bert425

From last night's Cure concert it's the Cure.. *had* to be a BIT "Gothy" Back of shirt With the very drunk, very sweet, Middle Eastern guy (named Reza) who was sitting in the next seat at the sold out show. he suggested we take a pic to text to my Husband (since he's insanely jealous, and the friend I was with - in the Friday the 13th shirt above -- thought that would by hysterical). so we did. (this is during the band change, so there were still open seats, but the show was completely sold out)

saw the Cure last night in Austin, 3rd stop on the new tour. BRILLIANT. . .nearly 3 hour set, with FOUR Encores (two of those approaching 30 minutes each). here's the set list: Out of This World (First performance since 2008) Pictures of You Closedown A Night Like This All I Want Push Last Dance Lovesong Just Like Heaven This Twilight Garden Lullaby Fascination Street Screw The End of the World Want Us or Them The Hungry Ghost Prayers for Rain Bloodflowers (first performance since 2008) Encore: Step Into the Light Shake Dog Shake Never Enough Wrong Number Encore 2: Hot Hot Hot!!! Close to Me The Exploding Boy (first performance since 1985) In Between Days Doing the Unstuck Friday I'm in Love Encore 3: Burn It Can Never Be the Same Encore 4: A Forest Boys Don't Cry and some pics: my friend John, who saw them on the 1st 2 night in New Orleans, and is seeing them tonight in Houston & tomorrow night in Dallas. . and who "gifted" me the ticket to the sold out show, to go with him to the Austin show. Set closer "Bloodflowers" End of Encore II ("Friday I'm in Love") the place lit up after the 3rd Encore to get them to come back out!

we've discovered at Busch parks, that the all day dining doesn't work for *us*. . . because we tend to munch thruout the day, and don't want to fill up on "typical" food, so prefer the good places. but there are typically a couple of really good places, so the locals can advise, and then just stick to those. (we also found a great Pizza Buffet at BGW, that they weren't really advertising, by just asking folks working in the park where THEY eat).

keep in mind, he apparently likes pain. his avatar is that awful "Swat" thing, that Astroworld installed towards the end. hands down, the worst flat we have ever been on. . . absolutely hated it.

we'll be there 7/11.. hope it's gonna be open!

yep. . gonna get the 14 day pass with free parking (that includes admission to Seaworld too). great deal thru Club TPR

I'm just a little annoyed that there really was no net gain: they took out the ship, and the Wipeout (that had been sitting idle for years before it went away), and they removed Frisbee for HF5. so really, the boardwalk is just back to where it was 10 years ago (in terms of rides). I really wish they would have put in a short Skyride from over by Scooby Doo entrance to where Superloops is now, and then back. Hershey Park has one that short, and it would have fit wonderfully in that Boardwalk area.

hard part now done! Flight booked, car rental booked, and hotel booked. now for the fun stuff! (Park tickets, "extras". .that evening Safari is calling our names!, and trips to surrounding stuff to plan). wOOt!

oooo. .reminds me of my Liberace museum shirt I got in Vegas 25 years ago!

sounds great! Thanks. thus far, really appreciate the suggestions: Wikee Wachee, Dali Museum, and either the Dog-Track or Hard Rock Casino have all made the "short list" - and are pretty much a lock for at least a visit. Also at least a brief stop at a beach. (probably combining a couple of them together on the "open" days we have). the Zoo is an absolute "maybe". . it depends how "animal-ed" out we will be after BGT & SeaWorld . . .but has potential, tho to be honest, the Aquarium is more likely than the Zoo (even with that flume ride). But that's a potential, as I said. Legoland is a NO, not enough to keep Nick interested (he won't ride any of the coasters there), and honestly? likely too many kids for us. . .yeah, we're old farts who don't wanna be surrounded by kids, unless we can feel that awe they do too (something that happens at Disney, Aquariums, and hopefully BGT too). thanks for the suggestions. . keep em coming. and if any more food suggestions? bring em on! we got's to eat too!

from my research, the hotels "close" to the park are crap. we looked into HardRock (because we love to gamble. . gonna look into that dog track!) but it was too expensive for the 5 nights (being that one is a "weekend" day). So we are going with our standby: Courtyard Marriott. They are pretty standard in quality, room design, and amenities, and we really like what they offer (I'd say it's about the level of a Hilton: it's not a "nice" as a Marriott or a Hyatt, but it's a step up over Holiday inn Express, and a huge improvment over a Motel 6, Super 8, or Days Inn). we're gonna rent a car, because we're doing that day in Orlando at SeaWorld, and definitely will be making use of it. . but do note that parking at BGT seems to be ~$18.. so that's why we're going for the Tickets that include parking, and the admission to Seaworld). without a car, it still seems to be a short Uber or cab to the park tho.

