Meteornotes

Porcupine Tree - Russia On Ice dt

Dream Theater - Octivarium dt

Hearing about the tree removal is a bummer. I only visited the park once, and thought it had one of the largest collections of "ride once for the credit" coasters outside of PKI, but the park was really nice with lots of trees and good landscaping. It's a shame if that has to go away to make more room for concrete and trash cans. dt

Camden Yards rocks. It's still my favorite of all the baseball stadiums I've ever been in. And the luxury boxes/club level is really nice. We've had our seats from our ticket plan on the club level the last four years. The old warehouse on Eutaw Street contains all sorts of stuff, including the Camden Club, a restaurant/bar on the upper floor that overlooks the stadium. It's a great place to check out the game from. Looking forward to more Baltimore pics! dt

Looks like a good plan. Like Elissa said, it's going to take awhile for you to get from SFO to SFDK. You're going to have to cross the bay, which is always hell. You might want to consider crossing at the San Mateo bridge (a bit south of SFO) as opposed to the Bay Bridge between SF and Oakland, as there will likely be less traffic. Traffic in general in the bay area is a giant pain in the ass (it's comparable to DC, with only LA being worse). Be prepared to spend some time in traffic, and make sure you check the traffic report before heading out. A map so you can pick alternate routes might be a really good idea. As far as places to stay, the only area I'm familiar with is the one around Great America, which is OK, and there should be some hotels in the area (it's mostly office complexes). One place NOT to stay is anywhere near the SCBB. That whole area is a mess, and you pretty much just want to go to the boardwalk (which is awesome) and then get a hotel somewhere else. Any other questions, ask away. I moved out of the bay area awhile ago, but I lived there long enough and travel out there at least once a year. dt

Awesome report. I really enjoyed seeing these pictures, as I have never heard of this place before. dt

Great pics. That park was fun the day we visited. dt

I'd use mapquest and yahoo and google maps, especially for somewhere that's a bit tricky to get to, like Kennywood or Knoebel's. I've had mapqust give me some really screwed up directions, so now I always consult multiple sites before going somewhere totally unfamiliar. Parks that are right near major roads like Dorney or Hersheypark will likely have better results. You can also look at the website for the park. I can never remember what exit to use for Knoebel's, so I have to look at the website every year before I drive up there. Also be advised that PA is the Construction State, and the state symbol seems to be the traffic cone. You will experience construction delays, especially on the PA turnpike. I'd ask locals closer to your trip time about any major projects in the area and how to avoid them. dt

They just need to go ahead and build Duff Gardens. Or at least add the Duff Beermid. dt

OK, so it sounds like you would want to at least visit: Hersheypark Knoebel's Kennywood Dorney With some others along the way. Hershey/Dorney/Knoebel's are all an hour or so apart from each other, so they're easily done. Kennywood, while awesome, is on the other side of the state (near Pittsburgh), so it's a bit of a drive. But it certainly worth a visit. Plus there are a couple of other small parks along the way (DelGrosso's, Lakemont and Idlewild). There's also the pair of Conneaut Lake and Waldameer, which are both reasonably close to each other, up near Erie. So as you can see, you have a lot of places to choose from. Personally, I'd go to the Hershey area for a few days, and make that my base camp for day trips to Knoebel's and Dorney. I don't find Dorney any more than a half day park (unless you do the water park), but if you've never been there, you might want to spend more time. I personally love Knoebel's and would recommend a full day there, but this depends on the type of parks you like. The amount of time you need to spend at Hershey depends on the time of year you're there. First time visitors should really take advantage of their twilight plan, where you can buy your ticket for the next day after 6 PM or so, and go into the park that evening. If you have the time, I highly recommend making the trip from there out to Kennywood, with perhaps some stops at the other nearby parks. Lakemont and DelGrosso's are very close to each other and are both pretty small and could be knocked out in a couple of hours. Kennywood is another place I highly recommend spending a full day at, as it is one of the best parks in the US. So there's the basic idea. More specific questions, ask away. As always, consult the website for any park you want to visit, as times and ticket plans can change from season to season. dt

Well, you need to narrow this down a bit, as PA is rather large. Do you want to go to all the major parks in the state, or do you have a specific destination in mind? How much time are you going to spend there? Answer this, and I can better give you some ideas of where to go and such (I lived in PA for over 25 years, and have been to all the parks there many, many times). dt

With my steak tonight, I had a Stella. Yeah, I know, I'm really living on the edge out here in beerland... dt

The best possible trip you could ever have to Canada's Wonderland is, of course, when it's closed. Good call, Nicole. dt

Joe once again proves his extreme awesomeness with this PTR. That was a quality read. Although we didn't get to see the interior of "Sexy Stuf", so a point is deducted from the score. dt

I know far too many people that have graduated from college with a debt load of $50-80,000 (or more, in some cases). College is an insane amount of money now, and if you have a full-ride scholarship offer, it is an opportunity not to pass up. Being able to get a college education and be debt-free at the end of it will put you far ahead in life, both by having a college degree and not starting out your post-college life in a huge debt hole. Like others have said, if you still want to work at Disney you can always do the college program in a few years, or even go work there after graduation. They will always be hiring. dt

Kino - Leave A Light On dt

The Fixx - Saved By Zero dt

I'm sure I'll end up buying it, but I've never liked a NIN disc as much as Pretty Hate Machine, which I still think is one of the ten greatest albums ever recorded. And this is not a new theme. Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime had a similar back story twenty years ago. And there have been countless other bands to use the same subject for songs or whole albums. dt

Heaven's Cry - Your God's Crime dt

Porcupine Tree - Four Chords That Made A Million dt

Ocean Machine - Hide Nowhere dt

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing dt

Magic Pie - Without Knowing Why dt

AC/DC - Sin City dt

Cool PTR. If I spot the machine anywhere, I'll be sure to play a game in tribute to you. dt