All of this for a freakishly tall yellow bird?

If a bear growls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it does it still make a sound? I have no clue. However, I can confirm that if Cam screams in a jungle, EVERYONE within a five mile radius will hear it! How do I know this? Brad and I got a wild hair and decided to take the kids back to Busch Gardens yesterday.Oh yeah, haven't you heard?  Brad and I, we're real dare devils, edge dwellers, luck pushers. Or...completely insane,the jury is still out on that one. I'm not sure how it came into play, but there we were one minute eating breakfast at the table, and the next pulling into the Busch Gardens parking lot. I guess we figured since we had done this just a week before and things went relatively well that we could do it again with the same results. And I guess we forgot that last week we had six other adults with us, which meant twelve extra arms and eyes, which really comes in handy when taking Cam... anywhere.  But nonetheless, there we were, kids slick with sunscreen, me loaded down with a backpack full of extra clothes and Brad toting a cooler packed with water, string cheese and beer, which I need to take a moment to address. In the summer, Busch Gardens lifts their ban on coolers and allows you to bring one in, which can be no larger than 15x15, containing one sandwich per person, one drink per person and two snacks. Alcohol, however, is a big NO-NO.How else will they pay their execs such big bonuses if they can't charge park visitors six bucks a beer?  Now, Brad was the one who had gone to the store and packed the cooler before we left, so I had no idea what was in there. I knew he had gotten the kids drinks and snacks, but not specifics. We get into the line where they rummage through your belongings and I hand the guy the cooler. As he's checking through it he's telling me how they have to inspect them because some people try to smuggle alcohol into the park and could I believe that. I shook my head in disgust and said something like "people are unbelieveable!" We get the all clear and head to the turnstyles. As we're waiting there Brad says," Pretty slick of me to camouflage my beer huh?" I looked at him with wide eyes and said "What beer?" Apparently my sneaky husband searched out a canned drink for the kids in coordinating colors with his Heineken Lite. The closest he could find was Sierra Mist, which apparently was great camouflage because the security guy looked right at it and  passed us through! High five to Brad! Not only did he beat the system, he saved us about thirty bucks and lots of line time. Next time I'm packing the cooler and the kids will be drinking whatever beverage most resembles wine! So anyway, we get through the gates and I go pick up our little piece of paper gold, the pass that gets us to the front of the line with Camryn. Pass in hand, next stop stroller rental, and no not for newly four Natalie,but for seven and a half Camryn,who squeals in sheer delight at the thought of being buckled in and wheeled around. We go for the double, because last time we got a single and Cam was squished in it like a sardine in a can and the strap wasn't long enough to buckle. We get her secured, Brad's beer disguised in a Busch Gardens cup and we're off. Brad was so smart to start drinking.
Cam remembered last time we were there we had started off at Sesame Street, so she was fixated on seeing Big Bird. But we were fixated on seeing lunch, as the process of getting from the parking lot to the entrance was long, hot and completely burned off breakfast. The whole way there Cams was repeating "Big Bird, I wanna see Big Bird. I like his eyebrows. He wants licky face. Big Bird, Big Bird, BIG BIRD!" Lunch came and we were still hearing about Big Bird and his eyebrows. But we were way on the other side of the park, so Big Bird would have to wait. We decided to start off with the animals and made our way to the lemurs. There are no cages, just open areas with walls and big tempered glass viewing windows. As soon as she saw them, Cams started bouncing in the stroller shrieking "I wanna see Zaboombafoo" This is a show on PBS and the "star" is a lemur puppet. "I wanna be gentle with Zaboombafoo. I wanna pet his eyebrows." At this point in the trip, Cam had shown no signs of trouble, so I unbuckled her and let her go up to the window with her sisters. I was right next to her, right next to her and somehow she got her arm just far enough past me to scratch a little boys face who was standing beside me. He was only about five, cute as could be and startled to say the least. Thank God I had trimmed her nails the day before and filed them down to the skin, so she didn't draw blood. I was mortified, and plopped her back in the stroller. "No scratching!" I said as I wagged my finger in her face.UUUGGHH WHY???? I looked around to see if the little guy had run and told his mother. He was still with his older siblings so I asked all the adults in the area if he was their child to which they said no. I figured I would let them know my daughter had scratched him and I was sorry. But since I couldn't find them, oh well. If I can't find you in sixty seconds to let you know my daughter hurt your kid, then it never happened. Off to the hippos, which Cam would be viewing from the confines of her stroller. Mason and Natalie pressed their little hands and faces up against the glass, in awe of the giant creature before them. Camryn fussed to get out of the stroller, but there were several other small children around and I just couldn't risk it and it broke my heart. After watching the hippos float around in the water, we headed off to the lions, which were on the way to Big Bird. Cam was elated when she saw the majestic cat lying on the grass in front of her, just a plate of glass between them. "I wanna be gentle with him. I wanna give him cube cubes (Cam talk for kisses)." And had the glass not been there, she would have been up in that maneaters face, lips puckered and hands a flappin'. I love that girl!  