Kennywood/Cedar Point 9/15-16 (Part One)

First off, I'll say that always expected, but undetermined-in-advance health issue started a week before I left. Once or twice a year, I develop an ear infection that causes my ears to close up, though not all at the same time. So, with my partial deafness already in place, it's not a pleasant experience. There's no pain, but it's very uncomfortable and makes it even MORE difficult than usual to communicate. It started in my left ear, which is the "better" of the two for my normal hearing. On Thursday the 13th, the blockage switched to the right, meaning that my "better" ear was mostly clear. I knew I was gonna go, though, and took off Friday morning for my Brother's in Sharon, PA. Ran into some construction on Rt. 80 in the Poconos, and again about 25 miles from Sharon. Had a really good lunch at Ponderosa in DuBois, PA.

Whenever I take an amusement park jaunt, be it long or short, I always have at least one or two (usually more) what I call "Oh S***!" moments. Those are moments, both good and bad, that can really throw a monkey wrench into your plans and leave a sour taste in your mouth..or..on the flip side..make you realize it was worth the effort and bring a smile to your face. Examples of the former would be a dead car battery, a favorite ride being closed, losing your wallet. Examples of the latter would be getting a prime parking space, seeing no crowds, or scratching a winning lottery ticket.

So before I start the report proper, I'll give you the "Oh S***!" moments.

The BAD Oh S***! Moments:

1. Realizing, about 45 minutes after leaving Kennywood, that I had left my insulin and needles at First Aid.

2. Walking into Waffle House Sunday morning en route to Ohio, removing my glasses to read a flyer, putting them back on, and realizing my entire field of vision was blurry (remember, diabetes can affect your eyes.) When I took the glasses off after sitting at a booth, my vision was what it normally is without the specs. Then I realized it..the right lens had popped out. Retracing my steps, I found it under the flyer, and fortunately, no one had stepped on it.

3. Driving through Ohio after breakfast Sunday, I suddenly had this insane thought, which deserves all capital letters: I SPENT OVER NINE HOURS AT KENNYWOOD AND COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT NOAH'S ARK. I never even SAW the damn thing.

4. Until this weekend, I had only taken two Walks Of Shame due to the inability to secure myself into a ride vehicle. Unfortunately, that number has now doubled. Due to my flab, I was unable to buckle into and ride either Top Thrill Dragster OR Wicked Twister.

I'll get to the GOOD "Oh S***!" moments soon.

Some ramp closures made it a bit difficult getting to Kennywood Saturday morning, but I got there. Was to meet up a fellow by name of Ken, from another forum I participate in, and most of his family. The meet-up was easy, they were already at the spot. We had 5 people..me, Ken, and his daughter and two boys. It's an odd number, but we mostly made it work on the rides. His youngest didn't ride everyhing, and we rode in various combinations. I dropped off my insulin and we headed to Sky Rocket.

I wasn't expecting much based on what I'd read here and elsewhere. Seeing it in person, the layout looked tame, like a Zamperla Moto-Coaster with the color scheme of Bowcraft's Crossbow. And the top hat looked tame. We got on line, waited for it to open, and I rode front solo. Well, looks can be deceiving. I enjoyed the ride. Despite being heavily braked at two spots, including while cresting the first hill, I got a lot of airtime. The launch is pleasantly mild, nowhwere near as rough as it's larger brethren in Jersey and Sandusky. The whole ride was smooth, and the lap-bar restraint very comfy. I hoped for another ride later in the back, but that didn't happen. I was having a sugar drop, so grabbed a Mountain Dew.

We followed that with bumper cars, among the lamest I've been on. But next door to the bumper cars was what I was really looking forward to..the Bayern Kurve. Until my rides on it in 2009, I hadn't been on one in at least 30 years. This was the only ride I rode twice this day. I don't know how fast it goes, but it FEELS like 75mph. Getting tossed like a rag doll and smiling throughout was one of the GOOD "Oh S***!" moments.

Moved onto Exterminator. Rode with Ken, while the kids took their own car. Still my favorite indoor coaster, the ride Dark Knight wants to be when it grows up. No wait.

I think we hit Black Widow next. Ken and Hunter (his youngest) sat this one out. It's what I guess is a Giant Frisbee, but appears to swing much higher than MaxAir, Delirium, et al. It was quite dis-orienting, and I loved it.

Waited a while for Phantom's Revenge. The park was beginning to get crowded, and they put on the second train while we waited. I rode by myself here. That second drop is still one of the most amazing "Oh S***!" moments in all of coasterdom.

I did get a ride later on the Lil' Phantom, the kiddie version. I actually waited quite a bit for that...it's a two cycle ride. The reason I rode it was because they actually have a sign stating that there's no maximum height requirement for the ride. It was nothing special, though. My companions passed on that, and Haley (Ken's daughter) rode the nearby kiddie drop tower (frog hopper.) I was joking with her about her being too big for the kiddie rides, but she gave as good as she got, ifyaknowhattimean.

We walked out of the park to Long John Silvers for lunch. I loved being able to walk such a short distance for a meal I like.

As mentioned, the park had gotten pretty crowded..based on what Ken said, it was more than usual. We did the woods through the afternoon, only getting one ride on each after 30-40 minute waits. Racer left me un-impressed. Thunderbolt is the best wood in the park, but Jack Rabbit has the single best wood moment at Kennywood...the insane airtime jolt on the double-dip. We did some other flats..Aero 360 offered a shorter cycle than Dorney's Meteor, The Cosmic Chaos Disk-O was fun, and we got a little bit of a splash on the flume. I had another sugar drop on line for Cosmic Chaos, so I found a nice treat the boys (and Haley, at the end) helped me put away..a bowl of Dole Pineapple soft-serve ice cream. It was around 8pm, but they hadn't made a closing time announcement yet. Sky Rocket had just re-opened after being down. I would have loved a back seat ride, but the line was very long. Ken and his brood were getting up early the next morning to head to Hershey. I had a 1.5 hour drive to Sharon and wanted to get out early Sunday heading for the Buckeye State. So we decided to call it a night about 8:15. I know there's other stuff I coulda touched on, but that's what I got for now. Considering the crowds, we did pretty good, and Ken and his kids are a cool bunch. I still don't know how I missed Noah's Ark.....

Next Up: Cedar Point Sunday! Stay tooned!

Don't feel bad, Mike. I'll never live down my first trip to Knoebels, where I spent the entire day and completely forgot about Haunted Mansion.