived at eleven and went right to work. They checked the indoor pool, and the safety equipment, then looked to see what if anything they needed. They also checked the cove's safety equipment and looked over the swimming area. That was so the girls could get a better idea of what they would experience there. The guards then watched the boys sail their small training sailboats near the cove, until it was time to eat.

Billy had set up the barbeque schedule starting with Robert, then Kevin, Charles, Kyle and then himself, along with Matthew. He told his 'brothers' that when Matthew and his friends get comfortable with doing the barbeques, he, Robert and Charles will decide, and, if they agree, they can move some of the lifeguards to his group and then there would be six groups.

Robert's group did the pre-barbeque setup when they got there and put on the barbeque and did the cleanup afterwards. Some of the other boys helped some, but for the most part, the first day of the Cover group doing the barbeque worked out.

Again, some of the boys wanted to stay skating while the others wanted to go swim, and Billy told the skaters that was OK. The teen Cover told them that if they wanted to swim later, they needed to come around to the side of the house and enter the indoor pool through the Patio entrance to swim. He told them not to go through the house.

The lifeguards headed to the indoor pool to await the boys. When the boys arrived, they changed, put their clothes into a locker and began to play their games. The younger boys played a game where they dove for the toys Kyle got for Christmas. Some of the other boys decided to try to play some of the games Russell and Jordan taught them. But all-in-all the boys were having fun.

When it was time for the boys to leave The Cove, they put their skateboards and safety equipment in their lockers and headed over to the Main Gate to wait for the parents.

Momma had the Covers dinner ready for them when they came into the Kitchen Nook after seeing their friends off. Momma knew they would be a few minutes late, so she adjusted her meal prep. After dinner, the Covers all headed to the Study as they usually did.

The boys talked about their day, but 'dad' Ken could tell there was excitement in their voices as Thursday was only two more days away. The man did have Charles and Matthew tell him about their sailing lessons and how well they thought they were doing. Charles said he was enjoying the lessons and today the instructors taught them how to come about and approach the dock to tie up.

Matthew said the instructors always went with you first and showed you what to do and then they let you try it yourself. The youngster said they mixed up the pairs today, so they got to practice with someone new and that was good because they all had different abilities.

The boys talked some more about their sleepover and asked if they could do something like that again, when they have their next sleepover. Billy and Robert said the pizza went over big with everyone and the cleanup was easy. Kyle said having the sandwiches was also fun and now that they did it, they could do it much easier the next time.

"But what about the breakfast you served? Would you do that again, or would you want to do something different, like scrambled eggs?" asked 'dad' Ken.

"Dad, I will say it was much harder than I thought it would be," began Robert. "But once we got a routine going, the pancakes got easier to make. I think heating up the bacon on the griddle took up too much space and that slowed us down. If we had a microwave oven, we could heat the pre-cooked bacon using that, and that way we could cook more pancakes at the same time."

"Do you think your friends liked having pancakes and bacon, but no eggs?" asked 'dad' Ken.

Billy quickly spoke up and said, "I don't care what they think. They should be happy we fed them a warm meal at all. We could have given them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that they could have made," now laughed the teenager.

The other boys' sort of agreed with Billy. Charles said if their friends demanded something better, then he'd vote for the peanut butter and jelly to teach them a lesson. Robert spoke up and said not being a trained cook they all did a good job, but he wouldn't want to have to make scrambled eggs for sixty people.

'Dad' Ken told his 'boys' they all needed to catch up on their rest, as he noticed they were all dragging this morning. He said, if there wasn't anything else, he wanted them all to go up to their rooms, settle down and get ready for bed.

Robert said he had something he wanted to ask before they went up to bed. His dad asked him what it was. Robert said that his dad explained the nine days of the trip and that the tenth day was in case something came up, and he needed to stay at one of the parks an extra day.

Robert then asked his dad if he didn't have to use that tenth day if there was a way, they could possibly stop by Edgewood Amusement Park to see how bad the Park had to be that he didn't buy it.

Mr. Ken inwardly laughed at the question and the ingenuity of his son to get to see another amusement park.

