Coasters: Day 2

(reconstructed from memory)

Today was a full day spent at Cedar Point. We arrived at the park at rope drop, and went full tilt well into the evening when both of us finally had to give up in exhaustian.

We elected to skip the Top Thrill Dragster, as it seemed to only be able to make a half dozen successful launches before breaking down for an hour at a time. There were other, more reliable coasters to ride. Among them:

Cedar Creek Mine Ride: this was another wooden coaster, and for some reason all of the lap bars in each car were tied together such that when the attendant cynched them down it was a bit... uncomfortable. I will forever remember this as the Testicular Compression Ride, and would not go on it again if you paid me a million dollars.

Disaster Transport: this is an indoor dark coaster, sort of like Space Mountain only without the thrills. Lame. Lame, lame, lame. Worst. Coaster. Ever.

Gemini: this is a wooden coaster with two parallel tracks. Two trains are launched at the same tiem, the blue car and the red car. You race each other around the track. Not as good as Mean Streak, but still a pretty dang good coaster.

Magnum XL-200: at the time this ride opened in 1989 it was rated as the best steel coaster in the world. A decade and a half later, and it still holds its own. A great first drop. lots of air time, and and out and back run that looks like it is going to launch you straing into Lake Erie. This is a lovely, lovely coaster and riding it twice wasn't nearly enough. This also featured the single best queue area in the park, entirely in a nice shady area with swamp coolers blowing a cool breeze and some genuinely good musing playing in the background.

Mantis: this one is a stand up coaster with four complete inversions. The queue design is as ingenius as the ride itself, with the line weaving in and around the coils of the track. Very good coaster.

By 8pm Riff had gotten a flash of aura, his warning that a migraine is imminent. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the bullet and did not get hit with the real deal. As for me, I was just generally tired and sore from a full day of walking and riding coasters. Going back to the hotel early seemed like a groovy idea for both of us, so we called it a night.

Tomorrow: south through Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Look! A Chevron!!

(reconstructed from memory)

Sadly we departed Sandusky, Ohio ("America's Roller Coast"), and headed due south. For the first stretch we were driving on a small county highway system simialr to HWY 20 up in Skagit County where I grew up. Small towns, farms, more corn, just a very nice drive. Eventually we hooked up to the interstate, and stopped for lunch just north of the West Virginia border.

Continuing the drive, the first thing I noticed upon crossing the state line was.... a Chevron sign! Yes!! For the first time since Spokane, Washington I could actually pay for gas the way I had budgeted. it was a great relief.

The Appalacians were exactly the way I had imagined them, rolling hills with densely packed forest land. You could walk twenty paces into the woods and never find the highway again. As I weaved my way through the mountains I was listenting to a piece on NPR, an audio diary of a woman walking the Appalacian Trail. It was a very Zen experience.

We crossed the narrowest part of Virginia, the state coming and going so fast I barely even registered it. It's a shame the route did not take us anywhere near Front Royal. I would have liked to have seen it, since it plays such a large role in the books by James Axler. Ah, well... someday...

Late into the evening we finally arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina after hitting major traffic due to road construction. At the hotel my credit card was declined for no good reason (I have since discovered that I was erroneously billed for an extra night at the Sandusky hotel, and am still trying to straighten that out). We were both starving, and the only place we could find that was open was the Waffle House. I am repeating myself here from other posts and conversations, but this place made me feel like I was at an open casting call for COPS. It reinforced every bad stereotype of the south I have ever had, and if I never set foot in another Waffle House it will be too soon.

After dinner there was nothing to do but go to sleep, so that we could get the hell out of North Carolina first thing in the morning.

Tomorrow: Home again, home again, jiggity jog