DerekRx

Lots of stuff to catch up on from this past weekend's trip to Virginia. First up, Saturday after visiting Kings Dominion we were off to Richmond's Capital Ale House: and we left Larry with some Eisbock and told him to work on his expressions Heath then went with the Hefeweizen Larry tried the Stout and a "Confused Derek face", but he pretty much failed For me, the Eisbock looked enticing. Pretty strong stuff, yum! Plenty of other stuff for us to try... and Whoa!! even Larrygator joined us today, enjoying a Hefeweizen he is Heath went with the Stout First up for me, the Pale Ale Next up, Richmond's own Legend Brewing Co, right on the river mmmm, beer Another cool place to pick up beers We could buy this, but why would we?? Next up, some singles shopping in some of the better places to go in Richmond Their beer menu may not have been updated that day, but the Capital Alehouse in Richmond was definitely an awesome place. Looking forward to going back The bartender was impressed with our knowledge of beer, so he kept giving up samples of combos he's mixed up, like Young's Double Chocolate and Lindeman's Framboise Heath finishes up with some Cask Storm King from Victory. Why we never got this at the brewery, no idea! Next up for me, some Bell's Two-Hearted IPA. Poor Matt, this update must really hurt you, knowing that your entire town's supply of Bells has been redirected to Virginia indefinitely While Heath goes with the Stone Ruination IPA Next for me, the Cask IPA from St. George Heath goes with the Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, and even Kim gets in on the action with a Bell's Amber of her own First up for me, Bell's Amber Ale. One cool thing about this bar, the ice tray to help keep your beer cool 30 taps of great beers from all over the world, including lots of micros from here in the states #10 on the top places to have a beer in America, Capital AleHouse in downtown Richmond.

Another day to mow the grass, another reward in the form of a good summer brew or two. Scratch it with some Troegs #1, the California Common Steam Lager Mowing makes me all hot and sweaty, and itchy too. Here's the cure... Best to have it with a slice of orange to cover up all that extreme blueberry taste, right Matt? First up, a return visit to the Leinie Lodge with some Sunset Wheat.

Still on a stout kick to help our readers locate some good ones around them. Next up, one of the top 100 American brews, Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout. Another excellent Imperial Stout. Lots of chocolate and coffee flavorings with a good hoppy finish Another Yetiball approved brew from Colorado, at 9.5%abv and 75IBUs, meaning lots of hops!

Roar at SFA on Sunday

I like both parks. BGE has nice theming, beautiful flowers, great food, and some good coasters. I do like BGAs coaster collection better though, with Kumba and Montu ranking higher with me than Apollo and Alpengeist. Plus BGA doesn't have the hills, the animals are cool to see, and it's easier to get free beer there. Of course, the option never poses itself at to which I'd rather do, they aren't close to each other, and I always choose the Busch parks over the nearby competition (KD or Cypress Gardens)

Speaking of stouts earlier today had me in the mood for some. Luckily I got a few this past weekend! Tonight was probably one of the best for this time of season, from Matt's old friend, Bell's. Yum, just like a chocolate covered cherry, in alcoholic liquid form Bell's Cherry Stout, a great mixture of fruit and stout flavors

Assuming your kids are over 54", I'd say SFOG; but it's a matter of what your kids want to ride. If they're more into thrill rides, SFOG is the way to go. If they want just a waterpark and a few good woodies, head up to HW again. If I were a tween again though, I'd probably want to go to SFOG. Besides having more rides, there's also lots of other stuff in the area to do; World of Coke, The Underground, Atlanta sightseeing in general. Plus you may actually be surprised by the attitudes of employees at SF this year if they keep along the path they've been going so far this year.

