How the Medulla detaches from the spine, or I Am That I Am - Part 2
Associated parks:
None
As we’re sleeping, or should I say Santi is sleeping, I notice the fan for the air conditioning pulsing back and forth between “cool” and “fan.” Normally, this wouldn’t be that big a deal, but being overtired, and again completely excited about what was to come, I just couldn’t lull my brain into a state of quietness. By 3:30am I was in a terribly angry, and foul mood, and yet completely devoid of what’s known as an awake spirit. I was monstrously tired, and I knew what I had to do. I got up, slapped the side of the bed, and went to the thermostat, where I cranked that puppy to the coldest temperature it’d go to. This would keep it from dropping off into the “fan” mode. That air conditioner mode change was just loud enough to get me out of my “almost there” daze every time. As I strode smuggly back to my rack, I noticed Santi slept in a near perfect, flat back, head slightly tilted, pose. How jealous was I, that I had to side sleep, and have always side slept, because I was trained in the ways of the Ninja. Damn him, and his perfect sleeping style.
Within 10 minutes, the air conditioner dropped into “fan” mode again, and I knew then it was going to be a very long night. This was merely capped by the worst sleeping insult of all.
Now, I realize you didn’t come here to read my nonsensical ramblings of sleep habits, but here’s the issue:
I love traveling.
I love hotels.
I love the fact that you can take 50 showers (which I do) and still have hot water. What drives me to the absolute brink of fingernail ripping madness is short sheeted beds, and ill fitting mattress pads.
I know you know what I mean.
I’m referring to beds that don’t have the correct size sheets on them, as the hotel managers have been scrimping for years, saving a buck here and there. It’s an annoyance beyond belief to be somewhat pleasantly sleeping/dozing, only to find your toes dragging their nails on the bare stitching of a hotel mattress. Besides the fact that the sheets aren’t really comfortable, given their insanely low thread count, you never know who’s pubic hair is having a midnight dance with your big toe’s nail bed.
After an hour or so of sweating, swearing, and being disgustingly uncomfortable, I must have drifted off to sleep. I can only hope that my mind dreamt, as I have no recollection, and my body awoke to some pretty troubling, nay disturbing, gleet in the ol’ eyes.
I could never recall when I was ever more loathe to the sound of a wakeup call.
A shower.
A gentle flossing.
A dismissed shave.
A gentle brushing of my white, non-capped teeth, and an application of baby powder, because we all know how humid the south can get.
(This, and I don’t need any additional sore spots attributed to the inadvertent rubbing of my “chowder,” as my wife calls it. ;))
We headed down to the lobby, where Kyle awaited us. We decided to drive my car over since I was suffering from a slightly sprained ankle. Upon arrival, we noticed nary an auto. It was nice to know we were so early, but it was also a bit troubling, as we noticed 2 signs, both saying SFKK was closed. After a few heart stopping minutes, we spoke to a park employee and found that we weren’t 30 minutes early, but 90 minutes early, as SFKK opens at 11am.
Damn.
We took off to get some breakfast, and arrived back just in time to catch up with a few friends from other websites I peruse.
Just to be safe, I won’t name a lot of names in this TR. It’s not to be discourteous. It’s that I’ve a terrible memory with names, be it folks that I’ve met recently, in the past, or never. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, so I’ll keep the name dropping to a minimum, thank you.
I attempted to purchase my (cheaper) annual pass, but the previous evening’s lightning storm had short circuited all the parks electronics. We were lucky to use a credit card at all. Fortunately, I was able to procure one later in the day.
We all caught the pre-gate show, as it were, with the entire Looney Tunes line up. Although I could care less about such a display, I was thrilled to see that SFI is trying. Many were standing there, clapping along to their antics, and/or singing along with the songs. It’s a good sign of things to come.
The gate opened, and we were off.
First on the list this day, as is always the case when going to SFKK, was Chang.
