I Can Sit in King Kong’s Hand, and I Can See Many Giant Things Called “Dinosaurs”… Our Trip to Dinosaurland

A long, long time ago (Daddy says that it was just two weeks, but it seems like ages to me), we went on a trip to a place called “Dinosaurland.” We had to be in the car for a while, but it was okay because everyone played with me and kept me company, and I also got lots of “car snacks.” Daddy called it a National Lampoon’s style day trip, and I heard Mama humming a song she called “Holiday Road.” They said the only thing missing was the family truckster, whatever that is.

Mama says that this place has been around for over 50 years, way before she and Daddy were even born, back in the olden days when Nana and Granny and Grandpa and Grandaddy Moe were kids. She says that she went with her Mama and Daddy when she was a “big kid” like my brother and sisters and that she remembers loving it and thinking that it was magical. Mama says that it is something called “cheesy fun” and that “cheesy” things are sometimes the best things in life. I think I agree because everyone got to run around and be silly around the giant fake dinosaurs.

Daddy told me that the real dinosaurs are no longer on the Earth but that they used to be a long, long time ago. He said that their bones were found in the Earth after they had moved on and that this is how we know what they looked like, what they ate, and how they used to live. I wished that I could see the dinosaurs, but Daddy told me that in real life they were much bigger and that some of them would have chased after all of us because we would have been snacks for them… little bitty snacks. Maybe it would be a bad thing if they were still around. I don’t want to be a snack.

These dinosaurs weren’t real though, and they were all made of something called fiberglass. They were old, although not as old as the real ones, and some of the paint and even pieces of them had come off because they had been loved so much by so many people that came before us. Mama said that this is why it is so wonderful to get to go—to get to be a part of all of those people that have loved those dinosaurs as kids.

My favorite thing was getting to sit in King Kong’s hand. He is big and old too, and you can actually climb up there to have him hold you. Mama climbed up with me and we sat in his hand, and I got so excited to get to touch him that I squealed. Daddy said that I made a “cheese face” and that this is why I am so awesome.

I got to see all of us little people and all of the big people all being silly and happy, and I think might have really been the best part. I already know from looking at other people that most of the big folks take life way too seriously. There is always time to play, and Dinosaurland reminds the big people that play is still one of the very best things to do.