Funnel Cakes & Fun...
I had one of the greatest weekends away in a while. This weekend a bunch of us took a day at the theme park. Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. I hadn't been to a theme park in a few years and I was totally excited about being on some thrill rides to boost that adrenaline rush. The weekend started out calm and sketchy. All week the forecasters were predicting thunderstorms and rain for the weekend. It figures. A weekend at the theme park always spawns some threat of rain. Well the Thursday night drive down to the Jersey shore with my friend started to make that threat a reality. When we arrived it was cooler and there was a fog rolling in for the evening promising lots of moisture and cool temps for the next day. Upon awaking the next day, the forecasts were confirmed. A thick fog had settled on the area and it was drizzling and cold. Boo. Thank goodness that Friday wasn’t the day we were going. My friend and I only went down early since he was expecting a furniture order to arrive the day before we all met for Six Flags. I hadn't seen his beach place yet and needed a get away from the hustle and bustle. No computer and no TV. While he waited for the order I went for a walk just before noon. Suddenly the fog was lifting and even though I bundled up for the stroll I started to sweat. By the end of my walk the sun had peered through and the fog dissipated to nothing. Suddenly it was around 75 and sunny. I guess the forecasters were wrong about Friday or the rain got pushed to the next day. Oh no. It was still a wonderful day on the beach and the weather was absolutely stunning all through the day. It got cooler again at night and the fog rolled in. The worry started over.
I was up bright and early on Saturday. We were meeting at the local Wa-Wa before heading into the safari portion. It didn't look good. Rain, fog, and cold. I bundled, but brought extra light clothing just in case. It pays to be optimistic. By the time we were on the road it had just become cloudy and the fog was almost gone. No rain. The sky looked promising. All those times as a kid I woke up every hour or so to check the outside weather in anticipation of the next day. Here I was doing in many years later and still excited. We got to the Wa-Wa and met up with the rest of the group. By now the sky was just patchy with bits of sun and definitely warmer. No more jacket. Yay!! We went through the safari in 2 cars. It was good for the first 45 minutes and then I was ready to ride. We all were. The safari was fascinating especially since they come right up to your car. The more dangerous or "damaging" animals (baboons) were caged up. I guess at one point in time the baboons were free and jumped on people's cars and such. We did have some elk blockading us in at one point though and some very curious giraffe sniffing at the windows. We were through the safari. We only got busted a few times for having the windows down. Oops. Now on to the thrill rides. We had our park passes and another one of us got the fast passes. These enabled us to cut through the lines and make appointments for rides. We also discovered it gave us updates on broken down or temporarily closed rides. Neat. The threat of weather kept away enough to keep the park half full. Still enough, but not crazy. The fast passes worked very well on some rides. We got in and started off slow for some of our beginner riders. It turns out that our first encounter was broken down shortly after we got there. Boo. So we went to Nitro. The big guns. Oh well. 300+ feet on the first go. Let's do it!!! That ride was like an elevated Millennium Force. It seated 4 across and the seats were kind of elevated above the car. Freaky!! Awesome!! We made our way around movie town hitting the various thrill rides and then the arcade. We headed across the park to ride the great El Toro, but we were deterred by hunger. After a nice healthy meal or pulled pork, ribs, slaw, baked beans, and over ripe fruit, we were ready to tackle some more. A few of us went on the mine ride right away despite the ingestion of all those delicious morsels of theme park goodness. It was fine. I as a bit jostled, but okay. We took a reprieve and saw a masterpiece of theatre that only a 4 year old could have written at the dolphin arena. It was only 15 minutes, but I swear we had a full 2 hours there with intermission. The sun was baking us now and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Hurrah!!! It was a theme park dream. We made sure to douse ourselves in sun block to protect our fair winter worn skin from the sudden shower of UV rays. It was off to El Toro (a new wooden coaster at the park). The first drop was nearly straight down. There appeared to be no safety brakes throughout the ride and it was smooth. I rolled side to side at the end like a bucking bull. It was AWESOME!! We did a few rides on that one. We took in the rest of the rides including a vomitous spin on the ole teacup ride. Some of that was my fault, but I had a compatriot who was just as guilty and we were spinning that teacup like mad. I felt sorry for our third passenger. I never really get sick on those kinds of rides, but after putting out the effort of spinning it AND getting spun, I was even feeling nauseous. So if I was feeling nauseous, anyone a little squeamish was feeling worse. Oops. After a totally fun day and 2 more fast pass rides on Nitro in darkness (YES!!!), we all were spent and headed home for a good night of sleep. We were all going to sleep so well.
