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No. Just Friday and Saturday.

Buck buck buck buck buck buck buck buck buck buck buck thigh pain buck buck BRAKES. Yeah. Fun for the whole family... Must be 54" to ride.

A Sunday at the Food & Wine Festival Busch Gardens kicked off it's annual Food & Wine Festival last week. I went there on Sunday, May 1 to check out this year's new offerings and enjoy the company of god knows how many high-school tour groups (strangely enough, they're weren't all that bad as teenagers go). The weather was perfect that day--sunny skies and highs in the 70s--so the park was fairly busy (especially if you wanted to ride Pantheon in the morning). New to the festival is the Australia booth, which is in the back of Festa Italia. The Aussies boasted what I believe is the single most expensive item (not counting adult beverages) at the event--a wee lamb chop for $10.50! And, yes, you will see the word "Vegemite" on the menu. Greece was a sort of "new" country this year, as the park has offered a "Mediterranean" booth in the past. The menu was mostly a rehash of past years, but it did offer a new dish made with butterbeans. In the past, Italy was just a dessert stop. But they got a snazzy new booth this year, along with an updated menu. You can still get cannolis and a Caprese salad, but they've added a few new dishes this year. And, yes, Italy is located in Italy. Returning this year: Virginia, Hawaii, Mexico, New Orleans, Brazil, Jamaica, Japan, and Korea. There are plenty of bars, too, including the Sangria Garden (for those who like cough syrup with a kick). You can buy a 10- or 15-sample card. I went for the 15, as I know I can use it up before the Festival and it's cheaper than paying as you go. Overall, I think the food quality is better than last year, which seemed a bit "off." Most samples are in the $4.00 to $7.00 range. But a cocktail could set you back $12.00-$15.00 ( you can use the sample card for them). Let's take a walk around the park for the Food & Wine Festival. The Rhine River Cruise is running again, so maybe we can get some nice pictures of Pantheon while we're at it. Here’s the park’s staggered schedule from that day. Some of the Food & Wine booths open around 11:00, but they should all be open by 11:30. Hmm--looks like every high-school tour bus just emptied into Pantheon this morning. I think I’ll wait until the crowd thins out a bit before I test the patience of the gods, again. Pay no attention to this map. Greece is in Ireland. And here’s what you’ll find in Greece, which is in Ireland. This menu includes some items from the “Mediterranean” booth they used to have across from Pompeii (it’s a flower bed now). I think the butter beans are new . . . . . . but I had Spanakopita instead. (Please note that I have nothing against butterbeans.) I stopped at Japan for an oldie but goodie . . . . . . chicken gyoza. Japanese food always tastes best next to a bush of red flowers on a bridge over railroad tracks. I think I saw that on the Food Channel, or something. G’day, mate! We’re new to the festival this year. We’re over by the Roman Rapids, which haven’t been very rapid since 2019. Any chowderhead can cook sausages in beer. It takes an Aussie to use caramelized onions and Vegemite. They weren’t kidding when they called this a “lamb lollipop.” It wasn’t much bigger than a Tootsie Pop (tasted good, though--sauce has a nice kick to it). Confirmation that Da Vinci’s Cradle has gone from “permanently closed” to just plain gone. Just the queue, station, and some theming left. Looks more like a Howl-o-Scream maze now. Italy has a snazzy new booth this year. The Alfredo is the only new item this year, but at least they’ve learned how to spell “Caprese.” I’m not a big fan of olives, but this tasted OK. It was a bit too “gloppy,” though. This gets my Golden Ticket vote for “Best Name for a Theme-Park Bar.” You can get Jamaican food in Germany. But if you’re a hard-core rum enthusiast, you have to go to Canada. The new wine bar in France used to be the crepe stand. It's a "permanent" addition, like BarKastle. The Mexico booth isn’t new, but there was something there I wanted to try here. The Chili Chocolate & Horchata Mousse was pretty good--just enough chili flavor to make it interesting. And where there is Mexican food there must, of course, be margaritas. Or beer. Or both. You make the call. It’s nice to have the Rhine River Cruise running again. You even get something new to look at. You can get a nice view of the Rhine River Cruise from Pantheon, too--while you hold on for dear life. Watch Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, mess with these guys. Apollo says, "Hey, I'm such a cool god, I get a ride all to myself." . I think it was very considerate of the Roman gods to lean you so far over to the left that you can watch the river boats. And since we're in the neighborhood, let's finish with a picture of Alpengeist. I guess that will make at least one of our members very happy. Thanks for reading. Now go get some food and wine!

What are the chances they are closing the Dodge City Bumper Cars, and putting a JLBFM installation there, next to Superman?