My last attempt at enjoying this ride came in May of 2003, just prior to SRM. I didn’t like it then, (as I’d had an experience on Dominator, then known as Batman: Knight Flight, that was rough as an unshaven Harrison Ford) and didn’t expect to like it now. Besides the gluttonous display of pill downing, I had decided that B&M had some major issues with track fabrication, or it could have been SFI’s serious lack of care towards their steel rides. Either way, to put it bluntly, K:BF sucked, and Chang didn’t do much to change my mind. This day was to be Santi’s first true steel ride. Yes, he had ridden the Corkscrew at Silverwood, but we all know that doesn’t really count. ;)
We had jumped the gun so well into that part of the park, thanks to a few friends that knew all the shortcuts, that we stood in line, ready to take the front seat, with nary a yelp from anyone. We stood Santi to the far left, mostly to get him over the track, where he would feel the most exposed. Chang climbed the lift, and we were gone. Within seconds, I could see that this wasn’t the Chang of 2003. Yes, it still rattled a bit, but with nowhere near the ferocity it did in past days. Chang was a smooth(ish) machine now, and it was pleasing. As we tore into the brake run, Santi exclaimed how cool it was to ride something that moved like that. Jumping all over the old adage, I couldn’t resist to say that he “hadn’t seen anything yet.” The line had jumped quickly to a 3-4 train wait, and there were coasters to ride, so we bailed out, and headed towards Thunder Run, where we were immediately accosted by a few pals.
As in my previous trip here, Thunder Run was an interesting bolt out of the blue. I’ve never been that big a fan, yet it does what it does so very right. It was nice to see that the restraints stayed restrained this time, instead of uncorking on the lift hill, or into a hard left turn. Santi, as well as the others, expressed a big happy smile after 1 of a few intended runs. Thunder Run is a great coaster. I still don’t know what I really think, as far as ranking it might go, but damn if it isn’t a splendid change of pace from the typical woodie. Perhaps it’s the constant left turns?
For whatever reason ( I guess he had the right to be credit whoring), Santi wanted to ride T2. I ‘m not a fan, let me say that much. I’ve only been on a few Hang and Bangs that I’ve moderately enjoyed, and one I’ve loved. Still, T2 doesn’t fit into either mold, so I’ll keep it short as to say, it didn’t suck as much as in the past, but I’d never have one in my own park. It didn’t head bang. It did have some serious potholes, though. Yikes.
Next, we did a “group hug” on the Roller Skater. I had actually never ridden this until Friday. 2003 was a day of long lines, and I wasn’t in the mood that particular day. Today, however, was my day, and I’ll be the first to say it in this TR. Roller Skater is a blast. Way too short, granted, but it’s a sweet ride. Oh, how I wish Vekoma would stick to the smaller family rides. What a world this would be, and they’d probably be in the black financially, if they aren’t already….or moreso? ;) Anyways, back to the day.
Our group of 20 or so enthusiasts/tools had already planned, with much foresight apparently, to have a lunch with the GM of SFKK, Jay Thomas. Jay took quite a bit of time out of his day to greet us, answer questions, tell us the direction of SFKK (his intended, I should say), and the proposed direction of SFI. As is typical with these meetings, there are moments of eye rolling, and yawns. However, Jay made a great effort to show that his park, and SFI in general is truly looking to improve the greater experience of the public, let alone the ramblings of the 1/16 of 1% of the enthusiast populace. He’s a refreshing cat, mind you, and even took the time to treat us to lunch, and free beverages. What a man. On the way out, he handed out his business card, and made a very big point that we could, and should take the time to email him. The emails could be regarding the experience of the day at SFKK, or general concerns we, as enthusiasts, had about the chain.
