DerekRx

"How Many Licks"- Lil Kim

I'm somewhat anxious to go to Haunt sometime. I hear good things from some people, bad things from others. Next year definitely looks like my year to go, and not on a weekend. Poor Dallas. At least now he's tall enough to ride Jaguar...again Still convinced in Heath's theory "Cedar Fair's goal is to make every other park look like crap so Cedar Point looks good"

While Python isn't a good coaster to us, it did have that nice airtime moment on the first drop, and was a great starter coaster for the little ones just brave enough to battle it. As long as Busch doesn't take out Scorpion all will be good. Enjoy your retirement, Python, where ever you may end up!

I can only hope this new woodie combined with the booster bike gives them a major increase in attendance, but not so much that they feel obligated to take out the obstacle course and replace it with another coaster in a few years! Wow, did I really say I DON'T want another coaster, yeah I think I did!

Tonight started off with the start of a variety pack from Adam, an assortment of Flying Dog. First up, Flying Dog's Old Scratch Amber Lager. Pretty good amber with some maltiness and a nice hop presence. mmmm, tree bark and chemicals. My kind of beer! Next up, one of Nicole's favorites, the HopDevil! Not bad, not bad at all Old Scratch, weird label art, kinda looks like a mosquito even though its a dog

I would totally buy one, if there was some way to get it back stateside. I don't think I can send them a big box and say "please put the Blackpool turtle in here". Really stinks that a park known for its classic rides which are now really unique is going to get rid of this for a lousy SLC that can be found pretty much anywhere in the world.

^Agreed, and a HUGE waste of space. Rip it out and throw in a B&M floorless dive machine with a bird theme!

Oldest coaster I rode; Leap the Dips, Lakemont Park (1902). Oldest person I rode a coaster with, Jeff Johnson (actual age undocumented)

More pictures of the reception: The next morning it was off to the airport and back to the East coast for a few final hours of coaster riding for the season. Todd was raring to go, but Krista faked sleeping. Poor Todd, someone should have told him that once you get married, the fun stops! After the Longs realized our special gift, we helped clean up. Will caught the garter, but he didn't know what to do with it Since Nicole wasn't there, I was forced to substitute her with another blonde Buffaloian me and the bride Meanwhile back at the reception, all the "coaster friends" get together But the clincher, 2 dozen goldfish in their hot tub! Flip the boxspring and mattress means rock hard sleep! Its always customary to build a fort in the hotel room Try sitting down here! if its upside down, is it still a nightstand? The strawberries and pretzels were great! And then we decided to start sabotaging the honeymoon suite! Finally we gave up on that idea and decided to just drink back in the hotel room Where once again my beer exploded Then we got yelled at and our beer taken away so we resorted to drinking in the bathroom! Must...not...waste...beer! My next beer was Oro de Calabaza, which apparently translates into Old Faithful! Todd and Krista cutting the cake. No NAPHA members were present to steal a piece though And Walt's Crisp Apple tasted like a jolly rancher My Bam Biere was much better than the Labatts But he had some open bar stuff too and Walt had the same idea, only with Mike's But I had my own secret stash from Jolly Pumpkin Labatt's Blue was on tap

LOTS of people getting married this year; people you didn't expect to ever get married. Well, probably the president of single was Todd Long, and now he too has finally found the right one. October 28 was the day that Todd finally took the plunge into wedlock with his gal, Krista, up in Michigan. While the weather started out cold and rainy and windy, by the time the ceremony began, the sun was out and things were ready to go. Congratulations you two! May you live Long and happy lives together With Halloween right around the corner and Todd's love of Nightmare, this cake was very appropriate And in Todd and Krista fashion, instead of tables being numbered, they were given the names of some of their favorite movies Wow, Todd and Krista are expecting some pretty big names to show up! The happy couple make their way to the reception hall Todd signs his freedom away. He's officially married now! While waiting for pictures to be taken, Will entertains on the piano Stepping out of the church for the first time as Mr and Mrs Todd Long Will has the ceremonial ring pops all ready With Jesus on his shoulder, Todd and best man (and son) Will are ready for their duties Do you think he's drunk enough? A wedding isn't a party without a 40 of Colt 45! Next stop, a very Clerks-ish convenience store for food The groomsmen and the brewmaster To make sure Todd doesn't change his mind, we'll get him nice and drunk First stop, Jolly Pumpkin microbrewery! Let's rock! The groom and one of the groomsmen get ready for the big day Since I had it at my disposal, I decided to start out the day with a nice hot tub moment while watching Saturday morning cartoons

Last ride of the season for me was Talon. While not the best coaster, at least I rode it with some good friends.

