People-watching at Six Flags is as much fun as the rides, and it’s a good thing because when you attend Six Flags on Christian Youth Weekend, you will spend .016 of your time on a ride, which leaves .983 of your time for other pursuits.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my family decided to ditch the traditional egg-hunting Easter weekend at home, and we went to the Big D for our celebration. We kicked off our festivities with a family meal at Grandy’s. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but Grandy’s is a Harris family favorite, and most of the restaurants in this classic chain are now out of business. We luckily were passing by the only one that I know of, which is located in a truck stop in Italy (pronounced IT-lee), TX. How do we love Grandy’s? Let me demonstrate the ways.

1. The other weekend we were on the way to eat dinner at Josh and Abbey’s. I had Stephen drive through Grandy’s to order me a side of baked beans. That’s all. They were as good as I remembered.

2. Actual quote from Alan: “I would kill three people to eat a Grandy’s roll.”

3. The fact that all seven of us unanimously agreed to stop and eat at Grandy’s for our dinner, rather than drive forty more minutes to have our pick of any restaurant that the metroplex could offer.

Anyway, I digress. The main event of the weekend was Six Flags. We arrived via shuttle trolley at the main gate as the park opened at 10 AM. By the time we left the park at 9:30 PM, we had ridden five rides. We took two breaks for lunch and dinner, and the rest of our time was spent in line, playing various games such as “Can you spot the Oklahoman?”, “What Not to Wear: Six Flags Edition,” ” Would You Let That Guy Date Your Daughter?”, and “How Do You Think Those People Are Related?”

We walked through France, Mexico, Spain, the Old South, Gotham City, and 1950’s America. Leslie finally got her cotton candy. Dad almost won a giant alligator for Mom’s library. Mom rode the Titan for the first time, and didn’t throw up. Laura chronicled funny moments for us to remember on the free hotel notepad. I confronted a waiter about a menu ambiguity and received a free basket of French fries (plus some shame). Stephen got even more vivid insight into what I’d be like when I grew up, as well as plenty of evidence that I am not even close to maturity yet.

On Sunday, we tried out the services at the Village Church, which exceeded our expectations. The music was nicely done, the candle-lit stage was ambient, and the Easter message was thoughtful and challenging.

Most of all, our family was together, which will become more of a challenge as the sibs get older and start getting jobs that do not give them awesome vacation days. For now, we got to enjoy Grandy’s, Six Flags line games, and the celebration of the Resurrection, all in one weekend. It doesn’t get much better than that.