DerekRx

I'm staying local and loyal tonight, with the Nectar. I am! In fact, I'm running low on lots of stuff. Soon time to restock, once the weather warms up again! You'd think I'd be running low on this stuff by now!

Last year on Easter Sunday I decided to nix typical eating ham, looking for eggs, and eating lots of candy traditions and instead went up to Hersheypark for their Springtime in the Park event. Since last year was fairly nice weather and not very crowded, the plan was to go again this year, which we did. However, unlike last year, this year the weather wasn't as cooperative. Much like my visit in December, the park was brutally cold. In fact, I honestly think it was colder on Sunday than it was during the day the Saturday we did Christmas Candylane, and it actually flurried off and on all day. The only difference between Spring and Christmas was that they were actually running the coasters; well, a few of them. All the newer coasters were closed, with the exception of Wild Mouse, because of the temps. Very confusing that they wouldn't open them in temps under 40 when the same manufacturer created rides ran perfectly fine the day before at Six Flags. But other than the cold weather and half the coasters being closed we had a great time, mostly in part to meeting up with friends Dave and Mary, whom Nicole hadn't seen since the TPR UK trip. Plus we got to finally ride coasters while it was snowing, without having to fly to Japan. I still wish more parks would be opened around here earlier in the year, as Hershey is proof that people will show up, and will wait in lines to ride coasters when it's cold! oh yeah, and LOTS of candy to buy! I bought enough to hold me over until Hershey reopens in May, hopefully it'll be warmer by then and as usual, no stop at Hershey would be complete without Chocolate World (plus they have a free darkride for Dave! With free chocolate!!) Dave found his purpose in life. He totally ran to the ticket office and demanded front row seats. Expect a fully detailed PTR shortly after the show! mmmm, smorrific! On the way out of the park I decided to get a smore, a great idea for Hershey to sell! and the new Boardwalk area with Lightning Racer. Also on the tower I spotted that the Red Robin was opened, so we ate there Storm Runner, still not running Here's Comet, still with a crowd For all you layout fans out there, here's sooperdooperLoopers whole layout, and the monotonous parts of Great Bear and now for some views from the Kissing Tower. Mmmmm, chocolate factory Our final coaster of the day was sooperdooperLooper, which even with only 1 train had no wait. Oh, and still only has 1 loop, sorry Elissa. Lots of people rode the train hoping the steam would keep them warm (or because it traveled very slowly and therefore didn't generate much wind) To complete the Boardwalk theme, they turned the Roller Soaker shop into a Nathan's Hotdogs. Definitely not a Dan-friendly area. And how much fun will it be to ride Lightning Racer after someone with a wet butt? Find out this June! Little Kidtums water play area, definitely a Barry-free Zone And now for some pictures of the new boardwalk area. But the Wild Mouse will cooperate. Probably the best ride of the day Here's Wildcat, but he's not playing today either Nothing says ouch quite like having your frozen ears bashed on the Sidewinder. Dave and Mary were smart enough to bench this one out Ah, lucky us, the Vekoma boomerang won't disappoint us today Storm Runner is out cold. If it's cold, it's out. "Hi, I'm Storm Runner and I don't like it when the temps below 40, unlike you bunch of morons apparently" Mary looks frozen, and Dave is contemplating joining a death metal Eskimo band to keep warm And nothing says "I want pneumonia" quite like a ride on the Flying Scooters The Claw, the real reason anyone would go to Hersheypark in brutal cold weather Good thing for the heated indoor random darkride that has random speeds and some weird theme. Lame that there was no candy at the end though! Two of them crazies include Dave and Mary, who wondered why Comet could run but Wildcat couldn't and people are also crazy enough to wait in line for any roller coaster that may be opened, like Comet No Great Bear for us today, but people are still crazy enough to ride the Wave Swinger, while it's snowing Unlike at SF, Hershey was actually a little more busy with families, and giant candy bars At least they warned us of the rides that would be closed unless it warmed up (which it never did!) 11am on Easter Day at Hersheypark during it's 100th Anniversary...and it's freezing! You know it's cold when the girl born and raised in Buffalo thinks it's cold.

