pete4winds

^ That was my second stay at the campground, and it just gets better each time. We were over on the hill last time, and let me tell you, on that side of the camp that train is LOUD. We'll either be bringing an RV with us next time or rentin a cabin. That's awesome that you were in line during that e-stop. So close, huh? Allan's planning on coming up to SFNE sometime, so maybe we should plan a get-together when he does. Anyway, lunch is done, so on to more pics!

Part 4: More to be posted later, after a bite to eat! A mini Amish buggy and horse for mini tourists? Mom and Chelsea are enjoying the ride...Mom more so than Chelsea, apparently. So am I, despite the look on my face. Don't let the picture fool you. Allan really is pretty excited about the Amish buggy ride we're about to take. VERY nice overview. Nice overview. Yeah, Boardwalk is pretty much jammed in there. Surf's up...

Part 3: And more... Early views of Boardwalk's awesome theming. Head snappage at its finest. A little Trailblazer goodness. For the brake run fan in all of us. Transfer track IN ACTION!!! For you transfer track enthusiasts. This was supposed to be a last-drop POV on Coal Cracker. Instead I got the back of Allan's shirt. Twin loopy goodness as seen from Coal Cracker. Coal Cracker POV! If the net wasn't there, I could totally sell this pic to those people on the ride for big bucks! Stupid net. Kit Kats. I could live on this ride, if only the candy was accessible. A bajillion Kisses in a naked Hershey Kiss orgy. MMMMMMMM...I love Almond Joy. Chocolate World. Jen's nuclear quesadillas. OOPS! I think someone's at the wrong park! Some more nacho destruction The remains of my nachos. Best nachos I've ever had. That's kinda dirty...we didn't get Great Bear spooge on us, but we did manage an in-station E-stop credit on our second ride. I so want this to be my garage. This is probably one of my favorite shots from this trip...aside from some of the Boardwalk photos. Allan approaches Skyview's turnaround. Nobody has EVER seen this shot before. Great Bear's vert loop quotes Maude Lebowski: "Derek...love me!"

Part 2: More of Anton's genius in action. Ew...I do hope that's chocolate down there. If it is, it's GREAT theming! Very cool view of Bear. Allan has a picture (and a Skyview seat) all to himself. Anton, Walter, and Claude all in one picture. From Skyview. Bear's awesome immelman. And more Great Bear. Great Bear Funny, this picture makes it LOOK fast. Some Vekoma cobra-roll action. "GO!" That's me and Chelsea in the front row, Allan right behind her. Cue the heartbeat sound effect. "Now, get ready...here we..." Vekoma vert-loop awesomeness (insert eye-roll smiley here). The sea of humanity...this crowd grew to three times this size by the time the rope dropped. Finally, some twisty steel goodness. The clock tower at the museum. Some awesome RCT theming. Random billboard alongside the track. Look! Real wooden see-saws!!! When was the last time you saw one of these? More Amish farmland. Oh, good...they didn't. There it goes...just don't forget about us. ...and they'll wave back. Wave to the engineers... Our locomotive, on the transfer track, getting ready to recouple and take us back.