"Son, I think you just want to go to see the accident site," laughed the teen's dad. "You know by the time we would get there the Rocket might already be torn down, so there won't be anything to see."

"But dad, we could see why you didn't want to buy it, and it would use up that tenth day if you didn't have to use it," argued Robert.

"Boys ... would you want to go and see that park where that Rocket roller coaster fell off the track, over the Memorial Day Weekend??" asked 'dad' Ken.

The boys talked about doing that amongst themselves, and the consensus was if they had the time, they would like to see how bad that park was that they also closed down a few other rides.

The boys went up to their rooms and before long, 'dad' Ken went up to say goodnight to them even though it was still early. The man told them not to stay up, but to catch up on their rest.

All the boys were in bed by 10 p.m. A quiet night was had in The Cove that night.

The next two days were almost identical. The Cover boys and their friends finished up their sailing lessons. They continued to practice tying their knots, tacking up wind, jibing down wind, coming about and approaching the dock to actually tie up, righting an overturned sailboat and their newest lesson, man overboard.

The Covers friends arrived between eleven a.m. and twelve noon and skated and then they ate burgers and dogs around 2 p.m. as they usually did. Then some continued to skate, some tried playing the games Kyle had Mr. Ken buy, and others decided to swim.

Dakota and Annie were getting used to their new job and were surprised they were getting paid for seven hours, but were only working for three of those, if that. And on top of that they were also being fed.

Russell, did tell them that when the boys began swimming out in the cove, they would begin to earn their pay. Russell did use the time the boys skated to practice using the safety equipment Mr. Ken bought, like the rescue spine backboard and head immobilizer and taking someone out of the pool. He also had his team practice jumping into the pool water to 'save' someone, which was actually one of the other guards.

At night, after dinner, the Covers met in the Study to talk about their day and what was coming up. Tuesday and Wednesday night Mr. Ken told the boys what they needed to pack for their trip and had them begin to set those clothes out on their dresser, or on the floor in their closet.

Wednesday night, Ms. Judy and Eric came over for dinner and they brought Eric's packed bags. They placed them in the Foyer and out of the way, so they would be right there in the morning when the limousine came to take them to the airport. The woman talked to the boys about their upcoming adventure and then said her goodbyes and gave kisses to her son over and over. The Cover boys all said "Ahhhhh".

Ms. Judy told Eric to be good and listen to Mr. Wayne. Eric got a look on his face that said he didn't understand. His mom told him he would probably be with the Estate Master more than Mr. Ken, but that he better listen to both men. Eric smiled and said he would.

The boys then loaded Chief's things into the woman's car, and then they all said goodbye to the resident pet with lots of behind the ear scratches. Before long Chief was going on her own vacation with Ms. Judy, and would probably be going to work with the woman as the ladies there also enjoyed having the dog visiting them.

Wednesday night, Mr. Wayne was also there to spend the night and he helped the boys pack their suitcases. It was the longest trip the boys had ever been on, so they had to use both their suitcase and their carryon.

The boys were happy they didn't have to take their suits. That also saved them space in their suitcases for extra socks, underwear, sneakers, etc. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne had the boys put their toiletries into plastic bags before they packed them in their carryon. They explained that was in case they got knocked around and leaked that they didn't mess up everything in the carryon.

Mr. Ken made the boys go to bed at 9 p.m. telling them 5 o'clock came awfully early if they went to bed any later. 'Dad' Ken also told them they needed to be downstairs by 5:30 in order for them to get a breakfast taco before the limo picked them up at 6 a.m. to take them to the airport.

The excitement of going to visit their 'dad's' amusement parks didn't let the boys sleep very well that Wednesday night. Even Billy was stoked about going on this trip, as he never left the area his whole life. He was also looking forward to enjoying his first airplane flight, and it was going to be on a private charter at that.

When the boy's alarm clocks went off at 5 a.m. they all hit the Snooze Button. Ten minutes later when the alarm rang again, Billy realized what he'd done and he quickly got up and went to his 'brothers' rooms and woke them up. The teen told them they had twenty minutes to get showered and downstairs for breakfast.

