steel

^^I thought it sounded more like a duck being strangled when I was there in '04. Really good TR. Sounds like you had a nice time. Roller Soaker is barely worth the credit, IMO. You don't really do much... FeelTheFORCE - When I rode Comet, I was out of my seat the whole time. Just my two cents.

IMO, CF needs to move all the crap from Soak City over to Geauga Lake. Then they have more space at CP to build 900 foot coasters. I will be holding you personally responsible if they take out Camp Snoopy. I will also more than likely loose control and maul you.

600' diving standup rocket wooden 4D. You heard it here first. ---- Well, we can probably rule out a woodie, since they already have three. Definitely not a B&M invert or an Intamin launched anything (which eliminates most Intamins). Not an SLC. Probably not a water coaster. I doubt it's Turbulence. Most likely not an impulse, since Dorney in just down the road. I can't see them ever getting a 4D. Standups are out of style. What does that leave? Intamin mini-hyper? B&M mini-hyper? B&M Floorless? Intamin looper (possibly too similar to Sooperdooper Looper)? B&M sit-down? B&M dive machine (please, God, please)? B&M flyer? S&S Screamin' Squirrel? S&S launched? Premier LIM coaster? In other words, I think they'll get one of those things.

I rode it six times and I never felt the trims. I'm glad they're there though, because you'd probably have a concussion from the Stengels if they weren't.

Whoa, that's really strict. It's interesting that they restrict freeway and driving. Freeway driving does go faster, but the only parts that are at all difficult are entering and exiting. And it's really important to have night experience as well. (like I said, I'm required to drive at least two hours at night before I get my Intermediate License). It seems to me like a driver needs to have that experience before they can drive alone. Who knows how they'll act on a freeway at night for the first time if no one is there to help? But be careful, the other one is that one in seven sixteen-year-olds are involved in a serious car accident with injuries before they turn seventeen. Drivers Ed makes you crazy. Seriously.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Mrs. Weasley would call you an insensitive bitch.

It depends on your state. In Iowa, you can get your Instruction Permit when you turn 14. You can't drive without a licensed driver in the car with you (and I think they need to be at least 18...), and you have to hold it for at least six months without a contributive accident, drive twenty hours, including two at night, and take 30 hours of Drivers Ed before you can go up to the next level. The second tier is the Intermediate License, which you can get once you're 16 and have completed all of the above requirements. It's basically a full license, except that you can't drive unsupervised between 12:30 am and 5:00 am. You have to be accident-free for 12 months and do ten hours of supervised driving before you can get your full license at seventeen. I'm a good driver, I really am. There are a lot of 14-year olds who are better than me. If you take it seriously, age doesn't mean as much as you might think. I credit the damage to bad luck (not that I couldn't have prevented it). I mean honestly, an F150? What are the chances that out of all the cars on University at the time, I hit the biggest? I don't think a Camry could have done that damage.

Yeah, at least. It's out of the way now. And they say that 1 out of 5 teenagers gets in a car accident before their 17th birthday, so now four other people are safe. Keep saving for that Outback. That's a great car.

Breathtaking.

So I drive to Barnes & Noble with my dad, we have a jolly good time there, and we get ready to leave. We agree that I should drive home. So we get in the car, pull out of the parking spot, and make our way to the exit of the parking lot, which looks like this: ~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------<------ (inter-~~~~~~~~ section)~~~~~~~ ----------->------- ~-------~~~~~~~ PARKING LOT Got that? I pull up to turn right and the light is red, so I stop, wait for the perfect opportunity, and turn. And then this huge F150 comes into the other lane out of nowhere, I realize too late that I'm cornering too wide, and I smack right into the side of it. I see my entire front bumper come off of the car and fly over my head, I hear a lot of rattling, and we come to a stop, even though I haven't hit the brakes yet. Turns out that we stopped because the F150 ripped the battery out. There was acid everywhere. The fire department had to come and neutralize it. I didn't get any pictures at the scene of the accident, but we brought the camera to the place where it was being held and got some shots there. Now I have to wait six months before I can get my intermediate lisence (I just have a permit now) and I have to do a Remedial Driving Interview with the DOT. And we have to get a new car. The '96 Dodge Stratus I was driving is officially totaled. Like I said, this sucks. That's what the inside of your bumper looks like. Front view The tarp is there because the windows are open. The windows are open because the AC didn't work. The windows stayed open because the battery was torn out and we didn't think to close them before we shut the engine off.

I never got anything that bad, but yeah, it does get pretty rough at points. I actually enjoyed the corkscrew at this speed. The hangtime was freaking awesome. Oh well. It's better with the lights on.

Wow, it looks like they've improved the park a lot since '05. LOVE Little Dipper. Total awesome. I really want to go back there some time. It was like 300000 degrees outside when I was there.

^This isn't just a carnival, this is probably the most famous fair ever (aside from the World's Fair, of course). The Skywheel is really the only "classic" carnival ride we have. We don't even have a Zipper or a Breakdance. How lame is that?

I'd say Raptor. That's the best I've been on, at least. Chang actually wasn't bad either. Lot's of weird standup airtime. I wish I could say Patriot. That's a really nice second half, but there's no MCBR.