more photos and so, we actually really had a good day at SFGAd. Maybe it was cold, but the lack of crowds and the overall cheeriness of the employees along with running the rides well got us in a good mood. We'll definitely be back! But that's fine, it was short and sweet, and didn't involve trying to step over 1200 people and 900 strollers on your way out of the park Some floats were better themed than others Short parade of only a few floats, each with like 2 or 3 characters Poor Wonder Woman! No wonder women hate comic book geeks On our way out, the parade was just starting With our second ride only taking 10 minutes, we were quite happy with our day at SFGAd. We would have stayed longer, but we made dinner plans back in PA El Toro is definitely a woodie and then it was over to El Toro for another ride and then it broke down again with us in the brakes, so after they got us back in the station, they took a train off. Cha-ching! With only like 20 minutes of downtime, Ka opened back up and we were on the 2nd train out (with all 4 running!) and while in line for Houdini, we saw Ka running, so we ran over (you can't see it running here because it's broke again) On our way back to El Toro, we stopped off at Houdini's Great Escape. Nicole was hoping it would teleport us to New York so she could ride Comet. It didn't, but she still liked it Chiller again, with the jumping Batman side

Last time Nicole came to visit me was over New Years, and I decided to take her to Jersey (it makes Pennsylvania appear much nicer ). So, when she came back down for Easter, once again we decided to go to New Jersey, this time to Great Adventure. April is always a weird month around here, though usually temps are in the 50s. Well, either Nicole brought the cold weather with her from Buffalo, or those Canadians just can't control their arctic winds, because all weekend it was in the 30s. We were thinking about skipping it for now, but we already had made plans with Bret and family for the night before, and Nicole could get in for free to SF with my SP coupon book, so we figured why not see what'll be opened. Turns out it was a great call on our part, as pretty much every coaster was either opened, or would open while we were there (though "apparently" Chiller opened up shortly after we left). The only things she missed out on were the kiddie coaster, tivoli, 1 side of Rolling Thunder, and Chiller. We didn't get to the park at opening, figuring that it would take some time to get everything up and running, so we arrived around 11. A few observations: Lots of costumed characters around the park in various areas, which is great, except with hardly any children in the park, they looked very bored and cold. Multi-train operations were everywhere except El Toro. Even Kingda Ka had 4 trains running (when it was actually operating). Hardly any waits for anything Friendly employees were abundant. Everyone seemed to tell you to have fun or ask if you're having a nice day, or staying warm, etc while checking your restraints. Most employees were also quite efficient. Even the X-ray security dudes were happy. Lots of "no smoking" signs, even the employees had buttons on. We've seen this before last year at the start of the season, but let's hope it continues for longer this year! If it continues, SF will definitely impress me. Onto the pics: The former site of Stuntman's Freefall. Sorry Joey! Robin and its S curve hill thing, Batman and its gap Apparently these worker dudes were finishing the inspection on Chiller or something. Who'd a known!? mmmm, forces good! This would happen to be Nicole's first Batman: The Ride. It's no Nemesis but also no Talon Two great coasters, 1 short walk between them Whatever this ride was called, it was pretty cold, but freaking great! And the ops would even let you stay on Just in case you forgot what the name of the ride was Still unsure of the theme, but who cares, it's an awesome coaster But Looney Tunes Seaport still exists, and Foghorn is awaiting a rematch with Robb This Zamperla bouncy thing was rethemed from Looney Tunes The yellow B&M corner of the park with some of Wiggles World nearby This year's newly rethemed kiddie area is Wiggle's World. I know nothing about them Hooray for Skull Mountain! Nicole had no idea what she was in for. And then I made her sit in the backseat with me and my beer gut One of the only closed coasters that I would think should have been opened Random entertainment that Nicole got all excited for because it was musical. Then I started making up lyrics for the song and that killed the moment The new, larger Flashpass center over towards Fort Independence. I feel kinda sorry for the schmucks who paid for this today! As of this picture, Kingda Ka was Kinda Klosed. This is what Nicole thinks of that! From this picture, you'd think it was a nice day and the people were warm and enjoying their ride. Amazing filter the Arrow corkscrew must have Jahan, this coathanger loop's for you bud! mmm, sweet El Toro, sweet sweet airtime (oh yeah, and Kingda Ka too) So I agreed to the swap. And then Petunia got all nervous when I broke out the BBQ sauce Nicole wanted to trade me in for someone more Porky I think it's the first time I ever sat in the front on this. Although to have Nicole experience the Arrow coathanger awesomeness, we probably should have gone toward the back Runaway Train was packed I like tacos. It has nothing to do with this photo, but I just thought you'd like to know if you actually read these captions By the zero g roll, Nicole proclaimed it was a better ride than Hydra. I proclaim that as of the lifthill Next up, Medusa, which seems to hardly get any love these days at SFGAd I think the cable lift is faster than the maximum speed of Rolling Thunder. The crew was really doing well too with 4 people checking restraints and to make things even better, this is as long as the line would get all day, about 30 minutes with a 1 train operation Of course, right next to it you'll find the most meaningful woodie in all of Jersey, El Toro. Running only 1 train, but at least it's opened before noon! Next up for Nicole, the awesomeness that is Rolling Dumpster, right side. No where else in Jersey will you find a more meaningless woodie The white tiger in Kingda Kaland (the Golden Kingdom) was all "WTF, why's it all cold and junk!?" Nicole says "um, I don't like this ride anymore" Of course, in true Derek's luck, Superman broke down with us on the brake run. Joy You know it's empty out when Superman has no wait (and the fact there were only like 150 cars in the parking lot!) On the way into the park it seemed that only Superman was running, so that's where we went first, as Nicole needed every credit there Lots of costumed characters were stationed throughout the park, though there were very few kids to enjoy them Here we are at SFGAd on a very cold, dreary day in Jersey. But look, the skyride is running!

