Nrthwnd

^ Do you have favorite musicals, past or present? And of course, any Broadway musicals you have seen in New York? Or want to see in new York?

Happy Birthday, Piers.

06-25-2014 ~ Docking, Driving, and a Bonus Credit! After arriving the next morning in Helsinki, we were back on our busses and heading up through Finland to reach one of the more 'unusual' family parks in Scandinavia. Power Park packs a lot of rides and coasters in it's small space. But what really sets this place apart from other Scandi parks, is it's Grand Prix-like mini go-cart track. But before that, and before arriving at Power Park, we got a Bonus Credit along the route, with a quick lunch...and I ended up with a new piece of (needed) clothing! From Helsinki to Power Park ~ With Fun park in between! Today's Schedule. Good Morning Finland! Dinner buffet islands, used for breakfast. My food, my coffee, my meds and vitamins. A full breakfast! (o; Back in the ship's mall. And is that coin space EVER going to be filled??? OMG it's a marker from television's "The Amazing Race!" Just before everybody packs into the exit area of the ship. It was a great overnight trip! And no, this is not in the ship's boarding building. This is an escalator to.... (Entering 12:47pm) Um, not this guy. Eep. Scary, even in cardboard. ...to Fun Park. Home of a bonus credit for us! Lunch. Quick. Filling. Good! Then we all lined up for the Bonus Credit. Ben avoiding the papparazzi. Our credit - a dragon coaster. Hi guys! Some people got several cycles on this thing. Others, a couple of runs. hi Cheryl! Enjoying the ride? There were two of these simulators. I Passed. 6D? Other than if the ceiling fell down on them, I don't see much "6D" to this at all. An indoor shooting type walk through. And with all of it in Finnish, I'd probably get killed the second I stepped into the place, lol.

From the "What I did Last Summer..." Dept. Game Of Thrones Exhibit Tour's last days and for FREE, with your admittance to our annual fair, The PNE or Pacific National Exhibition (Aug.16-Sept.01). First of all, there's a twist to this tour of the exhibit. I have never seen one episode of Game of Thrones. Timing with actual viewing times and channel not worked out, then it got going, and I didn't want to play catch up with DVDs knowing lots of blood and 'stuff' went on through these seasons. For some reason, I just wanted to go and see what the fuss was about this series. And what I discovered was good old fashioned theatrical crafts, recreating a time and period of reality, fantasy, and power...in all the wrong hands. And yes, i did get a chance to sit on The Iron Throne. (And talk about plas-tique!) But I did not attempt to "Ascend The Wall," a virtual freebie to try, while in the exhibit area. Everybody looked like they were having a great time in it. But my balance was already iffy, heh. Virtual goggles and "The Wall" would not help. It all ended in the usual (quickly put together) Gift Shops, which had everything from Family Banners, to dish cloths, mugs, steins, pins, key chains....and on and on. One of those things I never caught on to, and now touring through this great exhibit of everything GoT... who knows? And yes there are the DVDs. So here's a non-viewer's tour of the GoT Exhibit, ending it's cross continent tour, in Vancouver....at the PNE! Here's the pamphlet that's delivered to every household near the PNE area. Which, we are! And inside of it - here's the full page advert for the GoT Exhibit. This is where it all is, our annual fair. "First Building on your right, sir." And there it was! This was the lineup before it opened, at 11 am. Looking down the line at 11 am. A pop culture display - and look! - POP Ups! Some really beautiful materials and sewing work done on all of these. These two were displayed together - but come on! - she needs a head! And he looks like he could use some more "lower armor" on him, lol. Quotes, every where from the series And some stunning photographs, too. Weapons, weapons, weapons. Looks like a scene from GRIMM, ha! More....stuff. And there It is. Over to the left of The Chair, this. Ooooooooooo dragon! This was quite a 'drab and gloomy' set up, to me. Definitely a pair, again. Looking down towards The Wall. A map. Theme Park? No, don't think so. Climb The Wall Virtually. And they came. And they did. And it was a long queue to see. Side view of it. Not much to see, compared to what's being seen in those goggles, lol. Of course, the In Memorium display. Who was your fave death? I would like to have seen this one's death. Maybe I will, eventually. (o; The Future Season - not much to follow, for myself. And I am sure they kept the Awesome Parts of it, to themself. (o; Back outside, queue remained same length, although it did get longer later in the afternoon. Oh yeah. Here. Myself in The Iron Throne. (Taken Aug-27/14)

Balder.....#10?

