A Great Adventure.

Family is in town and wanted to go to Six Flags Great Adventure.  So yesterday at 4:00p., we crammed into the Escape and off we drove.   On our way there, it started to rain. Entering the parking lot, we watched droves of cars going in the opposite direction.  Walking to the main gate of the park, flocks of people were exiting in the rain.  Seeing the weather radar, we knew the rain would soon stop.  Score!

Today's Forecast, Upward Blue Arrows Thingy and a Fried Egg on the Side!

 For our first ride of the day, we ended up at Houdini's House.  Didn't care too much for it and upon exiting, felt queasy.   My 23 year old mind worried that my 43 year old body may not be quite ready to go on the more severe rides.   Next, my nieces wanted to go on The Dark Knight, a roller coaster. Let's back up a step and start by saying, I love roller coasters.  I've been on coasters around the country and try not to miss an opportunity to ride one.   Let's finish by saying, I hadn't ridden a roller coaster in over 10 years.

Well, my kids and sister-in-law decided not to go on The Dark Knight.  My nieces and I waited on a short line and boarded.   In my mind, a broken record played, 'Was the feeling at the Houdini house a foreshadow? Would my stomach stand up to a real ride?'.  The ride took off and... I felt... Brilliant. My stomach was fine, my mind was fine, my head was fine... not only fine... AMAZING.  Exiting the ride, shadows of my childhood rushed back to me in the adrenalin filled aftermath.

Then, we all went on Skull Mountain, an indoor roller coaster Lizzy kept her head down the whole time. At age 10, she's damn brave but rides still scare her.  I don't remember when I started going on roller coasters but it must have been at about that age.  Next it was time for El Toro, with the highest drop and fastest speed of any wooden roller coaster, it proved to be insane.  It was the most intense roller coaster I had ever been on.  Lizzy rode it like a champ. She kept her head down for most of the ride but as the coaster took the final turn, the look on her face said it all, she enjoyed the rush even if it was scary.  While exiting Emily asked what she thought about it, Lizzy just said, “ I LOV... It was OK.”.

With no wait time at Rolling Thunder and the countless memories of it, I have.  We rode that next. Yes, by today’s standards it is rather tame.   Standing next to El Toro, it may look like a small after

thought.  Yet, to me, it will always be the best roller coaster.   The architecture shows it's pre-computer aided design.   It's clankety uphill and jarring, squealing turns may not appeal to the young riders of today but in my nine year old mind, this was the coaster to end them all.

It was time for Kingda Ka, the tallest and second fastest roller coaster in the world.   This was the ride my youngest niece came to Great Adventure to go on.   My oldest niece was not as thrilled.  Emily wanted to go on it because most people she knows have been on it.  At 45mins., it was our longest wait of the day.   The ride looks and feels like going up in a rocket only to head straight back down to earth.  At 128mph, the 456ft tower is surpassed in a flash of excitement and amazing views.

Yes, I actually put more detail in this post than I had initially planned. I sat down to the keyboard to write on how I hadn't remembered trading in a roller coaster for a golf cart.   As the keyboard lay before me though and it happens often, my brain decided it wanted to go in a different direction.