After a good, yet cold, day at Great Adventure, Nicole and I headed back home and returned to the newly opened Union Barrel Works, this time for food. Of course, with Heath and Kim in the area, we made it a 4some. Overall the place is really nice. It's got its problems, but they were all minor, and is pretty much all because the place has only been opened for 2 days. The food was excellent, as was the beers, and the atmosphere. Gotta love a place that's smokefree, as it helps you actually be able to taste your food and drink. The staff did their best to keep it together, and I'm sure in hardly no time at all they'll be keeping things moving smoothly. We'll definitely be frequenting this place to see how things are going. Onto the pictures. and for dessert, we all split the Kolsch sorbet. Quite delish and Nicole got the Vodka penne with chicken My entree was a pork tenderloin served in a Kolsch Dijon sauce. Yummy! I chose the Dortmunder Lager. I'm not a big fan of lagers, but Tom sure knows how to brew them. Excellent Heath then went with the Wobbly Bob Dopplebock, also quite good Hearing the word coffee, Nicole was intrigued. She really liked it too. Sorry guys, she's taken! Heath got the Round Boy Stout, which he really liked with it's coffee flavor I decided on the nice and sweet maibock This food sure is better than anything we'd get at SF, and cheaper too! As a thanks, we were given a free appetizer of Olive Tappanade Back to UBW on its first Saturday dinner. The place was full with reservations, but my visit on Thursday got us priority seating

sooperdooperLooper at Hersheypark a few hours ago, when it was flurrying. Now I'm warming up at home!

El Toro, yesterday around 4pm, with very little wait (and only 1 train). Had I not made dinner plans, I would have probably stayed there all night, no wait rides for El Toro are very rare indeed (and make the ride so much better).