This isn't really the season for the great stouts, and I don't really know how distribution is out in the Indy/Cincin area. I'd say these are some pretty good stouts, but I don't know if you'll be able to find them around you: 1. Victory Storm King 2. Founders Breakfast Stout 3. Stone Russian Imperial Stout 4. Bell's Expedition Stout 5. Bell's Cherry Stout 6. Bell's Kalamazoo Stout 7. Rogue Shakespeare Stout 8. Rogue Chocolate Stout 9. Great Lakes Blackout Stout 10. Thirsty Dog Siberian Night

^Yeah, next time I'll be more careful as to which clipper guard I have on before I start cutting. Anyway, today I decided to break out some more local goodies, even though American Craft Beer Week is over. Hoptastic! For more balance and some hops, time for my boy Yeah, really sweet stuff, almost like candy! First on the agenda, Dogfish Head's Midas Touch, a weird old style beer with honey and fruits

With no plans on Sunday morning, we decided to head to SFA before drinking in Baltimore. I haven't been to SFA since Batwing opened, and being someone who really doesn't like that park, I really felt no need to go back anytime soon. However after hearing good things about the park operations this year, I felt it was worth a visit. The park is still probably the worst laid out park ever, with many paths and themed sections just dead-ending. You'd think by now the park would realize what every other park has, that you need to connect your areas in loops, but I guess they're just still confused and can't set aside the funding to do that. The park was pretty dead on Sunday morning, didn't encounter many people until after 12ish, and the employees were pretty efficient and cheery. My only other gripe with the place is the locker laws on Wild One and Superman. $2 for a 1 time rental, no loose articles at all in the station, but only for those 2 rides. Quite odd. Everything accomplished that we wanted to do, several rides on Superman, and encouraging signs of improvement, we called it a day and went to drink some beers. As we finished our "lap" around the park, more visitors had finally awakened, or just got finished at church or something and started to arrive Seriously, WTF?! Fun, but could definitely be improved with new trains. Roar feels all jealous that Wildcat has Millennium Flyers, so he's starting to deliver very bumpy rides too with his PTCs One final coaster we were wanting to ride was Roar. Probably my least favorite GCI, but it's still better than most of the woodies built in the 1970s and 80s, IMO. You know it's empty when the Wii station isn't even full! Still no Skull Mountain, but they had a few boats on the course Such a cute little 2nd Generation Intamin Drop. I want to take it home in my pocket Heath shows how he feels about renting a locker just to put in a hat or sunglasses because they're not allowed on the ride. I expect this to not go over well at all later this summer when the waterpark is opened Unbanked helix of doom and destruction Still one of the best woodies in the entire Six Flags chain, lots of air, laterals, and is really smooth and well kept But we won't be skipping Wild One, running 2 trains with no wait Even with no line, I think we had enough Vekoma for one day and we skipped Two Face Oooh, I want to park my car by Wild One Riding thru this spaghetti bowl that keeps picking up speed and transitioning, you have to wonder "how DID we ever ride this with shoulder restraints?!" So instead we hit up Joker's Jinx (also only running 1 train). I haven't been on this since it got the new restraints We would have hit up Penguin's Blizzard River since I really like these spinning raft rides, but we didn't want to get wet by the water curtain at the end While we're here, one more ride on Supes won't hurt. It may sound vibratey (especially in the back) but it's tolerable This pretty much sums up the ride Ooof, we no longer wonder why Vekoma no longer makes these. I like the layout better than the B&Ms, but holy rattle and shimmy Batman! (the trains random noises did entertain us though) No line for Batwing yet either. The only reason I rode it Here, the perfect ride to wake you up It's a shame I'm allergic to cats. For all you SFNE fanboys who miss your cleavage showing Poison Ivy, this one's for you! Next ride, Batwing, the best Vekoma flyer in any Six Flags park And even with 1 train operation, no lines = plenty of rerides Not my favorite Intamin hyper by any means with its overuse of straight track and helices, but it's still got some great airtime moments And the second train is finally back on the transfer, though pieces and covers were still missing Still only 1 train operation on Supercan: Rattle of Steel, but at least this one still has its theming As Nicole reported from Darien Lake, Supercan is very loud, like a trash can rolling down a hill. Not rough, but loud and rickety First ride of the day awaits us in the distance. Glad to see the rides opening with the park A nice sunny Sunday in May, time to hit up SFA