After admiring his eyebrows and whiskers, we moved on to the hyenas then zebras and giraffes, who also had brows to Cams liking, all the while hearing about Big Bird. Since we'd been viewing the animals from afar, we figured why not do the Rhino Rally safari ride and see them up close? Cams would be buckled in, all the kids can ride and we have our gold pass, so what could go wrong? We show our paper and are pointed to an area away from the general lines reserved for special pass holders and guests like Camryn, which I'm going to interject here and say that I don't think they've ever had a guest like Camryn, at least not any time I've been there.So, there we go, ready to wait in a shorter line and Cam is already tweaking up a storm. She saw a jeep pass by, but it wasn't the one we were riding and so she started freaking out before we even got in the line. Now I say line, but it was only about thirty people divided up five to a lane.But ya know, it may as well have been a line a hundred deep because Camryn wanted to get on that ride immediately, now, yesterday!!And let me tell you, she had no problem expressing her waiting frustration. She was screaming, flailing her arms, biting her hands, screaming some more. Brad kept trying to console her by touching her, but when she gets like this, touching her is like turning up the volume to your favorite rock song. It gets louder and more intense and you can feel every beat. Yep, that's what happened. At this point I hadn't even looked around at the crowd. I didn't need to anyway because Masons comment of "It makes me so mad when people stare at Camryn" clued me in that we were the rides opening act. Unable to get Cams calmed down with words,or songs and not able to soothe her with a touch, I decided to sacrifice my lower back in the name of family fun and pick her up, which usually stops the screaming.  And it did, but the leg kicking and arm reaching continued and I was so scared she would hurt a child. I asked Brad to get behind us and Mason and Nat to get in front so the only people in the line of fire would be her family. But then, some kid decides to stray from the line and comes up the left of us, his head perfectly lined up with Cams size 13 sneaker. People, I have front and back coverage, but no side spotters so for God's sake keep your kids away! Luckily the ride attendant asked him to go back and then came over to us. "Is everything ok?"she asked. " You mean besides the fact that she has Autism? Oh yes then, everythings fine, just a little excited." I said with a cheesy smile. She turned out to be really sweet, trying to get Cams attention until our jeep pulled up. "I wish there was something I could do",she said to which I sarcastically replied,"Me too, me too!"
Our jeep finally showed, the ride lasted maybe three minutes and if we thought getting on was bad, we should have known to be very afraid of getting off. She screamed, tried to get back on, cried out "Do you want to sit back down honey?" and screamed some more. We literally dragged her back to the stroller, the object of everybodys attention. By this time I had had it with the stares.We weren't part of the attraction, we weren't in the brochure, so quit looking at us like you paid to see it. One family in front of us continued to turn around and look at Camryn as they were walking, so eventually I got fed up with it and although my shoulder devil had some great ideas, shoulder angel said "Just smile and wave", so I did. Now at this point in the day we had an important decision to make. The most feared ride at Busch Gardens was just around the corner and we needed to decide if we were going do it.Did we dare? It would be scary and there would be crying  for sure. Were we up for it? We were very brave that day(or deleriously hot) and with our shoulders back and heads held high we fearlessly marched forward ready to take on the....carousel. Oh I forgot to say that it would be scary for Brad and I, not the kids, because the carousel, my friends, is Camryns most adored ride. It would make getting on and off Rhino Rally look like taking a nap. We scouted out the ride to see which horses were available, were they in the middle, did they go up and down(some don't surprisingly) and then, when the time was right I got in line first to secure a horse, while Brad walked ten steps behind, holding Camryns hands up above her head for the safety of other kids in line.We met up on the carousel ready to hoist her up and let the party begin. The only thing Cams loves more than a good spin, is a good spin on a moving horse going up and down all to creepy clown music. So you can imagine her joy at the sound of the bell signaling the ride would start. Thank goodness Brad was on it with me this time, because the week before it was just me and Cams was on an outside horse, no strap, and freaking out while not holding on. Oh yeah, in Cams book holding on is for wusses. This time we got a horse in the middle and Brad held onto her while I spotted him and helped Mace and Nat. I love to watch peoples faces while we're whirling around. I see them pointing and nodding at Cam, but I know it's all in good fun because she is just so immensely happy it makes them smile. So for two mintues, all is right with the world, and then the ride stops. I immediately spring into action, jogging to find the attendant and ask in desperation if we can stay on for the next ride. Cams can ride as long as she likes, he tells me, so we went around three more times. But it