I was able to use my SFOT pass to get into both SFKK and SFGAm this year without going to Guest Relations.

My favorite is BGE, but I've only been there once. My second favorite is Holiday World, but I've only been there once. My third favorite is Kings Island (no really, it's Kings Island), and I was there for four days this year, so that's my best bet. Best: The Beast Worst: Firehawk (Son of Beast was closed)

For me, it's a grim reminder that I never got to ride it.

We got free tickets from friends of ours and I like riding Power Surge. Airtime&Gravity - the only things that have really changed since then are the addition of the good coaster and the addition of a Wacky Worm. It still sucks a lot. But you're right, it was really bad in 2005.

So I went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday. Pretty much everyone in Iowa is under the impression that their state fair is the best in the nation. It is not. I have been several times. It sucks. There's nothing to do. The midway is boring. The food isn't nearly is as good as it should be. Everything is ultra-expensive. The Minnesota State Fair is a hundred times better in pretty much every way. Honestly, I can't think think of anything at the IA Fair does that the MN Fair doesn't do better. That basically sums up my visit. On to the photos. Again with the blur. Oh well. Another boring day at the Iowa State Fair comes to a close. Thank God. I don't have to go again for a whole year. Ring of Fire. Power Surge. Better. Slow shutter-tripod=blur. This is what the Varied Industries building looks like on the inside. It's not a Pronto Pup, but it'll do. Took a break from the midway to eat supper and look at Amish people art. I don't think words can do this picture justice. Another fair staple. Told you there were a lot. Pretty. There I am. Breathtaking. ... These swings go so fast at the end that you're almost sideways and your feet tingle for about ten minutes after exiting. Big Ben. ... I'm sorry for all the Skywheel photos, but it's so photogenic. ... Power Surge decided to be uncool and not be open until about 8:00pm. It still think it's the best ride at the midway. Yup. I'm the one in the green shirt facing right. Guess who's up there. #160! Woohoo! And it doesn't hurt like most of the flats! OMG, I was so excited when I saw this. It's not a kiddie coaster like the other two credits, either! But first I had to make sure that the Energizer still hurts like hell. It does. It's sort of like a scrambler. An upside-down pain scrambler. There were a couple of changes to the midway this year. First, they took out Techno Power, which was one of the only fun rides there. They should have kept that and taken out the Huss Energizer. Second, they added a freak show, which is too bad. And third, CREDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nitro. That was my first frisbee. ... Back to the midway. Farmer building. Smells like crap. Don't go in there if you can help it. A staple of all State Fairs. You must get these. They are scrumdiddlyumpcious. Loop. Beer. All the County Fair Queens rode it at the same time. It was actually really fun to watch. They went down in big rows with linked arms. All of them were screaming bloody murder, of course. I'd like to see them get on Maverick, Force, or Dragster. You can't have a fair without a SuperSlide. ... Quilt room. Also displayed were a butter Fat Lady, a butter Firebolt, a butter Trevor, and a butter Harry's Trunk (complete with broken mirror and Monster Book of Monsters). This year they also had a butter Harry Potter (deglassified by the cow) and a butter Hedwig (cry). Notice that Harry is wearing Slytherin's locket. The famed butter cow. Minnesota has better butter sculptures, IMO. ... And emu eggs. The Agriculture Building is home to the butter cow, honey lemonade, and apple cider slush. Tie-dye mania. Oooh. Sand organ. Photo contest: farmer style. You end up here. In the middle of nowhere. Admittedly, it was cool to see a windmill like that up close. It's massive. One lonely, disgustingly overpriced upcharge attraction. Say "poor thing." More ariel view. Art building. MN's Expo Hill is WAY better than Iowa's. We used to have a skycoaster, a bungee jump ride, a skyscraper, trampolines, and water wars. We now have a skyscraper, trampolines, water wars, and a windmill. Last time I was at MN's, they had a skycoaster, an ejection seat, a bungee jump ride, a skyscraper, and a SCAD tower. Freaking awesome. Ariel view. I didn't ride Old Mill this year, but I have before. MN's is better because there aren't lights. This one is weird that way. You get halfway through the dark part and there are lit up portraits of totally random people. We took the sky ride to the other side of the fair. The BoobSquasher 9000. Midway. I paid $25 at Kum&Go for a "MegaPass" so I could ride all I wanted. Big Ben has always been closed when I've been here. It was finally open, so I gave it a whirl. The airtime is surprisingly plentiful and also surprisingly painful. Lawn ornament. One of the more popular buildings at the fair. This one can be pretty interesting. They sell kick-ass ice cream in there at the far end. Skywheel was closed all day for repairs or something. At one point, we saw the carnies actually take one of the gondolas off and put it back on. Blah. If you can park this close, you're either Jesus or Dick Cheney.

Orient Express.

That looks interesting. I've never been to WoF's Halloween event. I want to make it this year, but the chances don't look to good right now. I'm a member of the Unofficial Lore of the Vampire Hate Group. Anyone else?

Oh my.

Would you please help me? My jaw is on the floor and I can't reach it.

Oooh, yummy. I love me some Cornball Express. Wish I could be there.

C is way too awesome to not do. Anyway, woodies always look crappy in RCT3.