This past week was our not-so-annual-more-like-occasional family vacation, and this year we headed off to HersheyPark for their 100th anniversary. The group consisted of me, my wife Jen, my mom, and my cousin Chelsea. Chelsea and I were the only real coaster fans in the bunch, so the trip was a pretty diverse mix of riding and other activities. We drove down last Saturday, hit the park Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and drove back on Friday, with other touristy goodness on Sunday and Tuesday. Before I get into detail, let me say this: all other theme park companies, learn from Hershey...period! Saturday, as I mentioned, was the trip down. We stayed at the Hershey Highmeadow campground, our second time doing so. We'd stayed there in 2002, and our site was only about fifty feet from the freight train that ran all night. This time we were smart and got a site on the opposite side of the camp. No water or electric hookups, but that was a small price to pay for much quieter nights. We arrived fairly early, and for the first time in about 7 years, we were able to actually pitch camp in daylight. Jen and I camp an average of about 12-15 times a year, on weekends from Memorial Day to Hallowe'en, so that's a LOT of setting up in the dark. Daylight set-up was a rare treat. We had hellacious thunderstorms the first three days, but they were timed just right so that it didn't cut into any park time. Sunday was the Strasburg Railroad, which was a great way to kill an hour. It took us longer to get there, but it was pretty fun. It was also a nice way to relax, knowing that we'd be hitting teh park hard over the next few days. Monday was "Day One" at HersheyPark. Allan "Primogen18" Bray met up with us that morning, checked into his campsite right across from us, and we were off for the "Sweet Start" early entry...loved it! We made a beeline toward StormRunner, as it was one of three credits for me, the other two being Wild Mouse and Roller Soaker (on my last visit in 2002, the lines for both were insane). We got to the proverbial velvet rope right by Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge before the vast majority of the crowd, and got to witness the "Running of the Bulls" from ahead of the pack. It was pretty funny that the mad rush of humanity crapped out after about 30 feet. The rest of the week was: Amish Country (again) and a buggy ride on Tuesday, Wednesday more coastering, and Thursday a more relaxing day at HersheyPark with some shows and mellower rides. Some of the highlights and overall impressions of the trip: First, the food, cleanliness, and service are second to none! As I said before, all theme parks can learn a little something from HersheyPark. Even ride-ops were awesome, such as the ride-op on Roller Soaker actually getting the crowd (our longest wait all week, incidentally, at just under an hour, and the ONLY wait more than 30 minutes) to do the Hokey Pokey. Super-efficient, friendly, and very attentive to their jobs. Meals were great, too. Our biggest meal was lunch on Monday at the Tudor Grill. Far and away the best park meal (and best value, given the portion sizes) I've ever had. We got there just as they opened, and the entire wait staff was standing outside seemingly waiting just for us. As we were the first table to arrive for lunch, they might as well have been. I had a monstrous plate of awesome nachos and a "side" salad...at any other restaurant in the universe, it would've been an entree salad for two. It was equally huge. Jen had a nuclear-hot quesadilla. We both love hot foods, but damn, this was hot. They gave her extra jalapenos just in case it wasn't hot enough. At ZooAmerica, they double-charged us for one item, and when we figured it all out, they not only gave us back teh $2.66 they owed us, but the rounded up to $2.75. Try that at any Six Flags. Not likely. The Boardwalk was pretty awesome for several reasons. First, the crowd there made pretty much everything else in the park a near-walk-on, except for 20 minute waits at StormRunner and Great Bear, and the aforementioned hour at Roller Soaker. Second, it was one of the best-themed park sections I've ever seen...I found it to be near-Disney in quality. Hershey truly captured the beach, from the seagull and airplane sound effects to the surf and beach theming all over. Third, despite the crowds, some of the people that made up those crowds were well worth it. Let's just say may your chosen deity forever bless the inventor of the waterpark (the last few photos in this TR will tell the tale). One area where they really dropped the ball was a lack of a Lazy River. My pregnant-again wife had really been looking forward to spending time in the waterpark, but without a Lazy River she was really limited and disappointed. Fortunately multiple rides on Soaker and Canyon River Rapids more than made up for it, including two back-to-back Monday night rides on Rapids just as the park was closing. My three credits also represented a few firsts for me: First "classic" wild mouse, first Intamin rocket (though certainly not my first launched coaster), and first Setpoint interactive water coaster. Wild mouse was a night ride, and it was totally unbraked. Allan tells me it's one of the more intense wild mouse coasters out there. StormRunner quickly blasted its way into my top five coasters ever. If not for the short ride, it might well have become my favorite, although the one night ride we got was SICK! I swear it jumps another ten miles an hour after dark...sure felt like it, anyway. Soaker was awesome, and one of the rides Jen could actually enjoy. Despite her very sensitive motion sickness, it's one of a few roller coasters she can ride, and ride she did, several times. The new Flyer trains on Wildcat were amazing, too. Unlike some, I won't go quite so far as to call it a new credit, but it definitely was a new experience. I loved Wildcat back in 2002, but I found that the new trains made the overall experience a thousand times better. Even the shows were pretty amazing. We ended up seeing three. The "Great Candy Caper" sea lion show in the aquatheater was a great way to cool off for a half-hour or so. It was pretty basic sea lion show fare, but they did a nice job mixing it up with a diving show to make it a little more unique. The Chevy Music Box Theater shows "Impact Effect" and "Velocity" were absolutely amazing. I found them to be very "Blue Man" and "Cirque de Soleil" inspired, respectively, but they pulled it off quite well. Finally, I did get to meet the Norwalk CT contingent of TPR, but unfortunately it was late on my last night. Shame we didn't get to ride together, but it was awesome meeting and chatting with you guys. We need to plan a future meet-up! Overall, it was a great trip, and the experience was one I'd almost consider moving to Eastern PA for. In fact, for the right job opportunity, I may just do that. My wife and I both really loved the Hershey/Hummelstown area. There are enough photos to be split up into multiple posts, so feel free to comment in the meantime! Now, on to the photos!!! The highlight of the town is a dead tree. Ever think about renaming your town? The sprawling downtown area of Paradise PA. Amish farm. And, of course, the only good "Maize Maze" photo I got was of the sign. Rope maze...oddly, considerably more difficult. Hay maze...somehow it doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult. A little Amish tourist trap along the way. Tickets, please. Good thing steam trains don't have emissions standards. Jen and I are enjoying the ride so far. Again, the cheap car. I'd love to see the "expensive" car on my next trip. This was the cheap car, if you can believe it. Mom enjoys the comfortable seats. Fueling up and refilling the water tank. The slightly more expensive open-air car. We rode in one of these coach cars. Our locomotive. Rail museum across the street. Strasburg Railroad station. Freedom on the left, Independence on the right...wait, that's wrong. Mom and Chelsea on the left, me and my wife Jen on the right. Our home for the next week...and yes, that's the same soccer mom van as in my NHRA TR. Here we are! Not quite yet. Gotta check in at the campground first. Now THAT'S more like it. Talon in the side-view mirror, taunting us as it fades into the distance. Talon. More Steel Force. This is as close as we got. Maybe next trip. DAMN!!! So close, yet so far. Steel Force. Dorney?

