bert425

Congrats! We can't legally get married in Texas, but the moment for us was when we were walking thru Macy's and they were having a great sale in the jewelry department. so we went and looked, and my Partner found a Men's wedding ring he really liked, and he tried it on, and it fit! and the sales lady says, you know, I think we have a matching one like that. . and she comes back with the same ring from another case, and I try it on and IT FIT. so we bought them right there, and that was pretty much it (we're holding off on the actual ceremony until it's legal here, but we've been together for 10 years in Jan, we've owned our house together for 6 years this May, and we bought the rings 7 years ago and wear them every day.

Ha! I mentioned this to my Fuddy-Duddy, and he said -- oooo, that sounds like fun, if we can manage to be in the same park on the same day, he'd love to meet up! let's see if we can work something out as we start to plan in earnest.

Thanks Bull. we will absolutely take your input into consideration when planning!

yah, DBC is good (even if they did "nice up" some of the people involved. have you seen this? from last year, and hands down the best documentary of the subject I've ever seen. It was nominated for an Oscar, even (tho it didn't win). here's the write up from Amazon: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of the brave young men and women who successfully reversed the tide of an epidemic, demanded the attention of a fearful nation, and stopped AIDS from becoming a death sentence. This improbable group of activists bucked oppression and infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, helping to identify promising new medication and treatments and move them through trials and into drugstores in record time. In the process, they saved their own lives and ended the darkest days of a veritable plague, while virtually emptying AIDS wards in American hospitals. Theirs is a classic tale of activism that has since inspired movements for change in everything from breast cancer research to Occupy Wall Street.

just got home after a VERY bad (and long day) at work, and found a few pkgs. . including one addressed to bert425! I recognized the name, so even tho the recommendation (and my intention) was to wait, I needed it, so I opened up my package! and here is what I found: Thanks so much, to my Secret ChrishHanKwansSivuSanta, Midgetman82! LOVE the Holiday world brochure, and the card made us both laugh! but the DVD?. it's seriously like you read my mind! I just saw the first one on cable recently, and I was wanting to buy the 2nd one, but did not have it yet!. . .so you nailed a PERFECT gift for me. and oooo. . . a note that there might be an additional thing coming? wOOt! something to look forward to. thanks so much, Marcus, you really did put a nice cap on a pretty crappy day!

super awesome! Thanks Robb. as to Pyrenees -- is that a Batman clone? because the layout and freaking fantastic speed, remind me VERY much of "Goliath" at Six Flags Fiesta Texas -- and that's the old SFNO Batman. regardless, what a great ride. That first drop is amaze-bawlz!

he always makes the same face in EVERY picture. . LOL here he is when I saw him at Dragon*con in Sept.

we should team up and go together

wow.. this thread went silent. isn't anyone else hoping for a TPR Bag-O-Crap? I'm gonna keep trying till I get one!

really?. . I thought for sure the "old Kennywood" section would have it. maybe I'm thinking Turtle. But i know they have a Whip he will like. (he's really big on flats).

Thanks for the suggestions. . this might be what we start the plan with and see what we plug in. but in at Pittsburgh, out from Philly SOUNDS like a good plan, since we can rent the car in Pittsburgh and return it in Philly too! thanks to everyone for the suggestions so far. I was considering two days at Knoebel's but wasn't sure if there was enough there that we'd want to spend two full days. . .but if the park is beautiful at night, we'd definitely stay until closing. (but fuddy-duddy likes to head back to hotel fairly early, tho that's not necessarily true on "Vacations". . and since this is a BIG Anniversary trip, I'll bet I can keep him up late!).

he's a HUGE flume fan. . we have pics of us on flumes at every park/carnival we've ever been to that has one! so that might be a selling point for Dorney that would give me fun big coasters to go on, and then when we hit Knoebel's and Kennywood, we can ride catepillar and kangaroo together! (he's already promised he'll go on Flying Turns with me, proclaiming it "looks like fun" when i showed him the POV here. thanks fro the suggestions! I'll keep this up as we start planning things out.

it's a book specific to Circus Circus property. . so I'm sure you'd have to ask at Circus Circus front desk (way in the back of the casino, (instead of going up the escalators to adventure dome, go behind them and to the right, and it will bring you to back towers and front desk reception, and concierge). it couldn't hurt to tell the concierge you are staying at the other property, and maybe white-lie it and say the desk there told you to ask, as you had made reservations at the steak house for dinner and they told you there's a good coupon in there) like I said, doesn't hurt to ask, the worst they can say is "no"

the property book also includes buy one get one free rides in Adventure Dome you usually only get it if you stay on property, but I've found that asking at front desk, the worst thing they can say is "no" Trust me, it's NOT worth staying there just for the property book (we stayed there 4 days in March for NASCAR races). . .but it was a nice little bonus we discovered.