Yup, the final night of American Craft Beer Week, and you all know we're going to Max's tonight to enjoy the remains of their week long celebration; but before that we went down to SFA (check the theme park thread later) and afterwards hit up the nearest local establishment first. Looks like we walked away tragedy free this weekend. Go us! =D and on the way home, we decided to stop off at a familiar 7-11 near Shawan. I hope there's no catastrophes with the Slurpees today and Allagash's 11th Anniversary Ale for myself and to end our craft beering week, some Oak Aged Old Ruffian from Great Divide for Heath If it's good enough a reason for Ben Franklin, it's good enough a reason for us! (see, Bubba, that's how you take a photo of a bar) Yeah, the Abita Andygator Pale Dopplebock tastes pretty much like it smells, like swamp water and broken levies, as only Louisiana could do But it's better than that Katrina water stuff Heath got Next in line, the Penndimonium Helles Bock from Penn Brewing. Typical Penn stuff, not that amazing, just sorta there While Heath goes with the Allagash Hugh Malone Belgian IPA Next up for me, Tommyknockers' Tundraberry, a raspberry/blueberry ale, really fruity But wait! There's more!! Check out all these taps! All serving awesome American goodness As Heath starts out with the Rogue Integrity Imperial IPA Though I will get me some Rogue Nitro Stout This is the face of a man who is denied some Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Lots of awesome stuff left over from the past week's festivities, but the list has changed a bit since Saturday night's chaos It's all about Max's on Broadway and their lovely lineup of American Craft Brews today Next up, Bond Street Wharf, the Fells Point home of DuClaw. But we're done with DuClaw for today While I ended my time at DuClaw with some Viper Pale Ale....err Venom Pale Ale. (sorry, had an Adam moment there ) But he quickly followed it up with quite possibly our last Naked Fish of the year Heath went with the El Guapo, DuClaw's newest release and their version of Coronna, a lime lager, very light and easy to drink I know what I'll be starting out with today, some Fish! It certainly is, Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout is still on tap! Look at that tap list, could it be true??? In nearby Bowie we'll find the final DuClaw!

Backrow of Talon last night when it finally reopened!