Yesterday Nicole came into town for the holiday weekend and we decided to head down to Jersey (yeah, we're insane) to visit with Bret and family. Of course, beyond the mass amounts of awesome food, Bret also happened to have some tasty brews for us. And to end the night, the newly discontinued Blind Faith IPA from Magic Hat. Shame too, it's a nice starter IPA Well, I know this stuff is ok, Kona's Fire Rock Pale Ale. Still no Sierra Nevada, Venom, or Phoenix Pale though Eww! This tastes like Budweiser with a little more hops. Wait a minute, it IS! Green Valley is a secret code name for Anheuser Busch! Darn you, Bret, making me drink your crap beers! First up, something I hadn't had yet, the Stone Mill Pale Ale, made by Green Valley Brewing

Today started off cold, snowing, and pretty much unappealing. Then I got word that Union Barrel Works finally got the ok to open, and so they did! And thus, I had to check them out as soon as possible! I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people here on opening night, perhaps it was because not many people have to work tomorrow, or they were all locals, but the bar was full! Still, as I was arriving, some people were stumbling out, so I found a seat at the bar, and got to enjoy some of Tom Rupp's brews, something he hasn't made in quite a few years. I didn't have much time to spare, so I didn't get a full look at the place, but I did manage to enjoy each beer he had brewed, as well as sample 2 beer infused sorbets, which I will definitely be saving room for when I finally enjoy the food there. Of all the beers, none was horrible or even average, each was amazing! Of course, I had my favorites, and surprisingly, none were hoppy! Tom is known for not liking the hop, he likes his beers sweet, and as long as they're brewed like he makes them, I'm ok with that! The Maibock and the Stout were my favorites, but I'll definitely be heading back there multiple times to enjoy each one. If he starts a Mug Club, I know where my loyalty will be! Onto the pictures! That's the 6 on tap now. I'm sure Tom will have more great stuff on tap soon, he's got a few left, and summer is right around the corner. I can't wait to go back for more! and the Round Boy Stout was smooth with a great coffee/chocolate taste. The Mai-bock was excellent, very sweet, pale and almost Belgian-like Then I moved on to the flight, which was 2oz of each. From top left to bottom right, Kolsch, Dortmunder Lager, Pale Ale, Mai-bock, Wobbly Bob Dopplebock, and Round Boy Stout To start I had the Pale Ale, which was very tasty, and very well priced at $3. and what could be better than having your beer poured by the owner/brewmaster, Tom Rupp, proudly showing off his accomplishments of microbrews and a brewpub Sitting in the bar area you'll see lots of homage to Reading It was late so there weren't many people in the dining room, but come tomorrow there will be a nice wait for this area The brewingness, straight from the old Fancy Pants in Reading The bar area also has some tables for groups to enjoy brews at The bar area seats enough people, and has a beautiful decor, from the ceiling to the floor My ventures before the weekend would then take me by the opened for 4 hours Union Barrel Works. Finally they got approval to open! This stuff went down smoothly, and warmed me up. Good job, NorCal brew! It's a bomber, gotta have the second half! Very smooth and creamy, great coffee flavor Another crappy April day with snow(?!) Better keep warm with some Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Just because a coaster is an "ACE Classic" doesn't mean it is a good ride. It has nothing to do with the actual coaster or track or ride, just that the train has a buzzbar or stationary lapbar instead of the individual racheting style, no headrests, and no seatbelts/seat divider. I can think of plenty of wood coasters I'd rather ride than some of the ACE Classics, and some of the ones that used to be ACE classics but aren't anymore because they altered the trains to accommodate the insurance companies. Of course, these days it seems like every park has some sort of ACE plaque, at least if the park hosted an ACE event at some point in history. Heck, Williams Grove probably has an ACE plaque, still sitting there, being used as a coffee table or holding some tarp down or something. Who knows, maybe ACE can attempt to save the Cyclone, or at least get the train off of it to use in their Roller Coaster Museum when it opens in 4067.

^Maybe Canada's Wonderland uses a different measurement for attendance, much like a different currency and the metric system. It's probably because of it's proximity to Toronto, as well as being one of the only parks in Canada, meaning little competition. It will attract people from all over Ontario much quicker than any US park will because people won't have the hassle of Border crossing. Cedar Point, on the other hand, has lots of competition.

