Jonathan

For the full selection of photos with high-res images, go HERE. Today was media day for Paramount's Carowinds' Boomerang Bay waterpark makeover. Here's Jarvis arriving fashionably late and discovering that he is not on the VIP list. Here's some of the crew loitering about before lunch. The B-lister lunch was at Outback Shack. The A-lister lunch was catered from Outback Steakhouse. Naturally, this was where we needed to be. The kookaburra bird is like "haaay" "I want a steak" Here's where they did all the talking and such. We were in the pool during this part, and everyone released a balloon at a specified time. Don't have any pictures of that sorry. New bathrooms woooo A-lister lunch. Apparently plastic silverware was not meant for eating steaks. Crocodile Run. Jackaroo Landing. Wallaby Wharf. Platypus Plunge. Great Barrier Reef. Here's the cart where you can get your grog on. There's no pub, though. The Awesome Aussie Twisters were the only adult slides open during the media event. Nice signage for Kookaburra Bay. EXCLUSIVE shot. They did actually have a kangaroo there. It didn't want its picture taken, though. Here's Kookaburra Bay with the Top Gun money shot in the background. Clever shot. Here's the Sydney Sidewinder. Here's the entrance sign to Boomerang Bay. Zoom out. This squirrel was like "wtf are you doing in here on a weekday?" Here's an advertisement outside for the park's other newly expanded area: the campground. That's all for today. Next up: HoliWood Nights and Rumblefest!

WOOOOOOOOOO Canes and Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals! Should be a wild series.

I thought it was pretty bizarre that two of us in the same group of five used a Polyphonic Spree song. All of the vids have been great so far; can't wait till next week's batch!

Knoebels is possibly my favorite park in the entire country, so that would be my suggestion. It's about 200 miles from Jackson, NJ (Six Flags Great Adventure), and 160 miles from New York City.

Well, this afternoon was amazing. The rookie Cam Ward up against his childhood idol Martin Brodeur. Brodeur takes himself out of the game in frustration in the third period, and Cam Ward gets his first shutout. 6-0 Carolina! Photos here: http://www.jonathanhawkins.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=117

Yes, all 3 trains were running today.

http://holidayworld.com/voyage_video.html Videos!!! That thing is absolutely FLYING!

People have been riding at media day for the last hour or so.

I did a double take at that drop tower part, and had to stop the video and go back to it twice. That was an awesome video. Great entries so far.

WOOOOOOOO Canes go up 3 games to 2!

WOOOOOOOOO Montreal stole 2 in Raleigh, so Carolina repaid the favor, taking both games at the Bell Centre. Here are some pictures from the airport tonight where we went to meet the team as they returned: http://www.jonathanhawkins.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=115

This is going to be epic.

Well, I'm finally beginning to come to terms with what happened Monday night. It was the best game I've ever been to hands down, but at the same time the most heartbreaking. Here are the pictures: http://jonathanhawkins.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=113

18,700 is the official hockey capacity. There were 18,812 there last night due to standing room tickets (which is always good to see).

Well, here are my photos from tonight's Carolina/Montreal game: http://jonathanhawkins.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=112 I was going to post a full photo trip report, but I'm pretty ashamed after the 6-1 ass beating we received, so I'll hold off on that. Maybe game 2 will be better.

Storms seem to be cancelling my tailgating plans for this afternoon.

All wooden coasters take some time to break-in. It's no surprise that it isn't up to speed after only 25 cycles. In fact, it's not uncommon for wooden coasters to valley on their initial tests.

Nah, not really like that at all. Grand Prix is in North Myrtle (I believe), and it is 10-15 minutes from the other parks. Family Kingdom and the Pavilion are close enough to each other that you can see some of the rides from one park while you are on a ride at one of the other parks, but they are still a good distance from each other.

He was pretty confused, to say the least. I feigned innocence when he asked me if I had anything to do with it.

By the way Paula, it's looking like a certain Phil from North Carolina may in fact be going to HoliWood Nights. Thanks!

I know one change they made was that they added a third 90 degree banked turn, located in the turnaround. The last portion of the turnaround is now a S-curve with both turns banked at 90 degrees.

O RLY? Well clearly there is no other option. We must go see the Raleigh Rebels. The line to buy tickets. It's going to be an exciting night of EXTREME FOOTBALL ACTION. ONE DOLLAR? Damn I don't think I can afford this. And so begins the ghetto-est sporting event ever. As you can see they really "packed the house". Game on. Check out #20. He's like.. 3 feet tall. Here's the weird mascot dude. Apparently everyone is encouraged to contact the head coach, as his address, phone number, and email address are on the cards they were handing out. The ghetto-fabulous Dorton Arena is the best football venue ever. OMG THIS IS AWESOME There was in fact a dance team/cheerleaders kind of thing. There were like 5 girls. The head coaches get to wander aimlessly around on the field during play. To my dismay, they did a (really poor) dance routine to a double time version of "Beverly Hills" (don't ask). I spent $1 to get in, and $2 on a drink. Here's a cool action shot thing. I just can't believe how exciting this is. Actually, it was pretty fun. If a ball comes into the stands (and they do a lot) you get to keep it. Here's the coach strolling about again. Some of the team joined in on the cheerleaders' dance routine. That would get you an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the NFL. Touchdown! The Rebels ran away with a big win, and I ran home trying to figure out what I had just witnessed. If you want to see the high-res pics (and I know you do) they are up at my site: http://jonathanhawkins.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=111

It's playoff time! Quarterfinals: Eastern Conference (1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay (2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal (3) New Jersey vs. (6) NY Rangers (4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia Western Conference (1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton (2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado (3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim (4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose

Nice photos Mark. I liked the signs of Indiana Beach gallery as well. Here is one of my favorite signs in the park:

Actually, you may be wrong. He's talking about during the day before the event that evening. A lot of other people may have the same idea.