More Flags, Less Trains

At the last minute, Kara and I decided to join Todd and his friend Michael on a weekend trip to Six Flags over Georgia, disregarding the forecast which called for mid-40 weather and no sun. The decision to go ended up being a great one!

We left Orlando Saturday around 3:30pm and after a couple stops (including McAlister’s Deli in Valdosta…mmmmmm) we made it up to our hotel, which was 3 miles from the park, around 11pm or so. The night was extremely uneventful, as we all just kicked back and relaxed and prepared for a frigid following day of riding coasters.

In the morning, Waffle House was calling our names so we headed there before Six Flags. Now, I love Waffle House, but I do know it’s not exactly the most amazing food in the world, and this stop exemplified that notion. For example, when I say I want my eggs and hash browns covered, I don’t mean I want them cooked and then a slice of Kraft cheese thrown on top, not melted. No, I mean I want the cheese cooked INTO the eggs and hash brows, so its nice and melted and “one” with my food. Also, my sweet tea tasted kinda like bleach, so I switched that to a Mr Pibb, but everything else was pretty good.

After stuffing ourselves, it was off to Six Flags where we found a ghost town of a parking lot, and managed to park in the first row past preferred parking. The four of us proceeded with a very quick season pass processing trip and then it was through the gates for our day’s adventure.

Now, I love this park. It’s my favorite in the chain that I’ve been to, and I’ve never had a bad experience here. Even on past visits where it was absolutely slammed, it’s always been a good time. Kara, on the other hand, hated this park. The one time before she went, she didn’t get to ride many of the coasters, and she thought Goliath was just not very good.

The day began with a quick ride on Georgia Scorcher, where an annoying trend was first spotted. Before sending a train out (they were only running one, by the way, on everything in the park) the ride operators spent a good 30-45 seconds, EVERY cycle AFTER all of the restraints were checked and the train was ready to go, trying to pump up the crowd with chants and even the wave. Now, being the first ride of the day for us, we all thought it was great that the employees actually seemed to be enjoying themselves and kinda passed it off and enjoyed the enthusiasm; however, as the day went on it began to get very, very annoying. Enthusiasm is great, but not at the expense of delaying operations, especially when you’re only running one train on every coaster in the park.

Off my soapbox now, we all enjoyed the ride (it’s my favorite stand-up coaster) and Kara got a credit she missed on her first trip. Next up was Goliath, and when we arrived, we were very pleased to find only a two-train wait. What we weren’t pleased to find, however, was more chanting, cheering and dispatch delaying on every cycle.

Now, Goliath is my #1 steel coaster, and I knew with the weather conditions today that it would probably run a bit slow and I was expecting that. BUT, much to all of our surprise, it was running surprisingly well! Kara even found a soft spot in her heart for it this time around, which was very exciting for me. Throughout the day, we rode Goliath four times, and my only regret is that we didn’t ride it more.

After Goliath we made a quick stop into Gotham for rides on Mindbender (SO GOOD, but the seats are just way too crammed) and Batman (now blue!) before making our way to the back of the park, only to find four out of five of the coasters on the way closed. Dahlonega Mine Train, Canyon Blaster, Ninja (no tears shed here) and Great American Scream Machine were all closed due to cold temperatures, with Superman being the only one open. This angered us, considering that NONE of these were listed outside of the park as being closed today, and their operating procedures required 50-degree weather to operate all coasters, and not only was it (right at) 50, but half of the coasters were running.

After riding Superman (which has NOTHING on Manta) and then the newly renovated Monster Mansion, we decided to get food, which gave us another reason to get upset. When we got our passes processed, AND when we entered the park, we had multiple employees informing us that passholders get 15% off all food and merchandise in the park. Well, Todd broke off to get Johnny Rockets while me, Kara and Michael went the Panda Express route. NONE of us got 15% off.

