Nrthwnd

^At this point in my life, drinking alcohol is waaay better for me, than puffing on cigarettes. As I used to do for several decades. Celebrating four+ years off the crap. Good for you about deciding booze isn't for you!

^^ I really enjoy Bug Whirled, every time I ride it. And especially seeing youngsters having a great time with their parents on it, too. It is a great "starter thrill coaster" for young children. Glad they got one of these. And that Swinger.......the first time I rode it, opening day, I thought they were nuts, running it that fast! I couldn't believe the speed this thing went. Then it was closed down, and I 'heard" they were attempting to lower the speed on it, a bit. Apparently, after your riding it, they didn't LOL! I love the screams coming from it now. ^ Listen, I was surprised to see that on the sign! I never expected them to do it, but there it is. Good for The PNE! I can't wait to see how everything goes, at "Out At The Fair Day" on the 29th! And as far as the car goes.... yes, we're a very "cosmic people" here in Vancouver. You should see some of the other cars running around this town, lol! Is this cosmic enough for you? With a little shout out to CP. Playland Nights19+ shot.

A few of these, at our annual fair, The PNE, this afternoon..... It was here, at Playland's Ride Side Bar.... ...during their Happy Hour. A special Mexican lager, created for The Fair! I love the name of it, too! The Brewery involved. With the PNE's Logo! And it was a nice beer, too.

^ Obviously, it should be two candles, but there ya are!

"A Couple of Hours in Playland at The PNE" Every year, as always, I find myself "on a budget" during the first week of The Fair. It's just the timing with my retirement income, coming in at the end of each month. That said, I can't go crazy buying stuff and eating/drinking stuff as well, during this first week of The Fair. So today, I went and stayed in Playland, having a few Happy Hour beers, taking photos, eating my first "specialty corn dog", playing a Quarters Drop game in the Arcade.... and getting my dollar popcorn, and a soft drink. Easy! And - Coaster was running! I talked to the ride ops at the West Coast Wheel, and they told me, after the incident with the purple train on BC Day, things were fixed up. Then the Safety Inspector came in, took a look, and declared..."only one train running, during the entire Fair." Which means ultra HUGE queue lineups for Coaster, during the entire Fair. I'm planning to be back on Thursday, but will spend time at the "front" of The Fair and see what happens. In the mean time, here's the photos I took today... Doesn't look too busy here at the Playland PNE Entrance. What's this? What's this? Coaster is Running! (o: Sadly, The Beast is not. Destination arrived! I decided to get one of their specialty beers, just brewed for the PNE! The actual brewery name. With the PNE logo on it. It was a nice Mexican Lager. I had a couple more. THIS is what strollers were made for: PNE games prizes! Small winnings. One of the busier games. I would like to win this. But I probably won't. First specialty corn dog of the year. "Spicy with crispy jalepenos." In the cooker, there. My corn dog. Here it is! And - meh. Not spicy. And where the F were the crunchy jalapenos? Not that great a "spicy" corn dog at all, in my Humble Opinion! Glass House needs a bit of cleaning, already. My tickets win for the day. Security huddle at the Ride Side Bar. Cool for them to add this. Future corn dogs. Only $4 each. Little, but good if I remember last year. The PNE Mob. The kids' train is running again, too. Final shot, before I left The Fair. On the way home from the bus stop. Neat!

^ Good call.

"A Glass From The (PNE) Past!" We finally moved a bunch of stemware glasses and such from a much needed shelf in a kitchen cupboard. And in behind a lot of un-used glass....was this! A PNE wine glass that I got, when I took part in their (back then) Wine Tasting "attraction". You bought tickets to buy wine samples, and for a certain minimum amount spent, they threw in this glass, for FREE! I have no idea how old this is, but nowadays, you can drink freely around the PNE grounds - except for Playland which is it's own booze zone, but has the Ride Side Bar in it, to drink as well as the main grounds. One just can't travel into the other's zone. Still a long long way forward, considering what they had to do, to have beer and liquor in The Fair. And the glass is in good shape too! Not many, if any, scratches on it, no chips to note. Good for me! All dusted and cleaned up. This logo's been with the PNE for a long, long time. Grapes Scott, Batman!

^ They could also be gay parents too, but you never found that out, right?

https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=76997 Some people are probably still wondering...

^ Wow! That's both thrilling and scary to see at the same time! Great photo.

Electric Fire sounds great! We will definitely check that out. And how about the other stuff you saw? Anything else you'd recommend, besides EF? We've seen everything before, (including drag and drag shows during Gay Days at Playland) except the glass blowers and Electric Fire. But if it's still a good show(s), we'll easily see it/them again. Something from last year's Night Time Show. PNE Prize Home staff at last year's "Out At The Fair Day."