Today I woke up to the same dreariness, only this time it was a reality. No more fog lifting. It was cold and stayed that way. It was all good. I just took in my book and enjoyed the peace. My friend and I fell asleep in the car on the drive back. I felt bad for the driver, but that always happens to me in the car anyhow.
It was a fabulous weekend all around and I wish I could do it all over again. Now I'm feeling a bit of the low of such a high weekend as the new week approaches. At least this weekend for me was the kick off to summer. A start to festivals, outings, and skin burning weather.
I was up bright and early on Saturday. We were meeting at the local Wa-Wa before heading into the safari portion. It didn't look good. Rain, fog, and cold. I bundled, but brought extra light clothing just in case. It pays to be optimistic. By the time we were on the road it had just become cloudy and the fog was almost gone. No rain. The sky looked promising. All those times as a kid I woke up every hour or so to check the outside weather in anticipation of the next day. Here I was doing in many years later and still excited. We got to the Wa-Wa and met up with the rest of the group. By now the sky was just patchy with bits of sun and definitely warmer. No more jacket. Yay!! We went through the safari in 2 cars. It was good for the first 45 minutes and then I was ready to ride. We all were. The safari was fascinating especially since they come right up to your car. The more dangerous or "damaging" animals (baboons) were caged up. I guess at one point in time the baboons were free and jumped on people's cars and such. We did have some elk blockading us in at one point though and some very curious giraffe sniffing at the windows. We were through the safari. We only got busted a few times for having the windows down. Oops. Now on to the thrill rides. We had our park passes and another one of us got the fast passes. These enabled us to cut through the lines and make appointments for rides. We also discovered it gave us updates on broken down or temporarily closed rides. Neat. The threat of weather kept away enough to keep the park half full. Still enough, but not crazy. The fast passes worked very well on some rides. We got in and started off slow for some of our beginner riders. It turns out that our first encounter was broken down shortly after we got there. Boo. So we went to Nitro. The big guns. Oh well. 300+ feet on the first go. Let's do it!!! That ride was like an elevated Millennium Force. It seated 4 across and the seats were kind of elevated above the car. Freaky!! Awesome!! We made our way around movie town hitting the various thrill rides and then the arcade. We headed across the park to ride the great El Toro, but we were deterred by hunger. After a nice healthy meal or pulled pork, ribs, slaw, baked beans, and over ripe fruit, we were ready to tackle some more. A few of us went on the mine ride right away despite the ingestion of all those delicious morsels of theme park goodness. It was fine. I as a bit jostled, but okay. We took a reprieve and saw a masterpiece of theatre that only a 4 year old could have written at the dolphin arena. It was only 15 minutes, but I swear we had a full 2 hours there with intermission. The sun was baking us now and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Hurrah!!! It was a theme park dream. We made sure to douse ourselves in sun block to protect our fair winter worn skin from the sudden shower of UV rays. It was off to El Toro (a new wooden coaster at the park). The first drop was nearly straight down. There appeared to be no safety brakes throughout the ride and it was smooth. I rolled side to side at the end like a bucking bull. It was AWESOME!! We did a few rides on that one. We took in the rest of the rides including a vomitous spin on the ole teacup ride. Some of that was my fault, but I had a compatriot who was just as guilty and we were spinning that teacup like mad. I felt sorry for our third passenger. I never really get sick on those kinds of rides, but after putting out the effort of spinning it AND getting spun, I was even feeling nauseous. So if I was feeling nauseous, anyone a little squeamish was feeling worse. Oops. After a totally fun day and 2 more fast pass rides on Nitro in darkness (YES!!!), we all were spent and headed home for a good night of sleep. We were all going to sleep so well.
Today I woke up to the same dreariness, only this time it was a reality. No more fog lifting. It was cold and stayed that way. It was all good. I just took in my book and enjoyed the peace. My friend and I fell asleep in the car on the drive back. I felt bad for the driver, but that always happens to me in the car anyhow.
It was a fabulous weekend all around and I wish I could do it all over again. Now I'm feeling a bit of the low of such a high weekend as the new week approaches. At least this weekend for me was the kick off to summer. A start to festivals, outings, and skin burning weather.
posted by Chris | 1:04 AM
|
0 comments