The seven boys had to share the four shower heads and it was a tight fit. Some of them should have waited to brush their teeth and then showered, but they couldn't do anything about it now other than lather, rinse and repeat, if necessary, then get dried off, dressed and downstairs for a quick breakfast.

When the boys arrived in the Kitchen Nook it was almost 5:40. If they hadn't hit their Snooze Buttons, they would probably have been down at the appointed time. 'Dad' Ken and Mr. Wayne were there waiting on them, but neither said anything to them about 'cutting it close'. Mr. Wayne told the boys to check the convection oven for a breakfast taco and for them to get themselves a glass of milk or OJ from the refrigerator.

"Boys, I want you to help Derrick load the bags into the Limo when he gets here. You may have to put your carryon inside the passenger area because of all the bags we have this time around.

"It will be an hour plus drive to the airport, depending on traffic, since this is a work day. This time we are leaving from Austin-Bergstrom instead of San Antonio. Bill, the boys have been through the TSA process before, so just follow their lead when we get to the civilian aviation section of the airport. Any questions?" finished 'dad' Ken.

The boys ate their one breakfast taco and then cleaned up their area and put their rinsed glasses into the dishwasher. Billy said he would have liked a few more, but Matthew told him they would get breakfast on the plane, and that was so they had something in their stomachs.

When Derrick arrived, the guards knew to let him right in. The driver had been to The Cove a number of times, and was in the database, but Mr. Ken told the guards the night before the man would be there around 6 a.m. and they should be prepared to open the gate, when he showed up.

It took the Covers about ten minutes to carry all of their bags out to the limousine and get everything packed. Mr. Ken then told the boys to drain their dragons and be back in five minutes. Then, he and Mr. Wayne did the same.

It was almost 8 a.m. when the Covers arrived at the airport as it was located on the east side of the State capital and they had to deal with rush-hour traffic. Derrick knew how far he could drive onto the tarmac and where to stop to unload the bags. The TSA agent came to the limo with a trolley so they could take the bags into the terminal and have them x-rayed, before they could be loaded into the private business jet.

Mr. Ken again had the boys drain their dragons before they loaded into the Gulfstream G-550 Super Mid Jet business aircraft and take their seats. He had told them which seat he and Mr. Wayne would occupy, so they knew not to sit there.

The senior pilot, co-pilot and flight attendant introduced themselves before the flight attendant closed the door and started the safety briefing. Matthew told Billy to listen closely to what the person said, because you never knew when you needed to know that stuff. Mr. Ken inwardly smiled at hearing the comment, and hoped the boy wouldn't have a problem flying to and from his parks.

Before long the flight attendant checked that the Covers had their seatbelts on and the aircraft began to taxi to the active runway. A few minutes later the Covers were on their way flying back east for their first stop at Fantasy Fun Park.

Once the aircraft reached their cruising altitude, the flight attendant came down the aisle with hot coffee for the adults, and then asked the boys what they wanted for breakfast. The twins quickly asked if there were breakfast tacos. Robert smiled and asked the attendant what was on the menu.

It took about twenty-five minutes for the flight attendant to prepare all nine breakfasts. The adults were served first, with scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and more hot coffee, and then the boys in reverse age order. The twins did get bacon and egg breakfast tacos with orange juice. Matthew asked for and got waffles, syrup and milk.

Robert asked for a big stack of pancakes, five pieces of bacon and orange juice; Charles asked for scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and milk; and Billy asked for scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns and milk. All three teenagers received what was on their order.

The plane was quiet while the boys ate. Up until that time, the three younger boys kept telling Billy what it was like on their first time flying in the private airplane. They told him the difference between what they had now versus what they had last Christmas time.

About ninety minutes into the flight, the attendant came back and asked Mr. Ken if any of the boys had ever been in the cockpit and 'flown' the plane. He told them all of the boys would love to do that again, but this was Bill's first airplane flight ever. Mr. Ken asked the attendant to take Bill up there first, and let the pilots use as much time as they wanted with Bill, as the other boys had done it at least twice,

When Billy was asked to go with the attendant, the other boys knew why. The younger boys all hoped they'd get the chance to 'fly' the plane again, as they did back during the Holidays.