Once all of our food was consumed, it was off to guest relations to complain about everything that was going wrong this day, and on the way we realized Georgia Cyclone was also closed this day. As a side note, Acrophobia was closed as well, but they did mention that outside of the gates. After a quick chat with guest relations, they refunded Todd and Mike’s lunches (I threw my receipt away accidentally ) and the rest of the day was spent re-riding coasters and hanging out.

Even though things didn’t turn out as we had hoped they would, it still ended up being a great trip, and I’m glad we decided to join Todd and Mike. The drive went pretty quick, and before we knew it, Kara and I were home and back in our comfy new bed, where the saga has not yet concluded…

But that’s neither here nor there.

Highs and Lows

Friday was equally exciting and depressing.

I began the day with a job interview at BBM that I felt went really, really well. That feeling was qualified when they invited me back, on the spot, for a second interview the following day. I left there feeling like I essentially had the position wrapped up, but trying to be humble and not jump to conclusions. I called my dad to let him know, and after expressing great enthusiasm for me, the conversation then got turned on its head.

He informed me that my grandma had passed away the night before. They didn’t want to tell me at the time because they knew of my job interview and didn’t want me to be distracted and not do a good job. Earlier in the week, they had put my grandma in a Hospice, so the outcome was pretty much never in doubt; it was more a matter of “when?” Luckily for her, she went out in her sleep, without much suffering. And while I’m sad that I didn’t get to speak with her again, I feel lucky that I got the opportunity to visit her a few nights before.

After speaking with my dad, I got ahold of Kara and informed her of how my interview went, and she asked if I had heard the news yet. Apparently, my dad let her know of my grandma’s fate and wanted to give her the heads up before I found out. I told her I knew, and was doing okay. It didn’t really hit me until then, and at that point I kinda broke down a little. I made sure she knew I would be okay, as I didn’t want her to worry while at work.

After composing myself a bit, I headed off to SeaWorld, as I feel the park is good luck to me, and I wanted to have all the luck I could get after my interview. Pulling into the parking lot, there were numerous news trucks outside the main entrance, and even more inside. This day was only two after Tillikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau, and you could just feel a heavy cloud hanging over the entire park. The employees obviously affected, but it was strange feeling a sense of anxiety from the guests, as well. I managed a couple rides on Manta before my friend Todd met me there, at which point we headed back to Shamu Stadium to see what was going on in the area.

At each entrance to the stadium, there was an employee blocking the roped-off walkway, and the underwater viewing area was roped off, as well. Just being in the area at this time was very strange, and its still amazing to me that they resumed shows the following day.

After a ride on Kraken and a couple more on Manta, we decided to take off. I got home and Kara and I spent a quiet Friday evening in.

Saturday turned out to be a GREAT day! Kara started getting really sick the day before, so we spent all day laying around and being lazy (sign me up anytime!) before I headed to my second interview in the early afternoon. That second interview could not have gone better. After arriving, I sat down in the office and the GM basically came right out and said “We were so impressed with you yesterday, that this interview is just a formality. We’d love to bring you on board.”

Kara and my parents were thrilled, and you could definitely feel a bit of tension lift off both of our shoulders. The position is in sales, but I feel as if it could lead to some great things, and I can’t wait to get in there, start, and hit the ground running.

Sunday was an AWESOME day. Chris showed up at our apartment around 8am and we enjoyed a spectacular breakfast from Kara before heading out to Universal. Kara dropped us off and we went straight for Rockit where we managed two front row rides in about 20min. It was somewhat cold out so the ride didn’t seem very fast, but it was a lot smoother than I’ve experienced before, and Chris loved it. My songs of choice today were Crocodile Rock and Freebird.

After our two good morning rides, we bee-lined for Mummy where we walked right onto the front row, as well, which we followed up with a spin on Men In Black. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out around the two parks and CityWalk with an amazing lunch at NASCAR Cafe, before heading into Islands to grab a prime seat to watch the USA-Canada Gold medal game.