^ That's okay, us not connecting. I just couldn't put as much time in, for one day, as you guys did. Having the two week pass makes it so much easier, to just show up, take in an exhibit etc. eat and/or drink and then see a show, maybe. Or not. I do not envy those, who like you and especially families, have/had one day to "see/eat/ride it all," heh. I suspected that's all the Butterbeer soft serve was - just butterscotch ice cream and not much more. I did find where the specialty corn dogs were, so I may chuck my Corn Dog Challenge and eat those specialty ones instead. Going through all the areas where the food trucks and stalls were, I suspect most (if not all) of those corn dogs I've had last year, won't be that much different this year. And what did you think of Electric Fire, which ended the evening? I won't be seeing it until I'm with David on the 29th.

I am feeling a touch....uh......envious right now.

^ Now you're just toying with my emotions! Stop that! On second thought, don't stop that, LOL! Gator BBQ and Prairie Smoke 'n Spice are the two BBQ Ribs stops in (what's now called) Revel District in our annual fair, The PNE. The Fair just opened today. And I took a look around, taking pix as well. (o; David and I will have our mid-day meal here (with both as 1/3 racks) on our Aug.29th visit. With beers! Sadly, Misty Mountain (which used to be our fave ribs) wasn't doing ribs this year! So they were moved to where Henry's BBQ Chicken was. And Henry's BBQ is now where they were, in Revel District. And all Misty Mtn. is currently selling is pork loin, turkey legs.....I forget the other stuff. No ribs, though. )o:

More photos taken... Ah, the smells of the country. Old bus used as a rolling museum. Last year's Celebration Plaza is now Revel District. Two rib spots to enjoy. And Henry's BBQ Chicken moves in beside Unroutine Poutine. In Playland, this was cute for the kids to enjoy. Several of these around the fairgrounds, thanks PNE! A very long row of food trucks and stalls. Misty Mtn. is now up where Henry's BBQ used to be - but they aren't serving ribs! Only pork loin. The PNE Prize Home. Win it! Or a car! Something to see when it's near closing time. The all-important Proof-of-Age wristband. And my Stella Artois. Opening Day Information Flyer. One side is the fairgrounds map. The other side, schedule of the day. It's pretty efficient to carry around. NOTED. I will return there later in the afternoon, on my next visits. (o: And the flower pot heads just passed by. Thus, ends my first visit to the PNE!

Opening Day of The PNE! I got to the Fairgrounds just after noon, and ended up staying there for only a few hours. It stayed overcast all afternoon, but that didn't stop the crowds from showing up. Which is good for The PNE, right? I did my usual circular route, checking on what was there, what was where, and so on. Had a beer, and then left for the day. I will be back several times, tasting corn dogs, maybe seeing Super Dogs again (it's been a few years), eat some ribs, buy some popcorn, take more photos. Have some more beer. Now that I know when "Happy Hour" is at the bar tents. Here's what I took pix of today... I was a bit surprised there was no WELCOME! message on the electric board, there. Marketplace is still where it is, as usual. The new exhibit in the Garden Auditorium. Will check on that, another visit. The Aurora Winter Festival is coming to the PNE grounds! Much later. Believe it, these are packs of playing cards! Not phone cases, as I first thought. Where to find what. One of several pairs of ATMs on the fairgrounds. I always smile when I see this sign. The food? Not so great, IMhO. Here they are.... ...Freakk Fries! Noted. Not sure how this exhibit will interest me, since I do not have a cell phone of any kind. Later. What's playing at the Coliseum this year? Super Magician and Super Dogs. Behold! Butterbeer Soft Serve and Corn Dogs. A perfect pairing. BC Transit put together a big exhibit on the future of....well, transit! Inside the tent itself.

New sign posted on the construction walls of the new Tomorrowland flat ride. Art concept by Disney.

^ That's really an amazing rep of everything that's Knott's! Very impressive. Yes, placemats!

^ That's klassy.

Is that Catawampus looking at that can can dancer "the wrong way?" Not that I'm religious or anything, but I'm a bit surprised they didn't include their little "Chapel By The Lake" there. EDIT: But I do realize they had a small space to fill with as much Knott's stuff as possible.

^^ Well now that you mentioned it.... ^ So that explains what happened to The Beast. But still nothing about Coaster, which is still closed as of today. I visited Playland one more time earlier, and it - was - MOBBED. It looked like every kids' organization in the city, decided Playland's last day before the PNE was The Day to go. And although it was totally overcast, the humidity level was up, and it felt uncomfortable just walking around. So I took a spin on The Wheel, one ride on Gladiator, and checked out one of the cheap fun houses they bring to The Fair. And that was enough, for now. I'm coming back tomorrow and check the whole PNE out. 1000 Nachts. Whatever this is now, the entry sign still said "Toon Town". People could hardly find the entrance queue to The West Coast Wheel, so nobody was riding it. (It's to the left of these games. That narrow opening between them and cotton candy, was the exit ramp.) Queue set up for buying ride tickets and passes. Mardi Gras mirror/glass house. Starting tomorrow. Noted. (o:

^Cool. We'll be at Knott's the 6th (Friday) and 8tth (Sunday). Taking a day off on the 7th.

^ Yeah, those too.

^ I totally agree with this.

Most food stalls are are a bitch most of the time, IMhO.