The co-pilot explained to Billy why he was there, and Billy was all smiles. The man then showed the teen around the cockpit to orient him, so when he sat in the co-pilot's seat, he knew what he was looking at.

When Billy got to sit in the co-pilot's seat, he couldn't believe he was there. Never in his life did he ever think he'd get the opportunity to do that and here he was sitting behind the controls of a multi-million-dollar business aircraft.

The co-pilot again oriented the teenager to the instruments in front of him and then had Billy grab the yoke, but not to do anything with it. The pilot then told Billy the aircraft was on autopilot and once he turned it off the two of them, together, would have control. Billy said he understood.

The pilot turned the autopilot off and began to slightly turn his yoke and Billy could feel the movements in his hands and how the airplane reacted to them. The pilot then told Billy to make some subtle adjustments, up/down, right/left to get a feel of what the aircraft would do when he made those changes.

Billy was the most excited he ever was in his entire life. Here he was flying a multi-million-dollar aircraft and he was only fifteen. The smile on his face was ear to ear and he didn't want the experience to end. After a few minutes, the pilot took back control of the plane and then the co-pilot pointed out to Billy the instruments again, and what they were telling them.

The two pilots took more time talking to Billy about the aircraft and the instruments than they normally would, because the flight attendant told them their client asked them to. But soon it was time for the pilots to bring up another of the boys for a quick look around the cockpit.

The flight back east was planned at three hours. With seven boys on the plane, even with the pilots taking the minimal time with the boys they would never have had enough time for all seven Cover boys to get a chance in the cockpit.

After Billy only Matthew, Kevin and Kyle got the opportunity to visit the cockpit. The three young Covers were all super happy after their visits. They all talked about it when they got together and they compared it to their first times they had that opportunity. Billy was still all smiles, and he talked about his experience with what Robert, Eric and Charles experienced.

Before they landed for their first stop, Mr. Ken explained, for Bill's sake, what they should expect when they landed. The man explained about the hired car taking them to the hotel like the last time and bringing them back and taking them the next day.

'Dad' Ken also told them they would rotate staying with Mr. Wayne and him as they went to the different parks. He told them his travel group was making arrangements for them to visit Edgewood, but they were not finalized, and they wouldn't know for another day at least.

Billy took it all in and then talked to Robert and Eric about what they actually did when they visited the amusement parks during the Holidays. He laughed when he heard how they all argued over who was staying with Mr. Ken at the different hotels.

Billy also wondered if they would have someone escort them around the parks as they had the last time they were there. Mr. Ken heard that question and told the boys that with the Parks FFF (Fast-Faster-Fastest) Pass they would all have a Fastest Pass and would go on the rides they wanted. He did say that they would have to figure out who hangs around whom.

The driver and van were waiting for the Covers when they arrived at the airport. The boys helped him load the bags into the van, and then Mr. Ken had everyone drain their dragons before they began their ride to their hotel.

"Dad, why didn't we get a limo?" asked Charles.

"I guess my travel group thought with all the luggage we'd have for ten days we'd need a bigger vehicle to carry it all. You saw how tight it was in the limo going to the airport, son, so this might be best," answered the boys' dad.

On the ride over to the hotel, Mr. Ken told the boys they had the biggest rooms available, but they would still be tight and would have to understand and not get their panties in an uproar because of something little. The boys all laughed at the 'panties' comment, but they knew what their 'dad' meant.

When the Covers arrived at the hotel, Mr. Wayne had the boys get two trollies to load the bags on, while Mr. Ken went and registered. Mr. Ken did ask if it was possible to get a third room for the oldest teens and he would give them a deposit against any damage.

The hotel manager was not amenable to doing that, but when he saw Mr. Ken was using a Black American Express credit card to pay for the two rooms he had for two nights, he asked Mr. Ken to hold on for a few minutes while he made a phone call to get that approved.