My family and I are heading to Hersheypark next week, so I thought I might throw it out there. Anyone interested in a meetup on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday of next week? Feel free to PM or reply here BEFORE Saturday, or call my cell AFTER Sayurday: 508-415-3478

In alphabetical order: Arizona California - lived there 1993-97 Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. - yes, I realize it's not a state Florida Georgia Hawai'i Illinois Indiana Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts - live there, grew up there. Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island - work there South Carolina Utah Vermont Virginia West Virginia

^ That's exactly what they don't want. It really doesn't matter if you're just some random guest. If you have pro-level camera equipment, park management has no way of knowing that you're NOT with the media. If YOU saw pictures of trash and rusted roller coasters in a major media outlet, would YOU want to go to that park?

^ They're not trying to stop the word-of-mouth about their respective parks. Theme park management has to assume that anyone entering with pro-level gear is a member of the media (since the average guest doesn't carry anything beyond a simple point-and-shoot), and those people that ARE assumed to be media are out of the park's control unless they go through the PR department. Parks spend a ton of money on marketing that they maintain some control over, so any media member that doesn't agree in advance to the park's media terms has the potential to disseminate very damaging information, and more often than not that information is either one-sided or patently false. Doesn't make much business sense to let the media run rampant through a park with no regard for what they MIGHT be reporting. If I'm running a multi-billion dollar business, you'd better believe I'm keeping the strictest control over my dealings with the professional media.

^ When I was your age, the Bay Area was known for Exodus, Testament, Legacy, etc. Why can't we live in those days again? But to answer the question of the topic itself, just about any gangsta rap and contemporary country (with a very select few exceptions in either genre) pretty much turn my stomach. The very few rap and country artists I can tolerate were all charting in the 70s and 80s. Most artists of these two genres that have recorded since those days, meh ( x 6546516546 ).

Would I be up for something like this? In a freakin' heartbeat!

^ I've always been more of a NASCAR fan (lifelong, and I used to drive at my local track in my younger days), but I've been a big fan of NHRA about as long as I've known Peggy, about six years now. This was my first attended NHRA event, and having been to numerous NASCAR events, I thought I knew what to expect, but I was totally floored by the noise level. It didn't take us long to pony up the three bucks a pair for earplugs. I was at Home Depot the day before we left, and I could've gotten a whole box of them for three bucks. Stupid me! The bikes aren't nearly as loud as the fuelers and funny cars, but as you can see from the pics, each pit is between that team's hauler and the next one, so standing in the pit while Peggy's team was popping the throttle is plenty loud. We're already planning for next year.

