Where life is always sweet: sesame place: Pennsylvania's Bucks County is home to the iconic children's water park--and a lot more.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.
• Position: Going Places - Travel narrative

WITH OUR oldest daughter now in her mid teens, we've logged a lot of days at Sesame Place--just none recently. We'll never forget our first trip to that beautiful park in Langhorne, Pa. Our little one had just celebrated her first birthday and was perfecting the art of climbing stairs. We may have spent the better part of the morning escorting her up and down the steps connecting the wading pools in Twiddlebugland. For us at that moment, barely a few steps from the entrance, the rest of the theme park need not have existed.

Eventually, we did venture out to enjoy a fabulous day with Elmo and friends, and the lure of this magical place brought us back the following summer with child number two in tow--and so it continued. By the time we returned with child number three, our daughter, at the ripe-old-age of four, knew the lay of the land. Our first stop invariably became Vapor Trail, Grover's action-packed steel roller coaster. This twisting-turning mission to the outer limits of our solar system is a perfect way to introduce younger ones to this type of ride.

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Funny how some things never change. When we visited the park earlier this season, we headed straight for Vapor Trail. Combined, the older three have ridden this coaster hundreds of times, but for our angel, it was his maiden voyage--and he was thrilled by the adventure.

As parents, these are the times we cherish: feeling the excitement of our children when they experience something for the first time. This day was filled with instances such as that: watching his awestruck face when he encountered his larger-than-life friends from "Sesame Street"; seeing the huge smiles--on both him and his sister--as they came down Sesame Streak in a double tube; and quietly observing how all three siblings, together and separately, protectively escorted their younger brother through the Count's Splash Castle, exhibiting tremendous patience and care, and genuinely enjoying their time in the sun.

The Castle is a new-to-us attraction, featuring more than 90 play elements in a multi-level area. Our little guy wanted to try each of the four water slides, and loved every second of every drop. While watching him, we also were mesmerized by the water wheels, hydro jets, and bongos, and paid little attention to the "Count"-down occurring in the background. Suddenly, the 1,000-gallon eight-foot bucket tipped, splashing its contents on everyone in its path--including those of us dryly...