100% agreed. but if you do eat there, go by front desk and ask for a property book first. (the concierge just might give you one if you inquire about it). it includes a coupon for a free bottle of wine at the steakhouse!

I'm really shocked, as those are the 3 albums that had the "big" hits on them. seriously, you could not go into Sound Warehouse, or Cactus Records in Houston, Texas and not see these particular album displays *everywhere*

doesn't Lemmy live in LA? I always see stories about him hanging out at the Rainbow (on the Sunset Strip) just drinking.

NICE (and the tattoo ain't all that bad either!)

that's why Dragon*con has been an appointment con for me for YEARS. (although it used to be on 4th of July weekend until ~2001). I've gone 17 of the past 18 years!

thanks for the help already, folks! taking notes here

really? Classic 70's rock band. (tho they had a huge resurgence in the late 80's with a change to a more Power-Pop sound). this is an album that should be in EVERYONE's collection: Dreamboat Annie, Crazy on You, Magic Man as should this: Barracuda, Kick it Out, Little Queen and this: Heartless, I've got the music In me, Just the wine.

you're wrong, and just because you don't care for a classic band, doesn't mean they aren't popular in places. Willie Nelson could sell out WEEKS in a row here in Texas, if he so chose to play shows. Barenaked Ladies sold out multiple nights in Vancouver when I was last there. Heart is currently a nostalgia band, but all it takes is one new hit to make them arena draws again (see: Aerosmith back in 1980's), or KISS pre 1996 reunion. so no, I don't think this is "weird". .but I do think it's unfair that folks are pressuring bands to pull out of a contracted appearance because they are too blinded by a film's propaganda to properly research the truth behind the claims. (and that's not a liberal/conservative statement either. . Micheal Moore stretches the facts to make his points too, sometimes). all this to simply say -- if *I* don't go to SeaWorld, it's not because of some one-sided film about the supposed mistreatment of the animals. It's because I think the admission charge is too high.

Hi TPR, I know there are several threads for the individual parks, but as i'm just starting to do the research, I thought i'd ask for help here in a centralized thread. my 10th Anniversary is coming up in January. (yay us). my Partner is older than I am, and these days, he just can't handle the "big" rides, even tho he loves theme parks as much as I do, and has no problem if I go on things while he waits. As much fun as Knott's was a couple of years ago, I would have loved it more if he were on many of the rides WITH me. since he's such a fan of parks, and older rides, I proposed a trip to Pennsylvania, since that state has many of our "bucket list" parks, that are filled with rides he'd have no issue going on! So for sure we'd like to hit Knoebel's, Kenneywood, Hersheypark. . and then add a 4th, either Waldameer, Idlewild, Dorney, or maybe something else. this is what we know for sure: 1) as our Anniversary at the end of Jan is off season, we are going to take our Anniversary trip in Late May (our typical vacation time anyways). 2) we are planning on spending at least two days at Hersheypark, and at least 1 full day (potentially 2 days) at each other park. so we're looking at an 8 day minimum trip. what we DON'T know, and can use help with is: 1) how close are the parks to each other? (we're from Texas, so Pennsylvania looks like a rather small state that we could likely fly into one place, rent a car, and easily drive to the parks we want to (before eventually driving back to where we rented the car from and flying back out (or flying back from a different airport). 2) what would be the best airport to fly into (for the 1st park). 3) what should we plan for the 4th park? any suggestions, or just stick with the 3 I noted as must go's (Hershey, Knoebel's, Kenneywood). 4) is this an insane idea? or is it a great trip for two queers who love amusement parks (one of whom is a fuddy duddy who wont' go on "big" rides, but doesn't mind if the other does. so that's my pitch for any suggestions, as I get into the research here. any input is appreciated! best, bert

yah, not worried about not receiving anything yet, as the massive ice storm basically took out the Dallas Airport for two days, so stuff I was expecting from Amazon on Friday still hasn't made it here yet either. but at least I know my giftee got what I sent, as I saw acknowledgement here