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Our footings are in.

Day 21: Friday, June 23rd - travel day to Tampere, Finland (where we'd be going to Särkänniemi the next day) it was a decently long bus ride, so at just under the 1/2 way point, we had a pit stop at a Roadside Traveler Center. it was lovely here - I remain so struck as to how "clean" everything was! this wasn't just ANY traveler center tho. . . this place seemed to be fairly famous, or at least really well known. as it's also a cheese factory! yes, get gas, go potty, get snacks, and watch them make cheese (explains the cow on the roof) not sure what this was next door, but seemed to be getting used as overflow parking. and not only on the roof. . but Cows in side! photo op one can even "milk" them. this one, sadly, didn't "groan" like the one in Japan did when I "milked" it. . but if recalling, this one had plastic udders that stretched as you pulled on them. photo op out of the way, I wandered to the back of the traveler center and peeked down at the "Cheese-making" floor. Seriously, they have large windows, so travelers can watch. .it really is a destination. there's also a pretty large store, that not only sells the cheese (in giant wheels, blocks, cuts) but also all kinds of snacks and hot food. here was my attempt to get something for the bus that was not Licorice flavored. (the Mountain Dew was super sweet and disgusting. . the cookies were good. . .but the coated dried bananas were a bit bland, as was the chocolate bites - they were like larger, flatter, mellower M&Ms, with a thicker shell). arriving in Tampere, we checked into the hotel - where the front desk clerk mentioned it was "Midsommer" - which explained why it seemed so "empty" for a Friday in the city. there were people about, but no where near as busy as I'd expected. And many shops were closed for the day, as it was explained that most go out to the Country to sauna and to celebrate on this day. the hotel was lovely: tho had a weird shower stall, that opened on both sides from the corner. . resulting in more difficulty for this American Idiot to keep the water out of the rest of the bathroom when showering Nice view from the room. it's not a small city, but it was pretty quiet this day. I was gonna meet up with Jon (and I think Jason?) and we were gonna meet up with Andrew, Erik & sMisty to roam around the city. . but on my way down I popped into the Men's Sauna that was offered at the hotel. very lovely, even if empty (again, was told folks leave the area for the holiday). NOTED. . . no naked ass on the benches! I'd never done a Sauna. . but I figured if ever was the time? In Finland on Midsommer? yeah.. I'd break my sauna cherry here later tonight (you're welcome that I won't share that pic) down on the street in front of the hotel, we met up, and I marveled at how gorgeous the day was. a few folks out and about. . but pretty empty for a "not small" city today. we found a few places open in our wandering. . including this fun "novelty" store, that some bought some stuffies at. some random "street" art. . was pretty need to just come across it! really loved the look of this city. and the lack of people around made it even cooler, and allowed for some great pics. this seemed to be a "cultural center" with the water treatment plant (I think that's what it was) as the anchor for the park/restaurants/trails around it. just lovely. it's not a Tum-ahhhhhhhh even here in Finland, the "locks on bridges" movement is going strong. . Disney influenced? got to wonder if there are sometimes paddleboats in this water area. . . otherwise, this statue seems oddly out of place. hey. .a map (I'm assuming a transit map, but also really helpful for tourists) we are at the noted red dot. we started our walk from over by where the comedy/tragedy masks are. and Särkänniemi is up there on the left. but we found a Finnish Grocery Store open. . so of course had to check it out. I was haunted this trip by Olives. (I know who kept putting them on my plate when I wasn't looking), but as we were getting to the end of the trip, I was traumatized by Olives. I wasn't hungry at the moment. . but honestly? this didn't even tempt me. I *think* it was a sweet, even tho it looks like a Hot Dog. back out walking, and enjoying the beautiful weather, and the random statues around the City. we saw a pathway along the waterfront, that seemed to be headed towards an area that would give a nice view of Särkänniemi, so we headed down that way. spooky swimming area. I'm sure on a normal day, this section would be packed with swimmers. the path cuts up thru a park and some more greenery. hi Jon. . . this amused me. . I liked how they tried to camouflage the tunnel with "natural" rock formations. ooo. .I spot the observation tower/restaurant at Särkänniemi up ahead. ok..this i found to be among the coolest stuff I saw while in Finland. Finlandian Graffiti. and it was mostly really well done! it really was so beautiful here. . I know I