During the second intermission, we headed back to the Studios, rode Mummy a couple more times, and then planted ourselves down at Finnegan’s in the park to watch the end of the game. I’ll tell ya what, I’ll never forget that game. Its unfortunate that America lost, but, being in that bar with hundreds of fans of both countries, and experiencing the rollercoaster that was the end of that match is something I’ll always remember.

On the way out of the park, however, something happened that I wish I could forget (and sort of don’t remember). Chris and I were joking around and he knocked me off my feet, and I slammed the back on my head on the ground. I think I was out for a second or two, but I remember hearing the loud crack as it collided with the ground. An employee walked me to First Aid where he treated the scratches and cuts on the back of my arms and head, and made sure I didn’t have a concussion. Everything turned out alright, luckily.

The rest of that night we spent playing basketball, pool, ping pong, virtual golf, and eating lots and lots of Publix hot n spicy wings. Monday was spent sleeping in before having lunch at Panda Express before sending Chris on his way back to Gainesville. I then headed to take my drug test for work and came home with a new game, Fallout 3, which so far, seems to be pretty amazing.

Now if this headache would just go away…

All Around the Sunshine

Tallahassee was a great visit. I can’t really find a better way to kick it off other than that.

I headed to Gainesville on Sunday, with Kara and her mom in tow, and we met up with my mom for lunch and touring. It was the first time our moms had ever gotten the chance to meet, and we both came away feeling accpmplished in the day. My dad was sick with the flu, however, and didn’t make the trip.

We started off at Macaroni Grill, which I’d never had before (still prefer Olive Garden) and had a nice, relaxing lunch. Everyone got the opportunity to get to know one another better, and then we headed off to The Swamp. Kara’s mom isn’t a particularly big football fan, but she wanted to see a Florida campus, so we started off showing her around the athletic areas, including a walk into the stadium.

My mom then parted and headed back to Tallahassee and I took the mother and daughter on a drive around campus. We stopped and took a brief walk around Lake Alice where I assured them I’d find a live alligator for them to view, and lo and behold we ran across one! It was awesome seeing one of these guys in the wild.

After a stop at Coldstone, we parted ways and I made the journey north, and they headed back to Orlando. It was a bit strange to be in Florida at the same time as Kara, and not be together, but I wanted to give her and her mom time together, and figured it’d be a good opportunity to visit with some friends.

Unfortunately, Monday morning my aunt called and told my mom and dad they needed to come to Orlando because my grandma was being put in a hospice. My mom told me to stay in Tallahassee as I planned to visit with friends, but to come see them as soon as I got back.

After they left, I headed over to Sean’s house to hang out and we spent a good portin of the day playing the PS3, before heading out to Po’Boys for dinner. Joining us there was Virgie, Patrick, Natalie, Jon and Wes.

Much to my dissatisfaction, Po’Boys seems to have gone downhill, and fast. I hadn’t eaten at the Pensacola location in over a year, and not only has the service been flushed away, the food was less than amazing as well. It was a bit of a disappointment, but I still had a great time with my friends.

All of us aside from Jon then took off to Patrick and Natalie’s place for the night. The night was wasted away playing XBOX, cards, listening to music, catching up and capped off by a 4hr Wii Bowling marathon that lasted til about 5:30 in the morning.

Obviously, everyone slept in the next day and when we awoke, it was more hanging out. We ordered some pizza, played some Rummy and had a great day. Patrick and Natalie headed out to my house that night to watch the Florida-Tennessee basketball game, and we gorged ourselves on Wing Street wings.

It was an amazing two days, and went far too quickly, but I’m so glad that I got the chance to go home and see a few of my friends, although I wish there was more time to see others.

Wednesday I left and headed back to Orlando, and went straight to my grandparents house. My dad and I then went to the hospice where we spent about three hours with my grandma, mom and uncle. Seeing my grandma like she is was pretty hard, and it truly was sad to see. Unfortunately, she was unconscious the entire time we were there so I didn’t get to speak with her.