I brought up my one sore subject: The horsecollars on Revolution. Granted, he’s not the GM of SFMM, nor apparently has much authority. He does, however, have the ear of the boss man himself, Mr. Shapiro, and said that although there are certainly no promises to be made, it truly can’t hurt (like those lame ass online polls that don’t do ****), as he’ll forward them on, and comment along with them. He did say that things are being considered all over the map with SFI, and nothing is too farfetched to hope for…. Even something that only appeals to a small percentage of the masses.
Granted again, I believe that although the GP at large doesn’t know much, nor care much, about Revolution, a better experience on the ride leads to positive word of mouth, which in turn means a positive outlook for SFI. I’ll email him, and ask him if it’s ok if I post his email. He is quite insane, though, as his cell number is listed on his card!
After the “interesting” lunch, we tarried off to the Twins. Yes, they’re known as the Twins now. I’m curious how many coasters have been named thrice, but that trivia will have to wait for another time. J
The Twins still have the same Gerstlauer’s (squeeking, terrible tracking, no room, junk trains), but they aren’t as bad as other coasters’ versions. All I remember is the pink side, whichever side that ultimately is, scored a direct hit in the positive department, and the green side sank into a less than gentle yawn. One ride was enough, although Matt, Kyle, and Frank insisted on a freebie “jump-on” ride. We decided to take a picture of them as they passed near the exit tunnel.
Here’s where the day got really amazingly interesting.
My cell phone rings, and my buddy Gwon, from Bellevue, WA., is on the other end. These are a close paraphrasing of his words:
“Dude, I’m not trying to freak you out, or anything, but the block around your wife’s workplace is cordoned off, and has police tape all around it. The city is at a standstill because her bank is on the main block. There are news helicopters flying overhead. There is one ambulance, and about 35 police cars. There is also a bomb squad. I’ll try to find out more, but don’t worry. I’m sure everything’s fine.”
Somehow, I thought, maybe everything isn’t fine?
I tried calling her cell phone. No answer.
I tried calling her office phone. No answer.
I tried again.
…and again.
…and again.
…and again.
…and again.
I decided if something bad had happened, I would probably hear from someone close to Tomoko, and they’d parlay that to me. Still, it was hard to enjoy my day after that bit of quite sobering news.
In between rides, I’d inevitably get a call from a friend of mine, or hers, who would ask me what was going on, yet I had less answers than they did.
We decided to break the day open a bit by heading towards the drop tower, Hellevator. Sadly, the Intamin drop tower was down, and was to stay that way the rest of the day. Too bad, as I deeply enjoy the thrill this generation of drop rides supply. Santi was going to continue to miss out on the big thrills…..
Instead of that, he and Matt opted for the Skycoaster. I’ve done these twice in my life. Once, my first experience, at Kobe’s Portopialand, and the second at Valleyfair. Santi was pretty much insisting that I go, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spring for the ride. I told Santi that the only way I’d go is if I didn’t have to pay, as they just freak me the hell out. Santi immediately jumped at that idea, and offered to drop the coin for me.
A lump grew in my throat.
I backpedaled faster than a greasy, stoned, Led Zeppelin fan looking for Satan. I was out, I tell you.
Nope.
No can do.
Nada.
I wasn’t riding that damn thing. I love the drop, but I hate the slow climb to the top, with the nylon shoulder straps groaning as they stretch over your skin. It always causes a chain reaction of heart palpitations, and nausea. Just when you really feel as you might be birthed out of the harness, you get the soul warming countdown that signals your urine releasing doom.
Hell no.
As Matt and Santi flopped their arms in “chicken” calling tandem, I stood to the side of the drop zone, and called for my wife again. Nothing. I was, however, very fortunate to stand next to a very hot milfy (is that a word?) woman. Her daughter had just taken a solo ride (I don’t even understand that), and was being unstrapped. She had overheard my dilemma, and offered her condolences. I wish I could have taken her up on them. ;)
3…
2…
1…
I love that sound as the cable snaps, just in time to halt the riders from becoming aged ground beef. Santi, and Matt flew by, catching some mighty air, and drifted back and forth until they too stopped.
