printersdevil78

^^The brain slugs are from "Futurama," AKA one of the best animated shows ever!

Zach, I'm having a hard time figuring out which one is yours. I don't see any named "BTB: The Message." If you can point me to the right one, I'll vote for it.

Congratulations on the posting of your 100th park, Big Mike! Pictures from California look especially nice today considering we have six inches of snow on the ground this morning (that's practically a blizzard around here).

Wow, that was great! I don't know which was better, the show or the venue. And I'm insanely jealous that you got to meet Jem! I gave some thoughts earlier this month about whether I could successfully organize a sci-fi con in my area. Honestly, I would be looking at it more from a money-making standpoint than a fan (though I would enjoy it as both). There are some very good potential venues, but I'm not sure it would draw a crowd. For now it's on the back burner--assuming it's on any burner at all.

^It's on Coastal Highway at 66th Street (hence the "66" in its name--which I honestly didn't even realize until Mike pointed it out) in Ocean City. If you go, ask for the "lite fare" menu. The buffalo Reuben was $9, and they had a couple other sandwiches and salads around that price. Everything else was $25-$35. And the Smith Island cake didn't come from the restaurant; a friend of Jeanette's brought it in to sell for the charity. We didn't look at the dessert menu, so I'm not sure whether or not the restaurant actually carries that.

OK, this is going to take some explaining, but the payoff is sooo worth it! Story No. 1: Last Valentine's Day I won a woman on the radio. Yes, you read that correctly. A local radio station held a "Win a Date For Valentine's Day" contest, and I won. My prize was a woman named Jeanette. As it turns out, the only reason Jeanette entered the contest (technically she "won" me, as well) was that she had so many boyfriends to choose from on Valentine's Day, she didn't want to disappoint any of them. So instead of picking one, she turned them all down and met a complete stranger (me) instead. With such strong competition, I didn't stand a chance. But we became very good friends. And we both got a free dinner out of it. And a bottle of champagne, which I kept for exactly one year and enjoyed with my current girlfriend earlier this month. So in all it was a happy ending for everyone. Story No. 2: Jeanette belongs to the local chapter of the Parrothead Club, a national civic organization comprised of fans (and wannabe fans) of singer Jimmy Buffett. The chapter to which she belongs is actually the largest one in the world, and every year they host a huge Mardi Gras party as a fundraiser for local charities (never mind the fact that the chapter is located thousands of miles away from New Orleans). As part of that party, three female members are nominated each year to run for Mardi Gras Queen. The nominees are given two months to raise as much money as they can for that year's chosen charity by organizing a series of mini-fundraisers. The winner is the person who raises the most money. Story No. 3: While I was sipping margaritas along the banks of San Antonio's Riverwalk during my vacation last month (My trip to San Antonio), I got a call from Jeanette seeking fundraising ideas (which seem to be my expertise these days). By the time I got back home, she had already shot down all of my ideas and decided to continue a tradition she had been doing at least since last year (probably longer--I never thought to ask) and hiring out herself and her friends as bartop dancers, a la "Coyote Ugly," with all the proceeds going to this year's charity, "Women Supporting Women," a local breast cancer support group. I promised I'd come out to at least one dancing session and try to bring a couple friends along, as well. Thus begins our real story.... And then he magically turned into Mike! Turns out Mr. Rourke thought his fantasy was to be a Chinese chiropractor wearing a sweater he borrowed from Alex P. Keaton. And thus ends another quality photo TR. Thanks for reading! Just moments before, Dave heard someone shouting, "De plane! De plane!" This, on the other hand, is exactly what it looks like. Honest, this isn't what it looks like! The one on the right is doing a shot and the one in the middle happened to get in the way of the photo... but hey, believe what you want! Watch out for that boa! Patrons were encouraged to stick tips in the garters. OK, time to give the people what they came to see! I don't know which is funnier here: that Jeanette looks waaaaay too happy, that Mike looks like he's about to cry or that we paid her a dollar to sit in his lap and pretend to feed him a lemon! Last year's East Coast Trip participants will no doubt remember Smith Island Cake, the official state dessert of Maryland. For everyone else... this is it! Mike, meanwhile, settled on the scallops. He's a doctor, by the way. And ladies... he's single! Actually, so is Dave. I'll sell them both cheap! It just wouldn't be one of my TRs without a photos detailed descriptions of the food! Dave and I opted for the buffalo Reuben. That's buffalo as in bison meat, not hot sauce. Mike and Dave served as my partners in crime for the evening. You'll be seeing more (but not much more) of them later. In case you couldn't read their shirts. Because there aren't enough boob-related puns on TPR. And these would be the Coyote Cuties. The one on the right is Canadian. Which I guess makes her more of a Caribou Cutie. But I digress. That would be Jeanette "No, my last name is not 'Deskiewicy'" and Adam. Adam is the one who beat out Jeanette's 12 other Valentine's Day suitors last year to earn boyfriend supremacy. Fun fact: They gave me a fondue set for Christmas! The best part about this banner? They totally misspelled her name! But to be fair, it is a pretty hard name to spell.... Yep, they call themselves the "Coyote Cuties." No copyright infringement there or anything! The Galaxy 66 Bar and Grille would be the location of the evening's entertainment. You can tell it's upscale because of the extra "e" in "Grille."