Salama - Linnanmaki park, Helsinki Finland

"Fear, you can Hear"

And from the ~ Special Congratulations Dept. ~... This happened on the top of the Eclipse star flyer, during the day visit to Grona Lund park. And the rest of us didn't find out about it (well me, anyway) until dinner on the ferry. But, way up there above Stockholm - He proposed. She said Yes! And now they're engaged! Best Wishes, Bright Blessings, and Big Bear Hugs to Nicole and Jeremiah on your betrothal. (And P.S. If you got a photo of that occasion up there, please share! ) The Happy Couple ~ Nicole & Jeremiah ~ Congratulations you two! (o:

Damn, I wish American Horror Story: Freak Show would get here, soon!

The dive loop makes this one, The Best One of all ultratwisters, I've ridden, so far.

Montezuma's Revenge - Knott's Berry Farm

I think we get the show sometime in November. Man, the last time I saw ice shows, was in the days of Ice Capades, and Shipstads & Johnson's Ice Follies. They'd always eventually, get Olympic champs and medalled skaters for their top billing, etc. I miss those days. EDIT To Add: I checked. Frozen On Ice isn't coming here.

Kirnu - Linnanmaki Park, Helsinki Finland

Note: Jessie Mueller as Fanny Brice in the revival of FUNNY GIRL Catchy huh? Sounds more plausible to me than Lea Michele. BTW - This is a fantasy wish for the future. Not fact or rumor. Ryan Murphy (Glee; American Horror Story) are you reading this??? She's great in this, won the TONY for it. Why not do Fanny Brice, next?

That tree was waiting for you, Thad.

Stockholm ---> Helsinki ~ Our Overnight Ferry Cruise Of everything that happened on and in this tour, the overnight cruise was one of The Things I was most looking forward to. Not just the chance to stay overnight of the waterways, with (most of) the amenities available. But this was a new cruise line for me, and the ship - was - a - ma - zing! The second we stepped into the central "mall" of the ship, I was immediately fantasizing about The Big Cruise I was about to take. And it didn't disappoint. The room was great, with plenty of space for us to move around. There was another buffet dinner to enjoy (with a surprise thrown in that evening - reveal later), and the selection and variety of food was just as wonderful as it was before, back in 2009. And of course, the MASSIVE DUTY FREE shop on board, too. We ALL enjoyed that, lol. Here's all the photos, from afternoon departing, into the late evening... Happy to be eventually boarding our ship.... Our ship. A very big ship. We start to head on board. Note the woman in the white coat? She just wandered by the entire line, which was well behind us, and then just fit herself into the front, there. Talk about LINE JUMPING! We entered the ship, and I was immediately amazed at the central mall . The window light at the bottom there is where our bar for the evening would eventually be. (o; The other direction, towards the neat elevators and our room(s). A full shopping mall, too! Our room. We like! Coming down to mall level on one of the elevators. Our first drinks from the bar, en route to Helsinki. More of the bar. Then, dinner! And it was Grande. What I started out with. And look Elissa! Mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes on sticks! Some seafood. The mussels were very good. And I always love herring, done many, many ways. Meat and Salad Plate. I forget what's all on here, but it was all great, I remember. Dessert. And I do believe I see a Hidden Mickey (retro) in there! (o; Me and my dessert plate. After dinner, Duty Free Shopping! And since it WAS Wednesday, when we were on board....PINK! My little trio of liqueurs. And it was enough, for myself. Looking out. I swear this could be back home, ferrying through the Gulf Islands! An interesting couple, at the bar. Wasn't sure what was going through the bartender's head, there. Poster in the bar. I liked it. How The Night Ended. For most. In the bar for Karaoke. I passed. And what IS AJ doing to that head there? And Travis looks bemused. Nighty night everybody! See you all at breakfast!

So Robert, what % are you at, "turning Japanese," by now? Just curious. (And my first ever Ultratwister, was the one at Astroworld in 1992!)

That tower looks amazing!

Hooray for the strawberry shortcake!!! Wow, I remember us going to see the show and dinner, back in 1987! And everything looks as wonderful as it did back then. Thanks for sharing your dinner and show, Robb! And Happy 40th, Hoop-Dee-Doo!

A sort of photo of myself, taken at Tusenfryd, on the 2014 TPR Scandi Tour. Well, it is me....but other than that....eep. What!? ONLY 5000 gold coins? Hmmph.

This one looks speedy.

Yum. That's all I got.

I saw her do a show at our World's Fair back in 1986. Great topical comedy. RIP JR

Insane - Grona Lund

^ Yeah, well that's true.