Day 4, the end! We're finally home. For a trip that only took four days, it seemed awfully long. 638 miles on just about 33 gallons of gas. Not bad. Shame you're a soccer mom van. No thanks. Back in our parking spot. It's not oftn I truly relish seeing this sign. About fifteen minutes left. Airtime hill? No. Stupid bridge. Nibbles Woodaway welcomes us back to Providence. This guy's older than I am. World's largest golf tee? Back to Wyoming. No wonder we're so effing tired. The guy behind us has a windshield. Yeah, but we have these cool goggles. I realize that, but goggles only keep bugs out of the eyes, not the teeth. Capt. Picard's favorite off-duty pastime. These guys were involved in some race. Our soccer mom van still smoked 'em. Rhode Island, home of the 2007 World Scholar Athlete Games. WTF is a scholar athlete, anyway? Almost home. damn, another country? "Indian Country." Good afternoon, my brothers! Mystic Aquarium. Or a HoJo. I couldn't tell. Good to know. Thanks. For all you bubbleheads. If you ain't surface fleet, you ain't $**t. I can't get away from this freakin' circus. Maybe I should just get tickets to the damn thing and get it over with. I think this guy was chasing down the cow truck from the first post.

Day four, part 1: The trip home! When I took this and the next picture, this caption was supposed to be a sarcastic "R.I.P. Mr McMahon" quote. How ironic. The heavy gauge wire mafia is on its way to Sandusky to make Kinzel an offer he can't refuse. This stuff doesn't splinter. Wow, that didn't take us long. If you look closely, right behind this Romantic Depot is a company called "ScrewsAndMore.com." Ironic. But brilliant. Shame it's a machinery screw distributor. Back to Holiday World. Somewhere out in that haze is NYC. We could see it on the way down, but this was a "poor air quality" day. The Tappan Zee Bridge was moving much faster this day. This is what happens when we stick to our schedule. Fortunately it only went about as far as that highway sign up there. BLAMO! Traffic. The INSTANT we hit the state line... And thank you, Garden State Parkway, for taking my money. Holland? Now the trip HOME is gonna take us overseas? The trip down wasn't long enough? Wait, never mind. That goes to NYC. Oh, crap. It was the the OTHER 195 in New Jersey. I-195? I thought that was at the END of our trip? How'd we get home so fast? Thank you, Allaire State Park. As beautiful as you were, I think we may hotel it next year. There was a tent here. Anyone see where I put it? Even the car's telling me to hurry up. Just about ready to head home.

Day 3, part 3: The Michael Jordan of the Pro Stock (cars, not motorcycles) division, Warren Johnson. hipoor hauler driver had to turn around on this road. Guess who got stuck behind them for it? Garrett, Peggy, and Shane say farewell to us. Jen says farewell to Peggy. The Screamin' Eagles' pit bikes are loaded. This TR sponsored in part by... The extent of Shawn Gann's sponsorship as seen from Peggy's pit. Shawn, how can you afford such gawdy green leathers on such limited funding? But the Screamin' Eagles have a ways to go. Except for the woman, some stancions, and the pit bike, Steve Johnson's hauler is ready to go. Last one out gets stuck with cleanup. At the end of the day, fans can walk the track. Awards ceremony at the winner's circle. The team kart is just about loaded. The highlight of Peggy's fandom. Shane thought they were pretty hot. So did I. So did Jen. Kids can make the underwear look work a little better than grown men. Some of Peggy's more "interesting" fans. They were, quite literally, heartbroken that she lost in first round eliminations. I thought the guy was gonna cry. Another of Peggy's younger fans. Pete's camcorder watches Peggy sign autographs. Peggy's still watching Peggy sign autographs. These guys say hello to Peggy's family for her "family DVD" I'm also developing. I didn't realize Robb and...well, Robb, were there until I uploaded this picture! Gratuitous spamity spam spam spam placement. Independence Day reference # 2: Color the fairing grey and it looks like the alien's head (without the biomechanical suit). Gratuitous sponsor placement alert! This is on her dashboard. The attractive brown mesh halter top brings the shoot to a screeching halt. OK, reset, and....ACTION!

