A “safe place” is hard to define. To some people it may consist of their home, a relative’s home, or maybe a favorite place to visit and recall childhood memories. For others, it may involve a vacation spot. Somewhere away from home where they can relax and not have to deal with responsibilities of their home life for a while. To Ashley, there had always been one place that had never failed to comfort her. Years before she was born, her family started taking annual vacations down to Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri. Every year they rented the same condo, and did the same activities. The consistency of their trips never bothered her. She enjoyed having something to rely on. As a little girl, she quickly realized that during these family trips
…show more content…
Miner Mike’s was a large arcade located near their condo. Every year her parents helped her trade in money for tokens, and she would run off and spend each one as quickly as possible. Her favorite thing to do there was ride the Bumper Cars. After she spent a good chunk of money on arcade games, her parents walked her down to the front counter with her bag of tickets and she traded them in for a prize. Ashley was always pleased with her little trinkets. Plastic Airmen, whoopee cushions, and sometimes she even had enough tickets to get something as cool as a glow in the dark sword. While she later grew up to realise that she could have just as easily driven a little farther down the street and bought the same items for much cheaper at a Family Dollar, she was always proud of herself for earning her prizes.
After visiting Miner Mike’s, her grandparents always treated the family to Ice Cream. They bought it from a small shop near the arcade called, “The Ice Cream Store!” After making the difficult decision of choosing the perfect combinations of ice cream flavours, they headed just outside of the store and gather around an oversized plastic statue of an ice cream cone to take their annual family picture. This picture usually took place on the last day of their vacation, and then the next morning she would sit on the couch and beg to stay just a few more
Miner Mike’s was a large arcade located near their condo. Every year her parents helped her trade in money for tokens, and she would run off and spend each one as quickly as possible. Her favorite thing to do there was ride the Bumper Cars. After she spent a good chunk of money on arcade games, her parents walked her down to the front counter with her bag of tickets and she traded them in for a prize. Ashley was always pleased with her little trinkets. Plastic Airmen, whoopee cushions, and sometimes she even had enough tickets to get something as cool as a glow in the dark sword. While she later grew up to realise that she could have just as easily driven a little farther down the street and bought the same items for much cheaper at a Family Dollar, she was always proud of herself for earning her prizes.
After visiting Miner Mike’s, her grandparents always treated the family to Ice Cream. They bought it from a small shop near the arcade called, “The Ice Cream Store!” After making the difficult decision of choosing the perfect combinations of ice cream flavours, they headed just outside of the store and gather around an oversized plastic statue of an ice cream cone to take their annual family picture. This picture usually took place on the last day of their vacation, and then the next morning she would sit on the couch and beg to stay just a few more