Funny. If they had a bungee ride, I’d have probably done that. Damn, I’m weird.
Santi, and Matt (can you tell they were joined at the hip by now?) took off to get a credit on the Road Runner Express, while I processed my season pass.
The process was much quicker and easier this year, although I noticed that they aren’t exactly careful in who, or what is the background. Behind me, you can clearly see two young women, smiling away. It was nice to know that I purchased a pass that apparently 3 different people could have used over the course of the year. ;)
After using the restroom (because that wonderful food digests OH so well…), and answering the phone from another distraught friend concerned for my wife’s well being, we decided to head off to our hotel, and Holiday World. Matt decided to stay behind to join another friend, but we knew we’d see him later in the night.
We jumped into that oh so warm Kia sedan, and headed down the freeway, where we were being raced by various other enthusiasts. Besides dodging the occasional deer carcass, we thought it might be a good idea to catch some early grub, just in case Holiday World would run out from all the obese enthusiasts, or we’d loathe the food so much, we’d have been dreaming that we stopped earlier. We decided (make that I decided) to stop at Arby’s for a sammich, but lo and behold, their credit card machines were down as well from the previous evening’s storms, so I had to borrow some cashola from Santi. I’m curious if God isn’t a Mastercard or a Visa man? Maybe he only prefers Diners Club? T’would explain my good fortunes, eh? Happily, Santi had enough to satisfy my inner cravings, and we headed back towards I-64 with a purpose.
Holiday World was calling. Forget the hotel check in. There’s coasters in them there hills.
As we pulled off the 64, we noticed a few cars coming in the distance, so we pulled our monster torque machine out onto the highway, heading south. Whoever was in that car coming down the road from Wendy’s really wanted to get south, because he was on our ass. Hard. What the hell is wrong with southern drivers? I swear I’ve never seen so many tailgating (nay… asspoking) drivers. They don’t just get close. They drive like doctors checking out that one questionable carcinogenic mole that grows near your ass crack.
Geez.
As we rounded the bend a few miles down, the Voyage came into view. It’s quite a sight, honestly. We pulled into the Holiday World lot, and unpacked our things, making sure to grab just enough for the night, without having to come back to the car, or purchase a locker. We saw a few folks we were excited to meet up with, specifically Matthew Sullivan, and his father, and decided to catch a quick coaster tour around the park, mostly for Santi’s sake, as a warm up.
Raven - with the exception that it wasn’t night time yet, Raven was running well. Very smooth in the lake turn, and fast, fast, fast through the curvy return to the station. Good stuff, and an excellent way to return to this park! We had chosen to ride in 6-1 for his first ride on this classic barnburner. Santi seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
Legend – We chose to take a middle train seat, probably 4-2, if my memory serves me correctly, and we were off. It was nice to hear the “howl” at the top of the lift, just prior to the drop. Legend still has a surprising drop, and is very powerful. That’s pretty much it. After that, the work on this coaster has shattered my former #1’s glory, by taking all the piss and vinegar out of the ride. Sure, it’s one big right handed turn at the “4 corners of death,” but they’re taken so slow now you just feel annoyed rather than frightened or thrilled. It’s truly a shell of its former self. Goodbye #1. Maybe I’ll see you again someday? Santi thought it was pretty good, and if I remember well, he preferred it to Raven at the time.
Newbie.
Well, then we strode off to the Voyage. There’s not much to say about it. ;)
Honestly, I’ve been worried about this portion of the TR. Yes, I could describe everything (again) in great detail, as I’ve done in the past, or I could refer you to the other 100 or so TRs that have been written that pretty much say what I felt as well. I will say a few things, though.