Day 3, part 2: Back off, tough guy. We're shooting a movie here. My head alone is bigger than her entire helmet. Please remove all earrings before riding. Peggy stares down one creepy person with a camera while listening to the other one. Luke. I am your father. Peggy, shut up and buckle the helmet so I can get this shot. My helmet doesn't fit as well as it did this morning. Maybe that extra waffle was a mistake? Looks like Peggy stole Darth Vader's gloves. Well, they do both wear helmets and leather. Must get the pivotal shot of her elbow. Finally, we get around to the reason I was there in the first place...let's shoot an intro video for your website, Peg! There's that creepy media guy again. Nah, just kidding. He was a decent guy...just hung around a lot. Definitely Peggy's youngest fan. Some of Peggy's younger fans. Peggy signs autographs for one guy in hotpants and one guy in his underwear. NHRA has such classy fans (insert :: here). Some chunky bald guy ogling her helmet and jacket (actually, I was getting a shot for her promo video). My "official" Peggy Llewellyn autograph. Whoda thunk a Chevy Beretta could look cool? More Pro Mod action. Former Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Reggie Showers stops by to offer his support. Peggy signs a...football? Wrong sport, kid. This bad boy was parked outside Peggy's pit when we got back...me likey!

Day 3, part 2: Final post for now. The rest of day three and our trip home will be posted later tonight! Thanks for reading so far! Peggy rolls by us. I'm right behind ya! Here come a very disappointed Peggy and Shane. Matt Smith rolls back to his pit. Karl and Garrett roll back our way. You can see the advantage 'Tron has. Stupid main bearing. Peggy and 'Tron stage. Peggy's bike (red) and Antron Brown's bike, and that damn Zamboni again. Force totally smoked Scelzi. Staging. Last engine check. Rolling back to prestage. John Force's burnout. John Force (in the green Castrol car) and Gary Scelzi. And I get to share my joy with friends and family. Hey, I humiliated myself on national TV for a stinkin' PowerAde shirt? Wait a minute...I was on national TV. COOL!!! Your winner. During the break to clean up the track, NHRA got two buffoons from the crowd to "drag" race for prizes. Check the right side of the previous photo to see how badly tire shake can ruin one's chances. Gary Densham's tire shake (near lane) gave Tommy Johnson, Jr. the win, but Johnson's car went up in flames just past the finish line. He had about 45 minutes to get it race ready for round 2. Ashley Force and Robert Hight. For such a low-end camera, it certainly has a quick shutter. Another green light shot. Ashley Force Kalitta and Arend in yet another perfectly-timed green light shot. Scott Kalitta (near) and Jeff Arend light theirs up. Cruz and Tony Pedregon (far lane). Again, note the green light. Cruz Pedregon lights 'em up. One of NHRA's upper-echelon fans. I think this was a woman. Rolling back into the prestage area. Schumacher and Grubnic stage their cars. Davind Grubnic (near) and Schumacher. Kind of a "Kooky" name for a custom header company. Tony Schumacher gets ready to burnout. J.R. Todd (near) and Brandon Bernstein. Another greenlight shot (you can see it if you look carefully at the tree at the end of the center wall). Dixon smoked Whit Bazemore in the first of several perfectly-timed green light shots. Jen took them while I was shooting video. Larry Dixon in the SkyTel Top Fuel Dragster. HA! I'm in here, and you're out there!

Day 3, part 1: Final elimination day. Peggy was qualified 10th of 16, and was #8 in points coming into this event. We got to hang out with the guys from ESPN on the track during driver introductions. There were about fifty or so people there, and ten of them were Media. The rest were friends and family of drivers. That was a very cool experience, especially since the grandstands were filling up quickly by that time. Sadly, come race time, a late reaction seemed to be the reason behind Peggy round one loss. She fell to Antron Brown, and dropped to tenth in points. However, we found out later, when Shane and Garrett tore the engine down, that a bad main bearing was her bigger problem on the track. She might've made up her reaction time deficit if the engine hadn't kept hitting the rev limiter prematurely. The metal shavings throughout the gearbox and the fuel in the oil drain pan pretty much told the story. She was quite relieved to know the loss wasn't entirely her fault, but we were all still disappointed. The good news is that it gave us a little extra time to shoot the video I was there to shoot. The team gets the bike ready for round one. Peggy makes her way back to us so we can head back to the pit. Here's Peggy's 5'1" to Steve's 5"10" Steve Johnson, far and away one of the most popular Pro Stock Motorcycle drivers, emerges from "the door." Another view downtrack Yup, we're down here with ESPN while you chumps are way up there. Sort of a driver's-eye view. Peggy tells me which way I need to go to get a good spot. Team owner Karl personally drove us and dropped us off here. Driver's meeting from a distance. Naked Screamin' Eagle V-Rods ...and Karen Stoffer isn't. Actually, that's far from the truth. I just caught her at a slow moment. Wow, she's popular. I had to do my finest impression of a "regular fan." I failed miserably. Peggy An NHRA official visits with Shane and gives me "the look." A little side-boob action for all of you so-inclined fans...shame she was a quad-boober. The team daddy watches his highest-profile employee do the non-driving part of her job. Peggy's fans are getting an early start. Oh, the looks we got pushing past them into behind the proverbial velvet rope... ...but who the eff is Al Suggs, Jr.? The rest of this very nice truck. The babe wasn't too tough on the eyes either... For all you Punisher fans. The back of the same cab. Jen communes with the hotness. Almost 321 miles and the gas light still isn't on. Let's fill up now while we have a chance. The local bike gang rolls in for breakfast. This is Connie's. Best breakfast around, but the bathrooms need a little help. Jen's Breakfast at Connie's. Mine. Farmingdale trash cans have three times the collection power. That third space on the far side of the can is for actual trash. Cedar Fair ain't got NOTHIN' on Farmingdale NJ.