My dad and I left around 7 and went to TGIFridays for dinner where another less-than-stellar dinner was had. Its really unfortunate that all of these places I love to eat at are going so far downhill. After dinner, I headed back home to spend the rest of the night with Kara and her mom, as she was scheduled to fly out early the next morning. When I arrived, they toured me around the apartment, showing off all the new goodies they bought to spice things up. I especially liked what they did with the bathroom, as we had problems finding a good mix of things we liked.

It was sad seeing her mom go, as we all had a great time together. Her mom is so nice and thoughtful, and I’m really happy we got to spend time with her and show her around Florida.

Yesterday was another crazy day as dad and I spent every minute crawling the city trying to find me a nice, new suit. After hours of store-hopping, we finally settled on something we agreed was attractive and multi-functional. Once finished, we headed out to the Give Kids the World Village where Kara showed us around her office (house), the entire Village, and we played a game of 7-hole putt putt. It was an awesome experience, and I’m glad my dad got to see it.

So now, its another chilly day in Florida and I gotta get ready for a job interview…and will probably follow that up with a trip to SeaWorld for hopefully some good luck.

Driving Into the Storm

Yesterday ended up actually being a great day!

We planned on getting up early and trying to make it to Busch Gardens around opening because we knew a big storm would be hitting around noon. That didn’t work out. Finally dragging ourselves out of bed and getting ready, we managed to leave Orlando around 12:30…right as the storm was pulling into Tampa.

As we’re driving down I-4, the radio keeps telling us about tornado warnings all around the area. We knew we’d be getting ourselves into some bad weather, but not that bad.

First on the agenda was Bed, Bath & Beyond where we failed, once again, in finding suitable bathroom floor mats. We ended up purchasing some nice, circular dinner mats for our bar area, instead. Next was a trip across the street to the Westfield Mall; which was most likely the strangest footprint and layout of a mall I’ve ever been to. We killed about an hour there and made the decision to try and get some rides in at Busch Gardens, regardless of the weather.

The drive to the park was littered with more tornado warnings, and once we arrived, we were delighted to find that they were not only open, but we were one of maybe 100 other cars there. Trudging through the rain, we made it in and realized, after miles of walking, that nothing was running except the Ubanga Banga bumper cars. Figuring “why not,” we rode and were treated to probably the worst, slowest bumper cars in the world. But at least we got to ride something!

In defeat, we started heading back to the front of the park to leave when we heard Sheikra’s lift horn sounding. Making a quick turnaround, we saw Rhino Rally running, and considering its always about an hour wait, we jumped at the opportunity to get a ride in with no wait. And boy am I glad I never waited for this ride!

We then headed back to Kumba, which was still not operating, and ran over to Sheikra to try our luck there. Much to our delight, Sheikra was open, and we got a front row ride with only two other people on the train; unfortunately, right as we were going up the lift, the skies opened up again and we got absolutely soaked! It was a lot of fun, however, even though we got drenched.

By the time we got off, the park was closing and the rides shut down again due to weather. In the end, the trip was worth it as we had a lot of fun playing in the rain and essentially having the park to ourselves.

After leaving, we made the 45min trip southwest to this amazing place named Quaker Steak & Lube. Kara had been raving about their wings, and we decided to check it out.

Oh my God was the drive worth it.

We started our dinner adventure with Magna Fries (fries loaded with cheese and bacon) and then moved onto two Compact Buckets of wings. I got half and half of Dusted Chipotle BBQ and Medium. Kara ordered Permesan Pepper and Louisiana Lickers. We spent our hour there trying out each others wings and wowwwww, do I have a new favorite wing joint or what? The Dusted Chipotle BBQ and Louisiana Lickers were easily my two favorites.

Stuffed to the brim, we made the drive back to Orlando, made a quick stop at Publix and finished the night of with The Invention of Lying. Overall, it was ana amazing day, and I’m very glad we decided to brave the weather and not just sit around inside all day.