Legoland is roughly 40 minutes away. Much closer would be Lowry Park Zoo (maybe 10 minutes), which has a log flume, kiddie coaster, and a couple other rides. Clearwater Beach is nice and will probably be packed (but nice). There's also an aquarium there as well. A little north of Tampa are things like Weeki Wachee, home to the famous underwater mermaid show, and Crystal River where there's manatee snorkeling trips. ooo. .thanks! not sure about Legoland (I'll look into it). As huge as BGT seems to be, and we like the animals and shows, so expecting to spend a lot of time there (at least 3 days), but we still should have at least 1 full day to do something else too. that Mermaid show at Weeki Wachee is right up our alley. . will absolutely look into that!

we've been to Orlando many times, and have done the Disney stuff. . so want to focus just on BGT and Tampa area. . but since our ticket will get us into Seaworld, that's why just the 1 day trip there.

heh. .no suggestions? guess my plan is all there really IS to do in Tampa? (and I guess why go to aquarium, if we're going to SeaWorld)

Wicked Spoon is worth every penny. one of the best in Vegas (still).. glad you got to try it.

so life got in the way of our planned trip this year to Niagara Falls/NYC/Great Adventure. . .and there simply isn't enough time left to plan the trip we WANT to take (Bway tix, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, etc). so instead of paying premiums, and cramming stuff in, instead we're refocusing, and looking at likely going to Busch Gardens Tampa, since we absolutely loved BGW last year. (the fact that BGT seems to have so many more animals is a plus too). we're looking at doing a 7/10 (Sun) - 7/15 (Friday) (so 6 days/5 nights), flying into Tampa, renting a car, and doing the unlimited 14 day tix. . . which includes free parking and also will get us into SeaWorld Orlando (which seems to be only ~1hour drive away). we're from Texas, so not concerned about the July Heat or Humidity. And we're not really water park people, so even tho Aquatica and the BGT nearby waterpark is there, we likely won't go to them) tentative itinerary is: Sun: arrive by noon, get rental car/check into hotel, evening in BGT Mon: full day at BGT (with maybe evening Serengeti walk) Tues: ??? (maybe Tampa Aquarium?). . ?? Wed: Drive to Orlando in the morning, full day at Sea World Thus: 1/2 day at BGT, then evening ??? Friday: flight out in afternoon. so . . suggestions on what do do on Tues? (and evening on Thurs?. . or possibly Morning on Thurs, and we'll go to BGT in evening)? not too familiar with what's there in Tampa, so asking the board any suggestions appreciated! thanks, bert

it's not as good as the log flume song

Good Report. been going to Atlanta for over 20 years (for Dragon*con), and have never made it out of the city to this park. I just might do it this year -- although I'm in ATL for a whole week, the park is only open Sat/Sun/Labor Day. . so it will mean skipping a day of Con to go (and I'm sure the park will be packed). but who knows, I might do it this year.. your pics have inspired me!

and I didn't even get one! (I feel so unloved)

HUGE congrats! y'all are such a cute couple too

Cheese on a stick, in the "Totem Treats" stand over by the slide in the kids area. absolutely fantastic. and don't miss the Sundaes at the "Old Mill"

Looks like you had a great time! my Partner loved the flyers, sounds like you skipped them? we skipped Dominator on our one time in the park last summer. . we also skipped Grizzly (after Hurler beat the crap out of us, just couldn't handle another woodie ). . . LOL. . and we loved Woodstock Express too!.. . we're like brothers from another mother!

wonderful to hear! So glad he's continuing to improve.

Happy Belated! hope you had a great one!

DO NOT miss Bayern Kurve. . . the one at Kennywood is amazing! and Black Widdow is hella fun.