was getting late and there were still many things we wanted to do, so at the end of the fourth round, we decided to take her off and oh honey! The screaming and kicking and arm flailing completely trumped the incident at Rhino Rally. It was bad, really bad. And all Brad and I could do was roll with it. There was no curtain to hide behind, so magic cape to make us disappear. Most of the time it doesn't bother me and I consider myself pretty strong when it comes to things like that. But on days like that, when you've already been through this three times already, and the sun is beating down on you, and families that just stepped off the Better Homes and Gardens magazine cover are staring at you and your "weird, misbehaving child",it can be too much. I began to feel angry,very angry. "Quit staring at us!!!"I wanted to shout. "Ever heard of Autism? Well this is what it looks like! You're seeing it in 3-D people and you didn't even have to buy the glasses! Shows over now move on!" But of course I didn't. At this time, the only trick still up our sleeve was ice cream and now was exactly the time to play it. Mace and Nat got vanilla soft serve in a waffle cone and Cams got a big giant pickle! Yep we had a line of pregnant women following us around the park! Busy with her pickle, Cams was quiet and happy so we took that opportunity to let Mason and Nat play some games. When they had wasted enough money, we headed over to our final destination, Sesame Street, home of the one and only Big Bird. As soon as we stepped onto the iconic lane Cams started tweaking. There was Elmo and Cookie Monster and Zoe, so much to take in! She enjoyed riding the Cheetah Chase rollercoaster with Brad last time, so we decided to take her on the Grover rollercoaster. Well, not we, Brad, because I don't do roller coasters, kiddie or not. Natalie also wanted to ride and at her tender age of four she volunteered to ride alone because she knew Brad needed to ride with Camryn. Even Nat knew that if Cams rode alone bad and scary things could happen. Again, our special pass allowed Brad to go the front of the line, but just like Rhino Rally, there were still people ahead of them. Mason and I were on the ground and we could hear Camryn screaming from up on the boarding platform. Brad and Camryn get on and brave little Nat sits behind them by herself, nearly swallowed up by the seat. They ride, Cams has a blast, Nat nearly has a stroke and when they get off Cams is begging for more and Nat is trying to put her head back on.By this time it was raining and the sun was setting, not to mention Brad and I were over it.  We were making our way out of the park when Mason spotted the object of Cams affection...Big Bird. He was there, in"person" taking photo opportunities in a small room. Because we didn't want to pay thirty dollars for Cam to pluck Big Bird bald, we decided to let her watch through the window She was overjoyed, jumping and hand biting! Big Bird noticed us and came over to the window, waving and dancing. The kids loved it and it was a great way to end the day. Tired, sunburnt and mentally gone, we headed for the tram. The tram! We had forgotten about the tram,another trigger for a Cam attack. And sure enough, as soon as she spotted it coming our way, she flipped. This time it was me holding her hands in air as she screamed and galloped through the line. And it gets better. The tram filled up before we could get on. Oh yeah, so there we were, with our daughter pulling a "Linda Blair", going totally beserk over missing the tram and everybody in line behind us is watching in horror as Cam did her thing. The worst of the day so far. Yes, I said so far, there is more. Finally another tram comes and Cam clamors on board. The rows only seat four, and Mason couldn't sit alone so once again, it was litte Nat who took the fall and sat next to Cam and at the end of the row, both of which could potentially be dangerous. And as feared, Cams was trying to pinch Nat which was making her lean the other way towards the opening. I grabbed both of Cams hands and was trying to calm her by singing close to her face a song about not biting our friends, which only made her scream and try to bite my lips as I was singing. Brad grabbed Nats hand and told her to hold on till we stopped, which seemed like forever. Cam screamed in excitment the whole time and I could see everyones reflection in the glass in front of us and they were all staring at Cams. I couldn't wait for the tram to stop, until it actually did and then I wanted it to keep going. Camryn was ticked that we had to get off and she proceeded to throw the biggest fit of the day in the parking lot as everyone exited the tram. By this time, I was like f*#@ it! Go for it Cams, get it all out, this ones for all the Autistic kids around the world. You wanna stare at us? Go ahead! You  might want to take a video too, it will last longer! And so stare they did, all  fifty or so of them. Parents, children, they couldn't help but watch, like a car wreck. And we could do nothing but continue to drag her to the car and hope no one thought we were kidnapping her or taking her against her will. And of course no one did because really, who is going to kidnap a screaming, biting kid? We make it to the car and shoved everything, even the kids, in. Finally in the privacy of our own vehicle where no one could stare or point. That night when I tucked Cam into bed, I asked her if she had fun. "Big Bird" she said, " I like his eyebrows. He likes licky face. Big Bird". I smiled, kissed her head and made a mental note that next time we even think about taking Camryn to Busch Gardens again, I'm going to make a much shorter trip to the t.v. and turn on Sesame Street instead. Who knew it would have been just as good?