Ride On! as they say
As the cap to a pretty stressful summer, Jeremy and I decided to do something completely impractical and fun, and so today we went to Cedar Point. People who know me know that I get motion sickness on like, bicycles, so historically I have not enjoyed Cedar Point to an extreme degree. However, Jeremy is a "coaster enthusiast" and his delight is contagious.
We decided to proceed with our plans this morning despite some light rain. The rain increased in severity for the first few hours we were there, but we had dressed appropriately and were mostly content, as the majority of the rides were still operating. By two or three o'clock, the precipitation had cleared up completely.
I wouldn't set foot on anything other than the medium-strength Iron Dragon. Jeremy rode that with me, as well as more advanced coasters the Millenium Force and the Wicked Twister (which we kept mistakenly calling the Twisted Sister). The rest of the time we were there was taken up, unfortunately, by standing in line. Still, we had a great time escaping the daily grind of grown-up living for an afternoon. Highly recommended!
Click ahead for Cedar Point stories.
In the past, I have retired to a bench while Jeremy waited in line for the big coasters, the rides I wouldn't be taking. I had my iPod with me this time and sitting outside the Wicked Twister, I decided to listen to an audiobook, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
This is how the first paragraph looks.
This is how the first paragraph sounded: "In the town there were two [drowned out by excited screaming: AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!] and they were always together. [Me: two what? two what?] Early every morning they would come out from the house where they lived and walk arm in arm down the street to work. The two friends were [AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!] The one who always steered the way..."
I also had brought a physical book along, but it was still raining pretty steadily at this point, and I didn't want to get the book wet. So I decided that, this time around, instead of trying to keep myself busy while Jeremy stood in line, that I would accompany him through it. When it was time to board, I would just head immediately for the exit instead of getting on the ride.
I snuck back in line, and my plan worked very well for the Wicked Twister, which begins and ends in the same spot. I snuck out the exit with all the people who had just ridden the ride (and made the guy in line behind me extremely happy when he realized there was a seat for him).
It didn't go like clockwork at the Millenium. There are different locations on the coaster for loading and unloading. To get to an exit, I had to elbow through the remainder of the line (telling people, "Just going to the exit! Just going to the exit! Not cutting! Exit!" which made one guy say good-naturedly, "No, don't be a chicken!") and then ask for permission to use an employee exit. They readily agreed as I was not the only one 'chickening out' on that ride--a little girl who had probably barely just reached the height requirement had asked to leave while her dad rode the coaster.
The little girl and I conversed briefly while we made our way out of the ride. I asked if the ride was too scary for her, and she said, without reservations, "Yes!" After a moment, she said, "I was going to ride it." I confessed that I had never for a second intended to ride it. Then I told her she'd ride it next year. "No way--never!" she said.
Some of us are just not coaster people. But we get along fine.
Comments