Santi and I rode in 7-1. The climb was quick. The drop was nice, although a little less air than I expected. Allright a LOT less air than I expected. Given the length of the train, I fully assumed I’d be standing up all the way down the drop. Not so on this ride. Not so on any rides over the weekend. The 3 outbound hills are very nice, and are taken amazingly fast. No lag on them like Shivering Timbers or SD2K, but fast, faster, and fastest. That was quite a shock honestly. The first tunnel is cooler, just as Will Koch said in his blog. What was a shocker from my assumptions based on the online video was the remaining part of the ride. No video gives you any idea of the forces or proximity to be decapitated that this ride provides. The second tunnel is a fright. The drop in is a LOT steeper than the video seems to show, and was very nice. After that, the ride dives into the turnaround which we’ve all heard so much about. Seemingly all hell breaks loose at this moment.
For posterity’s sake, I’ll address this section in a separate paragraph.
The hard banked sweeping left is very tight, and brutally violent, whatwith the reverse banked hill, and the reverse banked corner into the first 90 degree turn. To me, this is the only moment of the ride that I loved, and hated. I realize that’s quite an interesting dichotomy, but what can you say about this section? The reverse sections seem to cry out “look what we can do” from the designers. I felt like we were strapped to the end of a smart bomb, and were being flung to our deaths in some military office building in Iraq, with the whole world, or at least the coaster designers, laughing all the way. I really do feel that the Gravity Group guys have designed a section that isn’t right, yet they’ve proven that it works by sheer speed alone. My main problem is at night when you can’t plan for it, yet it’s there, pulling you from the top out of your seat, then planting you on your ass hard into the first 90 degree. It was a pace killer for me, but it was exciting. I’ll give ‘em that. I don’t know…. I could probably complain about that section all day, yet is a terrific sequence.
Anyways, back to our first ride.
After the first 90, you hit another in the opposite direction, then hit a few speed bumps, turns, a dive, then a very quick rise into the midcourse block. Fortunately, they weren’t, and supposedly still aren’t, braking the coaster here. Perhaps I should say unfortunately?
After that block, you realize all hell didn’t break through before. NOW, it was breaking through. Satan was coming to this party, and you’re all going to take a bite o’ peach.
The triple down is great. Really great, in fact. The 3rd drop is a huge surprise, and has quite an edge to it. My only complaint is I would like to see the tunnel a little longer to keep the light out until the coaster was racing through the structure again.
After the triple down, the feeling of speed is startling. I’ve never felt a coaster move this fast before. Yes, you get a great sensation of speed on say… Millennium Force, yet you don’t feel like it’ll come off the damn tracks. With Voyage, I could say it’s frightening, and got much more so by the evening.
The train races back towards the station at a terrifying pace, on occasion at brief moments, hitting some insanely designed hills, and corners. This coaster dances all the way back to the brakerun. The two most monstrous moments for me were the last 90, and the crossovers.
1) The last 90 degree isn’t so much harsh, as it’s a moment that propels the ride even faster towards your date with the crossovers. I couldn’t believe how it felt, but it could be best described as if a giant were standing at the back of the coaster, and firmly plants his boot into your ass to kick you towards the finish line. Amazing stuff, and just flawless.
2) The crossovers are brilliant. I don’t think I’ve ever been so overwhelmed on a coaster, or on any given element. Just mindblowing, and taken so fast. The first is already a blur, then the ride drops down under/next to the station, only to come out, and hit the last crossover at even more speed, then turns to hit the hardest sets of left turns ever.
Wow!
When you finally hit the last tunnel, and few turns, and hill, you’re done. Not just stick-a-fork-in-it done, but wacked-by-Joe-Pesci-with-a-steak-knife-in-the-trunk-of-a-Cadillac done. I was just waiting for Godzilla to step out of clouds, and crush me.
People have speculated wildly about what this coaster would do. We’ve all heard over the past week about what it DID do. I’m here to say the same thing, with a dissenting opinion on the tailend.
The Voyage is the real deal. It does everything and more. It throws in everything, including the kitchen sink. It can’t be topped. It doesn’t need to be. Do you know why?
