Philrad71

I will be curious to know what went wrong with Silver Bullet - that video was certainly interesting.

For anyone that is willing to suffer through a Browns game, today might be the best day to do so! Free Cedar Point ticket for 2018

Great report! While I have been to Minneapolis a couple of times for work, I have never been to Valleyfair or explored much of downtown. One of these times, I need to try to get some extra time when I can explore a bit more. While MOA Nick Universe was interesting, I didn't really understand why the mall seemed to have two stores of everything. Why not a bunch of independently owned unique type of shops versus several identical floors with over-priced AE, Foot L*cker, and A&F stores? I guess that I didn't quite grasp the concept of having a mall that big with two stores of just about everything. It certainly was a great place to get some walking in though!

I don't believe that I ever had a burger while in Amsterdam, but the fries....oh man. The best ever! Vera's looks good too - will be interested in hearing how it was, Bill!

^^ Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first saw it and then tasted it...oh well. We'll give it another try at some point to see if the next experience is better. ^ I LOVE malt vinegar on fries, Bill...and I did ask them for it. It was the best part of the meal (well, that and the beer)!

HAHA...that is awesome! ^ And yes, you are unfortunately right - the ones that are casting the stones are usually the ones that have something much worse to hide than being gay. Or sometimes they really are gay and realize that they are living a lie and repressing it, so they are pissed at the LGBTQ world because they are out and living the lives that they want to.

I wondered how the more conservative states would view RW's concerts. Given that every one of the president's supporters gets their panties in a wad every time someone says something negative about him, I'm surprised that people haven't started with the protests in front of the arenas and burning his concert t-shirts. Ed - So it looks like the Oh Sees are doing like what they did with An Odd Entrances and A Weird Exits by releasing two albums only a month or so apart? I loved A Weird Exits, but An Odd Entrances was one that I found a bit "meh".

I know that we don't have an official thread for Fantasy Island, but it has been announced that they will throw their first Halloween Horror event this year. Mods, please feel free to move as appropriate. Halloween Horror

^^ Lucky you! What do you think of Orc? I wasn't too sure at first, but it's growing on me quickly. My friends on the west coast are going to see Oh Sees tonight. Our last show was Roger Waters in Buffalo on 9/9...amazing as always. Can anyone guess who the asshole is on the side of the inflatable pig? Let's just say that the classic song 'Pigs' from the album Animals pretty much describes who and what this guy is to a tee perfectly! Awesome split screen going down the middle of the arena! He did Dogs and Pigs from the album Animals - too awesome. Can you make out who is on the inflatable pig on the right????

Last night Michael and I went to check out a new burger joint called 'Craft Burgers & Brews' housed in a former Italian restaurant in "downtown" Lakewood - about five miles from our house. While I love craft burger places (especially ones with plenty of microbrews on tap!), the burger left me a little underwhelmed. I had the Louisiana burger which despite being ordered medium rare, was served more medium well. The blackened seasoning was barely noticeable and the remoulade tasted like a greasy mayo/mustard mix with very little flavor. The saving graces were that the service was good and Michael's steak salad was also tasty. We'll likely go back at some point to see if they can make a better burger. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt that perhaps the waitress wrote medium well versus medium rare, or the cook just goofed. On a scale of 1-5, I would rate this burger a 2. Craft menu Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Hmmmm...doesn't look like medium rare to me. Michael's steak salad was good and his steak was done perfectly.

^^ I believe that they were streaming live on You Tube last night, so that # might not be readily available yet. Sounds like plenty more hotness to come!

Michael and I watched the You Tube stream on TV last night...it brought back lots of good memories of our trip to Germany and Oktoberfest! So THANK YOU for doing what you're doing because we are unfortunately not in a position to do these types of trips with Michael's recent health issues. It was great seeing Jack there too...he has been a great motivator for Michael and myself during this rough past year...looking forward to the rest of your epic journey! And that Voodoo ride? WTF was that and that weird gliding coaster??? We love, LOVE Germany!!!