^^Much better Yesterday I had groomsman stuff to take care of, but that didn't stop me from doing another BACT attack, this time on the nearby Jolly Pumpkin Artisans Ale brewery in Dexter, Michigan. Much like the other awesome places like Alesmith and Troegs, they're only opened a few hours of the week for retail sales and sample tastings. The owner/brewmaster Spooky Captain Ron Jeffries was on hand to proudly share his creations with us (mostly me) and I must say, he's got some really unique and amazing stuff brewing. Luckily for me, I now know of a few places in the area where I can get his stuff. Another good brew with some spice and orange hints. I need more Pumpkin! Final Jolly Pumpkin to try, the Calabaza Blanca, a white ale. Next, in high school fashion, it was drinking in the bathroom. This time La Roja, the amber ale. But this one was the Grand Reserve, oak barrel aged for 20 months. Sweet! The Oro seriously was fantastic. I need more of these! Followed by the award winning Oro de Calabaza, a Franco-belgian style gold ale But I had my own secret stash, so next was some regular Bam Biere At the reception, Labatt's Blue was on tap, so I had a few of them Someone knew I liked beer, and they did their best. Lowenbrau works fine for me Fast forward a few hours and we're done with the wedding and drinking champibble in the limo This one rocked big time. Nice and grapefruity. Even Todd really dug it Brewmaster Ron then pours the cask conditioned One Hopped Up Bug, super hopped version of the Luciernaga, a Grand Cru style His last few minutes as a single man, Todd also enjoyed the Hop Bam First up, the newly dry hopped Hop Bam, a hopped up version of the Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale. Not bad at all A little hard to find thanks to Mapquest being wrong, but well worth the effort

Well, its the final weekend of the "season" and therefore the final weekend for me to travel for a bit. However, this weekend is a bit different, as a good friend, Todd Long, is finally taking the plunge into marriage. So, its off to Detroit for a wedding. Of course, I can't do the trip without a stop or two for brew. Wonder if Casey will see this picture here Of course, since the woman isn't with me, I got a free upgrade to a jacuzzi suite And while here, we watched the World Series end on their giant 1982 big screen! Even Walt couldn't resist spiced pumpkin beer Next up, the Screaming Pumpkin Spiced Ale. Lots of spice, little to no pumpkin and not much of a finish Nice selection of beer coasters on the walls. Shout out to Victory! Very friendly crowd, everyone knew each other too First up, a very hoppy High Seas IPA. Good stuff! Lots of their own stuff on tap though Next up, a drive up to Michigan Brewing Company, which was pretty much a truck stop that brewed. Followed by another Sam I enjoyed a Sam Adams with a side of Walt At the rehearsal dinner, Todd and Krista are pleased to have Walt intrude in their picture First stop, back to Independence at the PHL airport for a Yards Philly Pale Ale. Pretty hoppy for a regular pale ale

Tonight I was given a special treat from a coworker, a growler of Oktoberfest from Golden Avalanche. Since I would be away for the weekend, it meant I'd once again have to drink the whole 1/2 gallon by myself. Could it be done? Golden Avalanche has some good stuff, can't wait to get back there Not quite a 4th full mug, but then again, not quite an Oktoberfest incident either! 9:00, the last of the beer is out of the growler and in the mug. 8:00, mug #3, just in time for some TV time. Would Smallville make sense after 66oz?? 7:00, mug #2. Goes down fairly easily, just like at the real Oktoberfest Very malty with a little alcohol at the end. Very tasty stuff, better than Sam Adams or some others 6:00, first glass poured To make less trips to the fridge, its time to break out the big mug Sealed seasonal selection, a growler of Oktoberfest

There's also a park named Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

^Well, that makes me sad. At least I have my beer. That won't leave me for some pirate.

I ran out of IPA just before Lost started, so it was time to reload, this time with a beer with less power and more autumn. Pumpkinhead to the rescue! I could always turn the heat up, but I'd rather spend the money on beer and just throw on a sweatshirt! Really lite, easy session beer, or just something to enjoy on a cold Fall night while watching some addicting television

Dude that's awesome! Probably some of the funniest Halloween stuff I've seen since the Homestarrunner Halloween stuff. I love Little Mermaid Caseyfish, Drakken, and She-Go. And me as Count Drunkula. If we don't see it this year animated, we'll definitely see it next year in Real World fashion!