Day 2, part 3: See? One more day of racing! Almost a credit? Well, maybe not, but perhaps this photo legitimizes the TR. This guy is TPR-sexy!!! Clearly he's "too sexy for his shirt." Drive safe! Day 3 (Sunday/final elimintations) coming up! Very cool view of the Replay screen near the end of the track. Pedregon (near) and Tim Wilkerson Cruz Pedregon Robert Hight (near) and Jeff Arend Jeff Arend Robert Hight's burnout Tolliver and Bob Gilbertson rolling back to prestage Jerry Tolliver's burnout. ...and qualifying. The two Garys staging. The two Garys: Densham (near) and Scelzi. Pro Stock Motorcycle pits from the general admision section top row. Gary Densham (near) and Kenny Bernstein By far the most popular vehicle on track all weekend...the debris truck. Schumacher's respectable 4.602 at 327.90 MPH. Schumacher and Millican Tony Schumacher Driver Clay Millican tells us: Not only is hair metal not dead, but it's alive enough to sponsor my car! The Ratt 2007 "Back for More" car. Brandon Bernstein (near), son the first NHRA driver to ever break 300 MPH, the legendary Kenny Bernstein Whit "Blazemore" Bazemore (near) and Cory "CoryMac" McClenathan Steve Johnson's pit.

Day 2, part 2: Antron Brown meets with fans. Partial PSB nudity at the Screamin' Eagle pit. Just about ready to roll off. And yet another. It would drive me bonkers working under a red canopy. Another Pro Stock team. Pro Stock Mohegan Sun bike's clothes. Naked Mohegan Sun bike. An official track vehicle. The pit bikes of the Screamin' Eagles Harley teams of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec. Some teams get eletric scooters, these guys get V-Rods. Geno Scali's hauler. This is what a Pro Stock Bike looks like naked. For you drag slick fans. Garrett and Shane at work. Jen liked Shane's tool...heh heh heh. Garrett does what he does best. Jen and Garrett jump in on the fun. I think Shane took the photo. Friends hanging out. Peggy gets a rare moment to herself. More fan face time. Peggy watches Peggy signing autographs. I love this shot...for all you wheelie bar enthusiasts. Art or commercialism? Karl Klement. Karl watches his investment very carefully. Peggy does the autograph shuffle. My feeble attempt at a Myspace portrait...love the shirt, though! Shane picks a winner. How many teammates does it take to eek out more horsepower? Returning from qualifying.