"To be or not to be, that done be the head-scratcher what commenced to hurtin' my noggin, y'all."

This is awesome! As a connoisseur of both amusement parks and drive-in theaters (not to mention assorted caverns, fiberglass roadside statues and Cracker Barrels), I whole-heartedly support this endeavor!

Wow, this has been one of the greatest days of my life! First the original Six Flags Power Plant concept art by Marc Davis I won on eBay arrived in the mail, then my girlfriend made catfish for dinner, and now this! Thanks, Robb!

Right you are! And those ain't no lions, either. They're Animatronics, courtesy of Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise. Otherwise, great post! I love vintage theme park photos. Keep 'em up!

I've collected things ever since I can remember (I come by it naturally--my dad has amazing collections of everything from pre-Civil War currency to 1950s toys in their original packaging). Among my collections are comic books, non-sports cards and wrappers, Maryland amusement park ephemera, 20th century U.S. World's Fair pieces, Disney park-used items, matchbooks, Baltimore Orioles memorabilia, sports and entertainment autographs, 1970s/'80s movie posters, Superman paraphernalia, vintage TV Guides and MAD magazines. I also have a collection of oddities including pieces of the Berlin wall, a serving fork from the Kremlin, a string of ancient Egyptian mummy beads, carved masks from the Bahamas and Indonesia, and a piece of coal from the Titanic. Come to think of it, about the only thing I can't seem to amass a collection of is money!

If Erik doesn't want his Devil Dogs, I'll take them!

^And this is coming from someone who has a lot of places to choose from!

Wow, good thing I already won a Big Mike T-shirt! This one has me stumped!

This is unequivocally true. The ironic part, of course (and I'm speaking for myself here), is that I never would have considered paying for similar content from other clubs or organizations, yet TPR, the free resource, literally receives hundreds--sometimes thousands--of my hard-earned dollars each year. There's a lesson in there somewhere, probably. I'm just too lazy right now to figure out what it is.

Happy to do it. Hope they win!

^Yeah, I just got the survey, too, but never received a notification of winning tickets. Oh well. I filled it out anyway. Maybe I'll be luckier this time around!

Another shot. (Photos courtesy Las Vegas Tourism Bureau and Johnny Upsidedown.) Hard Rock: New York, New York, New York

I'm going to go ahead and make this my official entry. Admittedly, it's lightyears away from being Bag 'O Crap-worthy, but it made me laugh, and every time I enter one of these contests, I learn a little more about Photoshop. So that's what really matters. Cue the "Afterschool Special" ending. Following the Phoenix and the Golden Nugget, Knoebel's continues its tradition of purchasing and operating classic amusement park attractions.