Tonight I decided I was craving a really good IPA. Since I still had like 5 Stone 10th Anniversary IPAs, I figured I better get rid of some of them. I sure do miss SoCal, and not just because its like cold outside and stuff So good I'll finish the bottle (of course, its against my nature NOT to finish the bottle, no matter how bad something is) The hops, the alcohol, and overall flavor; all make me very hoppy, err happy One fine IPA

^^Just try going to the park right after the new E-ticket premiers, its Spring break, and the Dino-Asia bridge is closed off! Talk about navigating pathway horrors and bottlenecking!

Well, with it pretty safe to say summer weather is over, I guess its time for me to clear out the final remains of my summer goods to make some room for the winters. With a little bit of banana and lemon hints, its not too heavy on the hot dog water. Farewell until next year, Blanche! First to go, the Weyerbacher Blanche, a Belgian Wit

It was almost cold enough today for me to want to break out the winter ales, but I decided I better enjoy more pumpkins before the frost hits and ruins the harvest! With just enough alcohol taste to keep me warm even when its cold out! DFH Punkin

Not much to report on from Disney, as I've been there like 5 times this year so far (I think that's the most visits I've had to one park, and I live 1000 miles away!) But she still agreed to a photo (or 50, since everyone with a camera took one. Someone in line said "is she a celebrity?") A little bit of awe from the boys over Elissa's headgear and Clarise was getting a bit jealous Chip escorts his woman out to meet and greet Lead by Stacy, Elissa was on a mission. Wes has Mission: Senise, Elissa has Mission: Clarise MGM was pretty dead (so dead that I didn't even have time to stop to take a picture of good Tower because there was no line!) Just wanted to let everyone know, I'm bringing monkeys back. They like to throw their crap... The Forbidden Mountain to be exact What's that I see thru the telescope? Why its a mountain! TPR Party Bus, getting ready to "roll out" Say goodbye to the TPR house, until next time

Just a few from Busch Gardens Oooh, Shakira pretty at night Things to do: Train with Astromech Droid, Fresnonian Rap Dance Contest, essay on Dagobah, councellor, homework Only one thing can save us now, the lightsaber of justice! I am so confused! And then they kill him?? and Oprah was there?? Control, alt, Deceased was odd Trenchy rides are good, especially inverts And Montu has an Immelmann too. B&M hasn't made an Immelwomann yet Montu has a vertical loop, didn't you know I'm a vertical loop, my skeleton is made of steel Looking under the lift is weird around the lift we go, wii! mmm, Vertical loop penitration Zero G roll, formerly the "Kumba thing" I would have to say yes, and now with brighter crisper paint! Is there a finer corkscrew in the park than Python's mighty 2? Sheikra sure is easy to take pictures of, and they're all so pretty, just like Shakira Yup, this is the second drop Here you see both drops. See!? Why, how about a rear shot! What could be better than a frontal shot of the water effect? Going into the second drop tunnel thing World's largest sideloop In case you thought we were at Busch Gardens Europe, this is Sheikra, not (Peter) Griffon One goes up, one comes down. But look out for those bees! Say hello to the only coaster with 3 rows of 8, with a floor to boot Sheikra has two drops, just like Shakira has 2 hips, and they don't lie OK, I lied, this is the real reason we were here A few of the mazes and shows displayed at the entrance The reason we were here, Howl O Scream Montu, from the parking lot. Not a parking lot coaster

^^After Hours had some water effects at the bar area. Instead of creating yet another PTR for the awesome weekend, I figured I'd just piggyback here. If people see the pictures, great! The only major fluck up for me this entire trip was the delay in getting there, causing an even greater delay. Airlines stink, especially when you have to take the last flight of the night because you don't want to take any time off of work, yet flying the next morning still wouldn't get you into the area until the afternoon, even if you took the earliest flight! Being all tired and travelled out, I forgot to unpack my camera when I finally got to Epcot and we high tailed it into the park, so there are no Epcot pictures from me. Instead, enjoy some Cypress Gardens! And no Derek update is complete without a picture of Derek. And bonus! Guy too! Also in said sink hole, a Zamperla Disko! The original Cypress Gardens sign, still in its original location, next to the sink hole Final credit for those who were desperate for it. Robb, hard at work again! Poor guy New credit for me on this trip! Too bad we didn't spin that much in my car, which was packed just right for normal spinning madness After the first lap is complete and the credit is achieved the fun can begin, like hand slapping! The ultimate sign of a credit whore, a Zamperla mini-mouse, made specifically for people like us Robb, hard at work Luckily no one died on that day Triple Hurricane, I opted not to ride for fear of falling out A Vekoma roller skater with opened front trains Woot, the rides area