Day 2, part 1: We arrived at the track at 11:15, and ended up walking about 2 1/2 miles out of our way because we didn't realize the Pro Stock Motorcycle pits were on the sportsman side of the track where we entered, and not with the rest of the Pro pits on the other side. In any case, we eventually made it trackside for Peggy's first qualifying run on Saturday (her third overall). When we did finally get back to her pit stall, it was very cool breezing past the dozens of fans waiting for an autograph and a Kodak moment. Oh, and to add to the coolness factor (literally), the pit stall had fans (of the electrical kind) and chairs, and the fans (of the human kind) had to stand out in the sun. We pretty much hung out in the shade of her pit stall most of the weekend. The photos tell the story: Hey, move the Valkyrie. You're blocking my parking space! Here comes Peggy. Karen Stoffer, PSM points leader coming into this event. Shawn Gann and his very loud racing leathers, again. The Pro Stock Bikes begin their final qualifying round. The Saturday reserved-seat crowd was a little thin. World's fastest AMX? Very cool sportsman Camaro. The Undertaker's Pro Mod. Pro Modified sportsman. Entering God's country...or the grandstand, depending on your perspective. Dude, once she's on the bike, don't freakin' stop her for an autograph. Peggy rolls out for qualifying. Peggy says "Karl, that's my helmet." The bike is just about ready. Peggy talks to Peggy and some guy from another team. Peggy and I chat before her next qualifying run. Peggy and that media guy that's been hanging around. Shangri La My token artsy reflection picture. Our resident vert-loop aficionado needs to decorate his coolers thusly. In honor of Eric Medlen, one of John Force's drivers. he died in a testing crash a few weeks back. Shane with George Bryce's wife Jackie. The Drag Specialties hauler across the way belongs to George and Jackie's other team (they co-own it). I believe the guy in blue is the owner of Fatburger. Hopefully his meeting with Karl went well, and you'll see Fatburger on the side of the bike and hauler next year. Here are two TPR references in the same photo. Garrett is the teams pack mule (donkey reference) and all around gopher (Elissa-friendly rodent reference). Shane checks the telemetry. In honor of the stillborn child of a friend of Shane's. Jen and I went through the same thing in December, so we were touched by this. Shane (left) and assistant mechanic Garrett get ready to tear the bike down for the next round. My friend Peggy. That's Peggy rolling back from qualifying, being pushed by co-crew chief Shane Maloney. Pro Stock bikes are too loud to ride back under power. The top two guys on the team, owner Karl Klement (right) and coach/crew chief George Bryce. The big boss, Karl Klement. The back of Peggy's team hauler. Shawn, if you're sponsored by "Race Girl," shouldn't your leathers be pink? Shawn Gann rolls back to his pit next door. Teammates Angelle Sampey (far lane) and Antron Brown qualify together. The synchronized burnout was very cool. What's the Zamboni for? It's 87 degrees not a bit of ice for months! Well thank you, Toyota. It's good to be here. Funny cars in the staging lanes. Funny car qualifying. Motorcycle parking. I miss the days when I could get the best parking...I need another bike. Um, dude...we're not at a NASCAR event, genius. Good to know...thanks. Good thing I got my tickets at Will Call...I don't think counterfeiters have infiltrated that office yet. Finally! See? i told you we should've left the campsite earlier. The auction...Englishtown's OTHER big attraction. And Englishtown's sprawling city hall. The giant post office in Englishtown...it looks like a cinder block. Only we would find a way to LOCK a freakin' tent...or a reason, for that matter. I've been camping way too long. Move along...we're not here to see this kind of motorsport...this wa son the way back from breakfast. Our campfire wasn't the only fire we'd see this weekend...more on that later. Home AND a yard with driveway. Home for the next couple nights. Jen has a mouth full of white foamy goo...it's toothpaste, you pervs.