1) You can’t make it longer. Nobody would want to ride it.
2) A steel version of it already exists in southern Massachusetts.
To me, the issue I have with Voyage isn’t anticipointment.
It’s overstimulation.
There are far too many elements, and the ride is taken at such break neck speed that I can’t digest them. If I could actually stomach to ride it more than 2 times in a row (which I can’t!), I still wouldn’t be able to know what really happens. I know what’s there, because I’ve been told, and/or I can slow down the POV to see what is there, yet, I’ll never really experience it the way I wanted to. It’s an absolute testimony to the power of a computer, and a few geeky designers’ evil sides. I loved it, and disliked it. Greatly.
Of course, your mileage may indeed vary, but it’s nowhere near #1 for me. If I rated coasters on the “ass handing” factor, Voyage beats….nay, crushes the competition. There’s no doubt in my mind that 99% of the world will love this ride, even if it isn’t that re-rideable.
The polls will scream #1.
Children in Sudan will be fed.
Christ will return and give the world a 1000 years of peace.
Then He’ll ride this beast, and start Armageddon. ;)
Before we were let go in the evening for the official Holiwood Nights fest, Pat Koch gave a prayer. It was a very nice, and interesting moment for me. I realized they know what they have standing so tall and proud in the late evening Indiana sun, and they knew 1000 enthusiasts were going to ride her.
Pat prayed so that we might live.
Finally, after dinner, I was able to reach my wife, and hear her lovely voice. She was fine, of course, but was shocked that the bank robbery was even happening. She wasn’t aware of it until 2 armed, and heavily armored officers came into the bank shouting “clear!” Apparently, the robber was a homeless man, who wanted $2750 dollars exactly. They caught him because they had to take so much time to count out single bills.
What a moron.
When the police caught up to him, he stated that he had a bomb in his backpack. They cut it off of him, then called in the bomb squad, and bomb robot that ultimately disarmed the bomb-like device.
I was glad to hear from her, and now that I knew she was ok, there was fun to be had at the hands of the coasters and friends I knew so well.
The rest of the evening was a mishmash of coaster riding, and occasional tomfoolery. The coaster riding came early. The tomfoolery came later in the evening.
After the event, we skedaddled back to the campground, proceeded to drive in circles for 20 minutes, then finally found Mike’s trailer. Strange things weren’t afoot this evening, but it was really nice to spend some down time with the boys, and girls. I love my friends, and once more this time proved that these events aren’t about coasters. They are about friends, and the relationships that come from meeting people who share the same passions.
After a few drinks, I was pretty tired, not to mention a bit hammered. I asked Santi to drive us to the hotel in Tell City. Having never been to Tell City, I was more than a bit shocked to see the road traveling there had a great many airtime moments, as it were. Fortunately, we got to the hotel in one piece, checked in, showered, and slept in until 11am the next day. Sure, Holiday World was waiting for us again, but we had all day to soak in her glory, and soak it in we did.
Too bad we couldn’t stay in the damn innertubes on those waterslides. ;)
Stay tuned for part 3. *** Edited 6/4/2006 12:36:23 AM UTC by nasai***
The Flying Turns makes all the right people wet - Gonch
Us midwesterners know where we are and the mason dixon is 600 miles south of HW :)
Great TR, Keep em comming!
That's a GREAT way to sum up these events at Holiday World. I noticed that at my first SRM in 2000, enjoyed a lot more in 2001 and really, really came to appreciate it this year at HWN.
As much as I rode the coasters, I could have gotten TONS more rides, but I have no regrets whatsoever about taking it slow for most of my trip and enjoying new and old friends. I was supposed to make this trip with three other non-enthusiasts, but the way it ended up, going alone, I think turned out even better than planned. It was a great time.