Mr. Wayne came over to his employer to find out their room numbers, so they could start getting settled. Mr. Ken told him he was trying to get a third room for the three oldest teens, and the manager was making a phone call to get that approved.

When the manager came back, he said, "Mr. Thomas, I am happy to say we will gladly approve you having that third room for your teenage sons. I see with the number of boys you have with you that third room will come in handy.

"We are also very happy you chose to stay with us again, and we hope your stay will be just as good as, or better than, your previous stays with us were. Please do not hesitate to contact me, personally, if you have any problems, concerns or questions," finished the manager, who gave his card to Mr. Ken.

The manager then assigned another hotel room to Mr. Ken, which was across the hall from where the other rooms were located. The manager gave out three passkey cards for each room and once all the paperwork was completed, Mr. Ken shook the manager's hand and the Covers headed up to their rooms.

"Bill, Robert and Eric will be in the room across from Mr. Wayne and me. Charles and Matthew will be with me for this stop, and the twins are with Mr. Wayne. There will be NO discussion. Now let's get settled and meet down in the lobby in, say, twenty minutes?" asked Mr. Ken.

When all the Covers were all together in the lobby the question was would they eat at a fast food restaurant along the way, or get something to eat out at Fantasy Fun Park? The older boys were in a hurry to get to the park, and start riding the rides, so they voted to get something at the Park.

The younger boys wanted to stop along the way out to the park and get a burger and fries, or a roast beef sandwich and curly fries, or even a crispy taco or two as they were hungry and didn't want to wait. They also argued their lunch would get a chance to settle on the ride out to the park.

Mr. Wayne said he'd like a burger and fries, as well, and agreed with the younger boys that the ride would let their meal settle some, as they rode out to the park. He added the boys had the rest of today and all day tomorrow to enjoy the rides and taking a few minutes to get lunch wasn't going to interfere with their ride time, much. The boys laughed and booed at what Mr. Wayne just said. The Covers did stop along the way out to Fantasy Fun Park for something to eat.

When the Covers arrived at Fantasy Fun Park, Mr. Ken had their driver head to the operations building/employee entrance. The driver did as he was requested to do, but he'd never been back that way before. He was driving on uncharted territory for sure. The van driver pulled up to the operations entrance where a man was waiting outside.

"Mr. Thomas ... welcome back to Fantasy Fun Park, and you too, Mr. Wayne. And boys, it is a pleasure to have you back, as well. I see you have someone new with you Mr. Thomas," was how Joseph Shartz greeted the Park's owner.

"Yes, Joseph, this is Bill. He is my newest foster son. And, Charles ... I want you to know ... he is now my son. I adopted him only a few weeks back," said Mr. Ken.

Mr. Shartz congratulated both the man and the teenager and shook their hands.

Mr. Ken told their driver he could park the van and he'd have full access to the park until it was time to go back to the hotel. The driver was surprised and said he had to contact his office first. Mr. Ken told him to call, but he was assigned as his driver for the day, and there shouldn't be a problem. Mr. Wayne decided to stay back with the driver, as the rest of the Covers went into the building.

"Joseph, as I told you when we talked before, I want the boys to each have a Fastest Pass, so they don't have to wait too long in line to ride the rides. Is there someone who can take them there and get them set up?" asked Mr. Ken.

Fantasy Fun Park Operations Manager, Joseph Shartz, called the front office for someone to come to his office. The woman who escorted the boys around the park the last time they were there when Jason caused a stir, recognized the boys and welcomed them. Mr. Shartz told her what he needed done and the seven boys followed the lady to the FFF Pass Booth

Mr. Wayne and the driver came in about that time and the driver said he was staying. Mr. Shartz told them to hurry up and catch up with the others and get their Fastest Pass. He told them where to go and the two men walked out the door.

Mr. Ken and Mr. Shartz sat down to discuss the park, but Joseph wanted to know how Jason was doing and was holding up after being interviewed by the State investigators after the owners of Edgewood practically accused him of taking the inspection certificate from the files.

Mr. Ken told Joseph about Jason's call to him on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. He explained he had a local lawyer go out to Crystal Lake and talk to him about his report and to represent Jason when the investigators arrived.