My good friend Peggy Llewellyn is a Pro Stock Motorcycle driver with the NHRA, currently in her second season on the NHRA PowerAde Drag Racing Series. About five years ago I agreed to develop a promo video for her in exchange for some technical assistance she gave me on a drag racing-related project, so this past weekend I was finally able to make good on my promise, and she got me and my wife Jen team tickets for the NHRA ProCare RX SuperNationals in Englishtown NJ. Part 1 (day 1) : We got on the road about two hours later than expected, right around 2:00 Friday afternoon. That was a big mistake, because we'd expected to get to E-town early enough for Peggy's second qualifying run at 6:30. Wasn't happening, because we were in construction-zone traffic (oddly, without the actual construction work) through the entire state of Connecticut, and then afternoon rush hour traffic coming out of NYC. A 4.5 hour trip took us almost 8, and we finally stumbled into our campsite at the Allaire State Park in Farmingdale NJ at 9:45. We're old pros at pitching camp in the dark, but that doesn't make it suck any less This will take me awhile to post, so feel free to comment between segments. On to the photos: Late entry: Jen's just cruising along...this was in CT. See? I told you I have a thing for redheads! Massachusetts-resident in-joke alert! "Five states and 200 miles, and I'm still on the Southeast Expressway???" Yup, still about 70 miles to go. 8:08 PM, and still on the highway. We were supposed to be at the track at least two hours ago. Jen's still figuring it out. Here, give me the map. You drive, I'll naviguess. Jen: Where are we? Pete: I dunno, you have the map, genius. Meal number 2, a $3.00 slice of pizza. At that price, you'd think I could at least get a credit run in. Finally, state number 5...although we still have about 70 miles or so. Big Apple Circus, as if I needed any more antics at this point. Just freakin' get me there. Back in Hawai'i...Diamond Head. The Tappan Zee Bridge THROUGH THE...well, traffic. The Sun God Ra landed his ship THROUGH THE TREES!!! How'd we end up at Holiday World??? Space Mountain goes residential! The license plate says "WAYKEWL." The car was, the driver, maybe not so much. And now he's going to try to get back into the truck. Good luck with that one, friend, and godspeed. Yes, that's a person standing in that trailer. Finally, state number 4. Theoretically our shortest, but thanks to our departure time, we got caught in outbound NYC rush hour traffic, particularly on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Boo hoo...so close, yet so far. What is this? Now we're in freakin' Korea??? How long is this trip, anyway? Stupid AAA. The truck came out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to its shoe. Karma is a bitch... HA! Chumps! Look at the traffic you're in! Sorry Thomas, sorry Wiggles, sorry home park, sorry Pete. Not this trip! Highway porn = good. Token Alvey-friendly photo. Apparently Yoda built this building, because the Force is keeping it upright. No, we're in the Outback. See? There's Ayers Rock! Now we're in freakin' Hawai'i??? ...and begins again! That section of highway just...ends. Future home of Tatsu East Landscaping, Inc? This was the biggest fricken' American Flag I think I've ever seen. Figures it was at a car dealership. Chaos and destruciton reign at our table. I know Wendy's isn't entirely Elissa-approved, but I have a thing for redheads Our first meal of the trip. Do all TPR cops look alike? State number 3 (unless you count Wyoming). Wait, Wyoming? I thought we were going to New Jersey? Independence Day (the movie) invades this trip report. Yup, that was the last of the rain. Got milk? That's sheet rain. We just caught the edge of it, and fortunately that was the last we saw of any rain all weekend. Finally on the road.

Robb and Anthony I have to agree with both of you. As Robb said, some people just deal with tragedy through humor. There are those of us here whose careers sometimes put them in situations where gallows humor is the ONLY way to deal with something (I'm sure Rich will agree with me on that). Being in such a career myself, I'll admit that while I do find this tragedy disturbing and truly sad, I also found myself laughing out loud at some of the sicker comments, much to the disdain of the rest of the midwatch (that would be the overnight shift for you non-Federal-law-enforcement types). Bad things happen to good people all the time (anyone who knows me well enough knows I'm all too familiar with that particular truth), but personally affected or not, we all have our own ways of dealing with it, and I'm sure this family will too. Hell, I remember for years my family joked about getting my now deceased uncle and his prosthetic leg to ride B:TR with one of his older legs, loosened up a bit. I also remember the same uncle slipping in his kitchen and his leg coming off and skittering across the floor. He was more concerned about the half-dozen grilled steaks he was carrying in from the patio. That incident became joke fodder for years. Even now my wife and I joke about our daughter coming back from the spirit world to harass and torture the cats...daily, it seems (I actually have some pretty cool orb photos from this week that have me almost convinced that she really does). In any case, we can all agree that this tragedy is just that...a terrible tragedy, and one we wouldn't wish upon anyone. Some of us say we'll never ride an Intamin 2nd Gen again, some of us say we'll be the first in line tomorrow morning. Laughing at someone else's tragedy doesn't make one fundamentally hateful...it makes one human. That same person might react quite the opposite next time.

^ What is it that Jay (of the Silent Bob variety) would say right about now? Bickety BAM! Anyway, back on topic, let's clarify something: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_en_ce/people_barker_o_donnell;_ylt=AmjVGBwGbpTm95FasVK.bVRxFb8C The first post states that Bob Barker is recommending Rosie O'Donnell as his replacement. Not entirely true. According to that link above, his remarks represent neither an endorsement of Rosie nor his desire to have her replace him. What he said was he had "no doubt" she would make a "fine host" if chosen. Personally I think George Hamilton would make a GREAT host. Anyone who can make a career of looking like an alligator purse can pretty much do anything.

I'm pretty much a Pepsi purist myself (though I do drink Coke when it's on sale or when it's the only cola available, IE McDonalds), but my wife does the whole "mix 'em all at the soda machine" thing...although she takes it a step further and does specific ingredients (cola, root beer, Sprite, and orange, and if one is missing she has to get just regular cola) in very specific proportions.