Great photos...thanks as always for sharing, Andy!

^ I'm not sure if I understand what you are referencing? If you're referring to Bill, I hardly think that he is a troll. He brings good things to the forums and tells it like it is, which is a breath of fresh air compared to what I see from a lot of posters on here and posts from members of other social media sites. Edit - And he just did an epic and massive trip report from parks all over the country (not just Six Flags). I know from experience that this takes a lot of work for very little reward... Link

So in other words, it's only a matter of time before all fog machines are removed from parks because of idiocracy. Yep, sounds about right to me.

^ I wouldn't call someone that has over 11,000 posts on TPR a troll. A lot of us like to check out this train wreck of a thread whenever we feel like we need a good laugh, eye roll....or feel like chugging some alcohol because of how many truly dumb posts are in here. There are some good posters on this thread, but there is also a lot more complaining, whining with an abundance of ridiculously idiotic posts that are annoying to the point where they are almost comical. Seriously, it's bad enough that western NY is famous for our Bills fans that do a lot of really stupid sh#t during tailgating or at the games...but this thread probably makes a lot of people think that there are an exceedingly bunch of morons that live on this end of the state.

Sounds like perhaps SFGAm may have possibly made some strides to improving customer service and overall operations within the past couple of years? I know that a lot of parks can be hit or miss in those departments depending on weather (in particular, oppressive heat), large crowds and employees having to deal with almost non-stop idiocracy, which can then cause a negative experience for the rule abiding, polite guests. I haven't read of quite as many people complaining about this park or SFOT as much this year (other than food lines and lines at rope drop), so maybe (hopefully) they took those negative complaints and worked on addressing them. Great report on yet another park that has been on my radar for a while. They do have a great looking line-up of coasters and rides and I would like to make it out there one day - hopefully when they get Viper running properly again.

I would really like to visit this park one day. In addition to Adventureland in Iowa, this was another park that we used to pass almost every year on our way to visit relatives in Las Vegas...but never had time to stop at. Mr. Freeze looks like a ton of fun and that Xcalibur ride looks pretty crazy too.

^ Despite the fact that this is no Cedar Point or Busch Gardens, this could turn into probably one of the most fun amusement parks in the country with that beer selection. The park would be wise to put on an Oktoberfest celebration with that stellar collection of taps. Add a couple of makeshift Munich-style beer tents, an oom-pah band, giant pretzels, lederhosen with a decent selection of rides and coasters and you have yourself a pretty awesome German-style festival! Edit - this park is way ahead of me on everything! Oktoberfest!!!!

That's why Michael and I hooked up! Looking forward to your thoughts on Michigan's Adventure!

Love the Wildcat caption...yes, that sudden stop at the end was like riding The Tooth Chipper on the Simpsons. Thanks for sharing...I miss Halloweekends.

What a great collection of haunts this year - thanks for sharing! I hope to make it down for one of these events in the future. Judging by the wait times mentioned, budgeting for the express passes would be a must.

Ewwwww!!! I kinda pictured him as someone that would try to eat half a slice in one bite and then talk with his mouth full about how awesome that he thinks he is. Actually, if you go to Italy...don't pick up slices with your hands because that's the American way to do to it and you might even get a nasty glance if you're off the beaten tourism path. They actually do eat it with a knife and fork there, although I would imagine that Trump likely never picked up on it after a trip to Italy where he was actually trying to be socially conscious of being in a foreign country.

^ Even better that there is an RV park! The last time we drove by this park (back when I was around 16), I wanted to think that they were building a resort and had a campground next door. I also remember one or two of those big a$$ Iowa truck stops being on the same exit.

^ Sounds about right on par with some of the other corporate parks that usually charge around $8-10 per beer. Not too bad actually, but I would probably want to stay at a hotel within walking distance (if there are any) like we did for Oktoberfest. Those Bavarian beers can tend to go down a little to easy.