Great TR, looking forward to Pt3
Charles Nungester said:
Since when is Southern indiana SOUTH?Us midwesterners know where we are and the mason dixon is 600 miles south of HW
Great TR, Keep em comming!
Ah, see this is a concept we Chicagoans understand well enough. But go any farther south than St. Louis or Champagne, IL and you seriously feel like you're in frickin Atlanta. Makes NO sense to me either. ;) *** Edited 6/4/2006 8:09:41 AM UTC by Kenmei***
Watch out for flying maps!
Our editors (yeah, right, we don't need no stinkin' editors) define "The South" as anyplace where we KNOW the difference between *sweet tea* and *sweetened tea*. If you DON'T know the difference....well, "You might be a yankee if".... ;)
:)
*** Edited 6/4/2006 3:53:28 PM UTC by rollergator***
The Flying Turns makes all the right people wet - Gonch
Nasai your TR's are way too entertaining. I eagerly await part 3!
Watch out for flying maps!
Voyage addiction, OTOH.... ;)
bill, eagerly anticipating a sudden e-mail at SOME point this summer that tells me when to fly into a specified airport for more laps on that THING...trust me, I'll BE back, this year, for more....
(...and I'll sneak back to Bowling Green, gotta use that voucher for some KRumbler rides)... :)
The Flying Turns makes all the right people wet - Gonch
Charles Nungester said:
Us midwesterners know where we are and the mason dixon is 600 miles south of HW :
Am I missing a joke here? 600 miles south of Holiday World would put the Mason-Dixon line about 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The actual Mason-Dixon line is about 470 miles northeast of Holiday World. The south technically starts somewhere between 10 and 115 miles south of Holiday World.
Oh, and thanks for the entertaining TR. ;)
-Nate (who is proud to not know the difference between sweet tea and sweetened tea)
The best part of these trips is the friends and gatherings, and I'm sorry I had to miss this one.
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
coasterdude318 said:
Charles Nungester said:
Us midwesterners know where we are and the mason dixon is 600 miles south of HW :Am I missing a joke here? 600 miles south of Holiday World would put the Mason-Dixon line about 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The actual Mason-Dixon line is about 470 miles northeast of Holiday World. The south technically starts somewhere between 10 and 115 miles south of Holiday World.
Oh, and thanks for the entertaining TR. ;)
-Nate (who is proud to not know the difference between sweet tea and sweetened tea)
You don't know where the Mason Dixon line is either :) Draw a line across the united states starting at Macon Ga.
Chuck
http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/masondixon.htm
The Flying Turns makes all the right people wet - Gonch
The places in RED....you can get real "sweet tea" there...LOL! :)
^ Maryland, aka "The Old Line State", due to divisions within the state over whether to join the Union or the Confederacy. In true "States' Rights" fashion, some fought with one side, some with the other...
*** Edited 6/6/2006 9:10:27 PM UTC by rollergator***
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0832111.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/20000829.html
Still the PA/Maryland border is nowhere near Southwest Indiana.
Granted, you cross the ohio river and you get some southern but it isn't till about mid tennessee that I'd consider it the south.
Chuck
Depending on how you define "south", Kentucky may or may not be included. According to the "Mason-Dixon line as border between north and south" philosophy, Kentucky is in the south, as it is south of the Ohio river. However, Kentucky officially remained a part of the Union during the Civil War, though it was (for all intents and purposes) a border state in which people were on both sides. As you can see in the Wikipedia article gator linked to, the inclusion of Kentucky is iffy. This is why I said Holiday World is somewhere between 10 miles (Kentucky Border) and 115 miles (Tennessee border) from the South.
The original Mason-Dixon line is definitely 470 miles northeast of Holiday World (between PA and MD). As you used the term, however, it lies only slightly further south than HW. It has nothing to do with Macon, Georgia however (that's Mason with an "s", not Macon with a "c").
-Nate
*** Edited 6/6/2006 9:37:23 PM UTC by coasterdude318***
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