If the deal does indeed go through, that would be great news! I'm excited to hear when the soft openings would be. I plan to be in Myrtle Beach the second weekend of May, and it would be great to get in the HRP trip that weekend that Hurricane Ike robbed me of last year.

^Glad I could help! If you need anything else, just let me know

I just finished up a full weekend including a trip to the newly revamped Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Salisbury Zoological Park about a mile down the street from my apartment. I didn't take a camera to the museum, as I expect to return soon for a slower-paced, photo-friendlier visit. However, I did have it with me during the zoo excursion with my girlfriend, Kelly, and her daughter, Lauryn. We began with lunch in the picnic area of the adjacent park. So yeah, that should get you started. Enjoy! And I'll leave you with a quick plug: Temperatures in the low 60s today (after Friday's high of 24) allowed me to spend the day comfortably in my new TPR hoodie. Thanks, Robb and Elissa! We did make one last stop to check out the park's fountain before our journey home. Fun fact: In the summertime this is a favorite alcohol storage area for the city's homeless population. The constantly circulating water keeps canned and bottled beverages relatively cool. A view of the lovely Wicomico River, one of the ten most polluted small waterways in the United States. In fact, I've never seen it looking this non-brown. Looks like there's going to be a tax increase this year to cover the cost of blue food coloring! We crossed the historic Salisbury City Park bridge to begin our long trudge back to the zoo (and our car). The inventor of twisty slides is Lauryn's hero! Of course, I was able to sneak in a few more after the long walk to the swings and slides on the other side of the park. This is her "Would you PLEASE stop taking pictures of me!" face, followed shortly thereafter by a formal request. God help Robb when KidTums reaches this stage. 4-year-old + Capri Sun also = comic gold! After the zoo, we returned to the picnic area for snacks. You have no idea what real comedy is until you've watched a 4-year-old trying to eat a Fruit by the Foot roll! "This zoo rocks! Raise the roof!" "I personally prefer sour cream and onion Pringles." These Llamas are on loan from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Not really. But I told Kelly that, and she believed me! "Yeah, even I've never heard of me!" The next animal we're going to see is a Patagonian cavy. They're only cranes now, but they're practicing to be 'mingos. "Where's that girl with the Pringles?" "Sigh. If I had applied myself, I could have been a high school football mascot." The one on the far left is having an affair because he's no longer attracted to his wife. The rest are just waiting for the zookeeper to bring around the birdseed again. Extensive research has proven that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush. According to Lauryn, these are called "'mingos." They're all babies of the big 'mingo (ostrich) we saw earlier. And they're pink because that's their favorite color. Collectively. "Have you seen my brother, Jose? He hasn't written since he took that job at Disneyland in 1963." This peacock is refusing to show its feathers until NBC brings back "Joey." Is it just me, or does this bear look like its mother was a grizzly and its father was a raccoon? Hey, I once ate a hamburger made out of your cousin. It was low in fat! So I guess playing like a bison means sitting around in the dirt and wishing tourists would leave you alone? Speaking of which.... Mosaic tile murals on site encourage kids to stay active while learning about animals at the adjacent zoo. Turn, turn, turn! Before entering the zoo, we stopped at Ben's Red Swings, a playground financed by local civic organizations and built in two days by hundreds of community volunteers in memory of a young child who died of cancer. After lunch we fed some ducks and geese that happened to be swimming by. Good thing they liked cheddar cheese Pringles! "Grrr! I'm a bear, and I'm gonna attack this applesauce!"

Have you ever thought about crossing over from comics to sitcom writing? That was great!

^That was undoubtedly the coolest thing I've done all weekend... and I had a pretty good weekend!

I don't usually speculate which company is going to buy what park, but I do disagree that Cedar Fair is the only company that would be capable of (or have interest in) purchasing and successfully operating SFA if it went up for sale. One other company that immediately springs to mind is PARC Management. They seem to be doing well with the properties they have (most if not all former Six Flags parks, if memory serves), and they're definitely lacking in holdings in the lower southeastern quadrant of the United States (and on the East Coast altogether if you discount Darien Lake).