keep saying that, but it's true! and coming around the curve in the path? across the way - on a peninsula reaching out into the water: Särkänniemi along the waterfront is that horrid torture device known as "Trombi" ( a Zamperla Volare - flying coaster) also behind it in this pic is "Hype" (a Premier skyrocket II), and off to the left is part of "Tornado" (an Intamin suspended coaster - one of only 2 in the world) they were open, as the rides were running - just not really busy today. see? the skyrocket II is running. .the train is about to invert at the top. and the disco over the water, is a great placement. better view of this side of the park - with Tornado (that's hard to miss with it's Neon orange & yellow trains) the park really does look wonderful, and I was very excited about coming back in the morning for our visit. a boat engine of some kind on display at the Marina across from the park. there was a sign on it, but it must not have been in English (or not interesting) as I have no pic of it. view more from the front. . with a better idea of the Skyrocket II layout. and Tornado's neon orange train. turning away from the park to start the trek back, sMisty had found an area called "fairy park" - or something like that. . it sounded interesting, so we detoured that way to check it out. not sure if this was a playscape or a sculpture. (I THINK a playscape tho) thruout the park, there were multiple "hidden" / small sculptures of pixies/faeries playing., this one is definitely a playscape. it had Trampolines. and big red balls.. LOL and a throne? don't mind if I do! tons of fun detail everywhere - like these iron "Spiderwebs" under the roof of this shade structure. whimisical .. and lovely area found another pixie and a handful of folks enjoying the day. from an overlook at the top of the park, you get a lovely view of Särkänniemi across the water Hype doing it's thing notice Trombi hasn't run in any of my pics. I think it's because only fools like us would attempt to ride the horrible thing. I would have checked out the museum. . but it was closed today after a long walk/sight seeing, it was time to head back. Stomachs were rumbling and there was chat in the thread about places for dinner. there were a few options, and I know Erik/sMisty ended up checking out a pub. but some of us decided to check out the pizza place that was spoken very highly of. . with some unique pizzas. so we headed over that way. hmm. .not sure what they are selling Space Bowling!!! (in the dark with neon lights).. but no one was really interested. oh my. . . quite the wait. (and the most people we'd seen all day!). we joined the line, and saw a number of other TPR Trip folks as well. . . a snapshot of the menu. some very interesting options. before too long, we were seated, and our order taken. (notice the line never got shorter! it stayed about that long the whole time. we took an outside seat, so didn't have to wait as long as those waiting to sit inside). a closeup of the unique pizzas. i ended up getting the Struzzo BBQ - ostrich peppers and bbq sauce. (it was SO good) all food comes with a trip to the salad bar first: and my Pizza. which I ate all of - other than the parts I shared with others who wanted a taste. and then it was back to the hotel where i decided I was gonna sauna - and did it the traditional (nekkid) way . . you're welcome again for no pictures. then a shower, and crashed. tomorrow was gonna be a full day, and the truth is? the sauna really was refreshing and knocked me right out.

So, we got on the new FITH yesterday and I thought it was great. Kept all of the original storyline but with updated audio/visual and of course all new set pieces. The differences are slight but only enhance the experience. For those worried about screens instead of physical sets. Don't, 99% are physical sets with just a few discreet, well placed screens. Curious to see if RMC branches out with more of this sort of thing since it was obviously out of their normal wheelhouse. Unfortunately, I really was counting on some more rides to be able to see everything but that didn't happen. After first ride of the day we were supposed to get an hour of ert on it at park close but it went down late in the day and had to be evac'd so never got the extra rides. The park very graciously subbed Outlaw Run for an hour of ert and everyone was pretty happy about that. Anyone who complains about this redo in any way is clearly just and angry old man on the inside, yelling at clouds. As for the rest of the park. Wildfire had apparently been struck by lightening on Friday and the computer kept seeing a third ghost train and doing e-stops. They did get it up and running in the late afternoon but had to go down to one train ops to make that happen. Thunderation was down all day, no idea why. Powder keg and TT both had a little down time but got up and going fairly quickly. Good news, every coaster that was operational was using 2 trains, with the exception of course of Wildfire.