Yesterday Guy was in town hitting up Hershey for the first time while I worked. So when I was done working, I was going to join him, but he was already done at the park and ready to head to Dorney for a few hours since he can get in for free with his Knotts Pass. So instead, I met him there. As we arrived there was mass exodus from all the school kids jumping back on their buses to head home. So lucky us, the park wasn't too crowded. There was some confusion though over Guy's Knotts pass, as it didn't say "Maxx Pass" on it because it was still good from last year (June). After about 10 minutes, the right people finally called Knotts and confirmed he was allowed access (though we were worried that it may be cloudy in SoCal and Knotts would be closed and not answer the phone). Inside the park, they were handling things pretty well, security guards in every coaster queue to avoid linejumping overhyper children, and the crews were pretty efficient, never stacking the trains. Of course, our luck wasn't so good at the beginning of our visit, and every coaster we lined up for broke down just as we got there. Onto the pics: and finally, we'll wait out the line for the Wild Mouse with the stupidest loading ever. Only 2 adults per vehicle, seriously, WTF?! Oh well, cha-ching for Guy. Guy can shame himself and the Koepp name by obtaining his kiddie credit! Besides some antics and talking to employees who think the same people who own Dorney also own Cedar Point, Hersheypark, and Great Adventure. Oh yeah, and the employees work 18 hour days On to Camp Snoopy, what can we do here? One of the oldest rides at Dorney that still exists and is loads of fun One credit that Guy won't be getting anytime soon I don't want to make any IMPULSE thoughts, but I'm totally going out on a limb here and saying Aquatrax! And now, for the moment you've been on the edge of your seat for...MARKERS!! Down where the Skyscraper used to be are several of these But dude, whats up with this?? Seatbelts on the Schwarzkopfs now too, Cedar Fair?!? LAME! Two loops! mmmm.... and oh so forceful, fun, and smooth Gotta love how Laser rarely has any line at all, even though it does worry me that they'll eventually remove the ride. How's it going, Joe and all the people in the train go "wheee!" and a few probably did almost go wee. Thunderhawk is all "I may be smaller, but I give more violent airtime!" Hooray, Thunderhawk reopened! Still one of my favorite Morgan hypers Well, luck changed then once we got to Steel Force. Very little wait, and no breakdowns This may actually be the most trees in a row in any Cedar Fair park! Pretty impressive that the 2nd train is running today, but right now neither are going. Again, Steel Force was working, but Thunderhawk was closed because we were heading to Thunderhawk first for a ride No Thunder Creek Mountain for us today. It may look nice and warm out, but it's only in the 60s and was pretty dreary for most of the day I will say the ride is better than Hercules, and it's nice that it's got a unique layout, but it is pretty boring to me Yup, still rattles a lot and is pretty forceless. Of course, Guy says it's his 2nd favorite floorless (I told you he was weird!) Of course, as I said "I don't care about riding Hydra" it reopened, so we gave it a courtesy ride Here's an opened ride, but it was only opened because we didn't intend to ride it Hydra: The Broken didn't disappoint as we walked up to it While the ride is randomly broken, that's a great time to clean the whole train (no, no one puked or anything, they actually cleaned the WHOLE train while waiting for maintenance) Behind us you'll see an empty train, that's because we broke the ride with our presence Here you can see the new cameras installed on the front row. Now you can purchase a video of you riding Talon as you exit the ride. Being in the front of the park makes this a really popular ride on a busy day, the wait was actually down the stairs and using up the queue (which is a rarity) so I could get this shot of the flatspin And here's the moneyshot for that guy who likes...oh wait, that's me! And this is the loop that started it all Guy rode both B&M inverts in PA in the same day, and he really loved them both (yeah, he's weird) Not 90 degrees! Mmmm, vertical loopage Guy really likes Dorney, so he decided to come back again since his visit last summer. He even got a few credits this time!

Today I randomly found myself at Dorney, so afterwards to continue American Craft Beer Week, I decided to head to the nearby Bethlehem Brew Works, a place I used to love until they got all Country Club-like and just became interested in taking your money. But I still had a mug there and a newbie to show around. And finally, Guy learns some stuff about his beer before he samples the Big Bad Barleywine, which he really liked The only staple beer I picked out for Guy was the Steelworkers' Oatmeal Stout. I think I got him appreciating the darker beers now (or at least the micro/craft scene) and their better flavor Down the hatch goes the Blast Furnace Imperial Stout. With his nose this far into the glass, you know he's picking up a whole lotta hops from the Hop Explosion IPA The Maibock wasn't that great, but Guy approved of the 7.2% abv Look everybody, it's Guy! And he's curiously exploring the Apricot Coriander as well A sampler can only mean one thing... Newly released was their Apricot Coriander, a yearly seasonal. This batch seemed more heavy on the Apricot, less so on the spice, almost like Pyramid's Apricot Weizen Back to Bethlehem. Wow, I haven't been here since like October!

Rumor has it Kirsten was only conceived so that Wes could have its cord blood. Oh, and rumor has it that some park in the United States is getting a new roller coaster next year. And maybe the UK will get one too!