I'm actually enjoying it that he's still in the "competition". He can't sing worth crap, he looks ridiculous, and everyone including him knows it. If nothing else, I think the people who are voting for him because he's terrible will win in the end when Idol finally fails and people don't go out and buy enough cds to make the albums go multi-platinum. Taylor Hicks did it, now look at him! (has anyone actually SEEN him lately?) Heck, I'll vote for Sanjaya if it means I won't have to suffer thru 4 days of American Idol every week. Really looking forward to next week's HOUR long results show so we can hear from JLo, oh joy.

I think the back gives a better ride with more airtime on El Toro, but keep in mind that the station does only hold so many people, so they cut off the line and only allow so many people in at a time. If you're toward the end of the cut, your options will be limited, but try to maneuver your way to the back.

Looks good, Tim. Glad you had a chance to check out some brews out in SanFran. I had the Shanghai IPA at SFBC last year, it was pretty good, and I thought the whole place was overall very friendly, albeit small. Sorry I missed the Rogue Publick House though! Heath, sounds like you've got the right idea! Stupid rewinter/spring *YAWN* Wake me when Spring REALLY arrives. Apparently it's that time again, better break out the Hibernation Ale again Arrogant Bastard is good enough, but when you cook it with wood chips, there's a nice vanilla hint to it, especially as it warms up Better throw some wood on the fire, or at least some oak chips

Yes, another lovely day that will soon be turning back to crap. Better enjoy some good stuff while I can. Sure am glad I saved some winter beers, as it seems that'll be making a return in the next few days here. and so, the last of the Redbach is now gone too, for now... and since it's cherry blossom time, why not break out the cherries It's da Kronic! First up, the last of the Lagunitas Censored Copper Ale

So glad to hear that El Toro is still not opening with the park, and is running only 1 train. Way to pick up right where you left off, Six Flags. I'm so anxious to visit again Thanks for sharing the pretty typical SFGAd that we're accustomed to. Though "maybe" they were just opening day glitches (riiiiiight). Perhaps if I want to ride an Intamin woodie without hassles I should just fly to Sweden. It'd be worth it!

If praying you suddenly go deaf is a sign that something is brilliant, then yes, I'd say that was brilliant.

^Wow, trusting Adam to post pictures? We could be back at that Ale House multiple times before Adam gets around to posting them, I think he's still on his Honeymoon pictures! Another beautiful day outside (of course it is, I had to work 10 hours!) so why not enjoy a nice Stone IPA while waiting for tonight's event. Wonderful grapefruit and citrus taste, perfect for warm weather One of Stone's simpler, but still ever so great brews, the IPA

Yesterday I decided to check out Weyerbacher over in Easton, as they were having an open house, and had a few new beers for me to try. Then it was on to Which Brew for lunch. Afterwards it was back to Tom's house for some more drinking. and yeah, this was like my 6th or 7th pint of the DFH Aprihop. And then I don't remember what happened, other than lots of sleep And Crazy Jake smoked up some boneless pork ribs for us Since it was nice out, we hung outside and ate BBQ stuff, like these awesome chips Great taste, and very easy to drink, and at 7% that's dangerous It's Dogfish Head ApriHop, hoppy and apricotty too Back home, it was time to tap some new kegs. Nope, it isn't Shipyard Export.. and a Mojo Risin' Double IPA for me After his Maibock, it was time for Delirium Tremens I went with the Stone IPA to start while Tom went with the Spaten Maibock, all while eating awesome burgers and fries Lots of quality stuff on tap Food time, off to the other side of Easton for Which Brew Lot's of people anxiously await the Wild Ale. Brewer Dan and his friends were seen running around a lot, chatting it up We both enjoyed the Raspberry Beret Wild Ale, which won't be bottled until next year. It was sorta lambic like, and very tart and sour The soup was really tasty, better than BBWs They also had free samples of the soup that Wegman's makes at their local branch, containing their Hops Infusion Ale Tom enjoys the Blasphemy, an oak aged QUAD With the open house came lots of free stuff, and free stuff brings out lots of people Back to Weyerbacher, haven't been here for a while