Mr. Ken told Joseph he also went to Crystal Lake in order to support Jason and to answer any questions the State investigators may have for him, since he and Jason inspected Edgewood together in February. He then told the operations manager about their meeting and how it ended.

At the FFF Pass Booth, they were surprised to be giving out nine Complimentary (Comp) Fastest Passes. They knew the woman who brought the nine recipients to their Booth, so they didn't question it, but they were still surprised at the number of free Passes that were given out.

As the workers processed the Fastest Passes, the woman heard them talking amongst themselves about so many Comp Passes being given away. The woman went over to them and whispered to them that the Parks owner was there, and they were with him and they would be there tomorrow, as well.

Hearing that shocked the workers and they began to ask more questions. The woman told them to keep their voices down and to keep their comments to themselves. That the owner will do as he pleases, and no one is stupid enough to question it. She then told them that one person no longer works there after his comments when the owner visited during last Christmas Holidays.

Mr. Wayne heard what the woman said and inwardly smiled. He wondered if she knew that Jason was now the Resident Administrator at Crystal Lake and had been a key witness for the State investigators looking into the Rocket roller coaster accident.

It took quite some time to process nine Fastest Passes, but when they all had their pager-like device, Mr. Wayne gathered the boys to talk to them about what he expected of them. The driver came along, too, and Wayne told him he didn't have to hang around with them. But the driver said he didn't know anyone there, and asked if he could ride with the boys, if they didn't mind.

"Bill, Robert, Eric and Charles, if you four want to go out on your own you can. You're older, mature and responsible enough that your 'dad' and I shouldn't expect any trouble from you. You all have your cell phones, so call me if there is any sign of trouble. Do you guys have any money?" asked Mr. Wayne.

Robert and Eric had money because they actually had a job and they brought some of it with them. But Billy and Charles had no money whatsoever. Mr. Wayne figured that would be the case, so he gave Billy and Charles each $40.00 for food and incidentals. He then told all four to go and have fun.

The three youngest boys were disappointed their older 'brothers' got to walk around the amusement park by themselves, and they started to say something to Mr. Wayne. The Estate Master told the boys they would be with him and the van driver for now and to just deal with it.

The teenagers headed to their first ride of the day, the Comet, an Out and Back wooden roller coaster that was only 110 feet high at the top of the first hill, with a downward hill of only 80 feet. The boys walked through the Exit, showed the ride operator their Fastest Pass and were told to return in ten minutes.

Ten minutes later the four Covers walked back up the Exit and waited for the operator to acknowledge them. When the coaster train was empty, the operator had the four teens enter and take a seat. They took the first four seats to the chagrin of the people waiting in line for those same seats.

The younger Covers, along with Mr. Wayne and the van driver, walked over to the Bumper cars, walked up the Exit and showed the attendant their Fastest Passes, who told them to come back in about ten minutes.

The teens on the roller coaster had Billy up front and when the brakes were released the coaster train ascended up the 110-foot hill. Once at the top, the coaster crested it and began its run down the first hill of 80 feet. The train followed up and down the track as it came and before they knew it the Covers were back in the station.

The younger Covers and the two adults were only five of about twenty-five people on the bumper car ride. When the switch was thrown for the ride to start the three boys all headed to bump into Mr. Wayne. The ride lasted about three minutes and during all that time the boys lost count of how many times they bumped into one another and Mr. Wayne.

The van driver also got into the bumping. It took the first minute or so for the boys to figure out who that adult was who kept bumping into them. Then, when they figured it out, they went after him as they had Mr. Wayne. When the ride was over the five all talked about how much fun it was bumping into one another, and the other people on the ride.

The Covers left the park at 9 p.m. that night. They had ridden all of the rides at least once, and a few twice, and their getting up so early that morning, their long flight and all their running around that afternoon had caught up with them.

They did stop for a fast food fix on the way back to the hotel and when they got into their rooms the boys quickly used the bathroom and then went to bed. They were asleep pretty quickly right after their heads hit their pillows.


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