In support of Craft Beer Week, I decided to head to my nearest local craft brewery to enjoy some tasty stuff; but it wasn't just the "week" that got me to go there, it was also the company... While I kicked back with some Fat Dog Stout on cask before concluding the fun for the night To end the evening, Guy really enjoyed the Douple IPA, his favorite brew of the evening from Stoudts The Smooth Hoperator was so tasty that I enjoyed another one while Guy seemed to be blitzed off his samplers before he even got to his Smooth Hoperator As Guy enjoyed the Scarlett Lady ESB, he had thoughts of DreamLou Turns out it WAS a Guy from out of town, who really enjoyed his Weizen, Stoudt's summer seasonal and a sampler??? this could only mean 1 of 2 things, a beer credit whore, or a guy from out of town Up first for me, the newly released Smooth Hoperator; new releases are a rarity for Stoudts. This was actually a really good IPA Oh so close and almost rarely visited by me, Stoudt's Brewery!

Because it's American Craft Beer Week and I went to a French restaurant that doesn't have American Craft beers tonight, I had to do my drinking at home while getting ready to go out. Not bad at all for just a pale ale. A nice dry hopped flavor to it that lasted a long time Blue Heron Pale Ale from Mendocino

Another craft brew tonight after mowing the grass. Time for some Buffalo Bills Orange Blossom Cream Ale. Tastes like beer mixed with Tang, but it's refreshing on a hot and humid day Brewed by Buffalo Bills, bottled by Pyramid

Finally listened to the whole album. Not impressed at all. Random cursing for no reason, lots of handclapping beats that make it seem like the song was written for high school pep rallies, a song or two that was probably written for Fort Minor but didn't make the final cut, and just lots of average at best mellowed songs that aren't nearly as good as "In the End" or "Numb". I'd say out of all the songs on the album, I like about 1/3 of them, which is far less than the other albums.

Today kicks off American Craft Beer Week, so all week long I'll be drinking only American Craft beers (no occasional macro or international brews for me). Starting off the week will be something from Clipper City's Heavy Seas Series, the Holy Sheet Abbey Ale. Very Belgian inspired, lots of cherry, plum, and spices, as well as a typical Belgian yeasty taste and lots of taste of alcohol. Holy Sheet indeed! Not a very good job at masking its alcohol presence, very rum-like. The Heavy Seas Holy Sheet from Clipper City in Baltimore, 9%abv

I'm guessing that Six Flags stopped taking care of the ride (and park) last year when they sold it. Perhaps the other train is being refurbed now, but Darien Lake didn't want the coaster closed until both trains were fully rehabbed, so they just did the worst train first and once that's back they'll switch them out. Hopefully they get both trains on soon though! Great pictures, I actually like the look of the boomerang and SLC with all the water around them.

This thread should be renamed "A Trip to the Carnival, through the eyes of Mr Magoo." Seriously, why bother posting photos if you know they're so blurry you can't recognize much of anything. That would be like uploading a video but forgetting to take the lense cap off the camcorder. It just doesn't make sense.

Today is Nicole and my 1 year anniversary of dating. Since we couldn't be together today, we figured we'd do something the other person would like. So, while she's off riding roller coasters at Darien Lake, I'm sitting at home drinking some fruity beers that she'd really enjoy. Happy Anniversary! Next up, one of Nicole's favorite beers that I told her to try back before I ever heard anything about it, the Ellicottville Brewing Blue Berry Wheat Sweet from the honey and nice raspberry flavor that Nicole would definitely enjoy First up, the Honey Raspberry Ale from Spanish Peaks Brewing

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, you did a really good job of explaining yourself. Don't feel bad about not liking Holiday World, I know many people who have had the less than stellar times there that they go in expecting. I've only been at the park during events, so I'm sure all staff is on their best behavior then, but I know many people who have gone at other times and been like "what? THIS is the Holiday World everyone is praising?!" Glad you managed to get on all the coasters though and managed to enjoy SFKK, a park that I've never had a horrible time at myself. Good luck with the rest of your trip, hope Dollywood goes better for you. Be sure to take some pictures and share them when you have a chance!

Really great pictures! Makes me even madder than I'm not going on the TPR Spain trip this year