Tonight you'd expect a typical Derek and Heath drinkathon. But with Heath being suckered into joining those of BACT who put coasters before beer this weekend, I'd be flying solo. Luckily for me, there's always Tom. Of course, tonight Tom was busy, and there was plenty of other things for me to do tonight. So, I decided to go with the "Dude In Exile" event at Sly Fox, which celebrates a local brewer, Scott Morrison, who won several Great American Beer Festival medals over the past couple of years. He recently got fired from his job, as his establishment was more geared to the "stupid drinker" and the owner was angry with Scott's daringness to create some wonderful brews. After getting laid off in early December, the nearby Sly Fox decided to honor him with his own night. And so, a few weeks ago he met up with the head brewer and together they recreated a Scott "the Dude" Morrison ale, which was tapped tonight in Phoenixville. With nothing else to do, I decided to attend, and bring some work peeps with me. This update has been brought to you by HopDevil. When you need a beer, choose the Devil. Until tomorrow.... and to end, I went with the Donny Brook Stout, a dry stout. Very creamy and smokey. To eat, my right leg instructed me to choose the HopDevil Cheddar and Bacon soup. Good stuff, but sadly it was no BBW beer and cheese, as much as I wish it was even better than that dump Jeff and Shelly, with the Victory Lager and Mad King Weiss, respectively and of course, I started out with the HopDevil...on cask! Awesome I couldn't stop there, so Victory won over The Drafting Room, only because of the nonsmoking, and HopDevil vs bocks Sadly, the Dude was too busy elsewhere so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. This is as close as I got Though I think Jeff was thinking the price would be more like the domestics he's used to drinking Shelly and Jeff enjoy their first microbrewery experience with some Phoenix Pale Ales After we managed to score seats at the bar, I felt obligated to order another. So Rt 113 IPA on draft was my choice. I'm not going to pass up on the chance to enjoy one of the Dude's brews. And this one was great, sweet, yet hoppy with a little alcohol taste, and wonderful spicy tones Ah, there it is, Dude de Garde, along with many other Sly Fox brews The place was pretty packed, of course you'd expect that on a Friday night, but even more so from folks wanting to try the last of the Dude's brews Back at the Sly Fox. Haven't been here since...December!?!

It really was just a filler episode, but I did enjoy some parts of it; Sawyer still asking who Nikki is, the whole Ben in the Pearl and how they were going to get Jack, Sun finding out that Charlie and Sawyer were to blame, not the others, and the buried alive. Still was stupid claiming they were there the whole time, and the whole paralysis/dead thing was dumb, but what do you expect when you have Dr Sawyer and Dr Hurley on the job.

Tis a very special day, our own Mr Jaco Taco himself is having a birthday, which requires much celebrating here in the beer thread! Hope you had a happy birthday, Mr Taco! And who can think of Matt without thinking about Bell's and what a wonderful product Matt can no longer get in his pathetic city Ahhhhh! Matt, you better come visit me soon, before this stuff is all gone for another year First up, I'll break out the BBW mug and DOUBLE my Nugget Nectar intake

Another nice day today. Of course, not as nice as yesterday, but that's because I was busy all night yesterday, figures. Figured I'd start off with a nice summery beer while this warm weather lasts. mmmmm, Nectary Oh yeah, back inside (stupid pollen) for bottled hops The best thing about these random warm spells, I don't have to shovel snow OR mow grass yet, so the outside world is wonderful! Abita's Purple Haze, a nice raspberry wheat

I stayed at the Sleep Inn by Six Flags. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was fairly quiet, an ok price, and an easy walk to SFOG. Next time I go to SFOG though, I'll most likely check into the Wingate, it seemed to be the nicest option.

Tonight I had one of them drug rep dinners where they get some doctor to come tell you how awesome the drug is, all while providing you with food and drink. Lucky for me, it was at one of my favorite French restaurants, and alcohol was included. So I opted for the better of their limited selection, a Hoegaarden and a Spaten. Definitely will help me while listening to Sanjaya attempt to sing something on Idol again. Then it was back home for some Carolina Pale Ale