Philrad's 2010 (mostly) small park adventures

[Mechanic]

LOL at the captions! Especially Freddie getting the forked tongue rim job and Dracula's "package".

[Philrad71]

Thanks for all the nice comments, folks! I apologize for the long delay, but due to long work hours & work related travel, my trip report somehow got lost in the shuffle. Okay, I'll admit...we were also recently introduced to the world of Samsung hi-def, surround sound tv so I got to watch some of the TPR: The Magazine vids...awesome!

 

Okay, back to the report...this next stop takes us to Lake Compounce near Bristol, CT. As most of you know, this is the oldest operating amusement park in America with one of the best wooden coasters in the world. It could also win a Golden Ticket Award for best "Where in the world is this park and how the hell do we get to it?" park.

 

While we didn't get enough darkness at the end of the day for Boulder Dash, we did manage two absolutely awesome rides on it. Fast paced, airtime and a unique layout easily landed this in my Top Ten.

 

Overall, the park was neat clean and had a lot of unique characterstics with waterslides going into the lake, free soda and a ski lift that nearly made me soil myself!

 

Onward we march...

Dust Control? How 'bout some Pollution Control?

Da Da Da...Da Da Da! We love you Chris Berman! And remember..."NO ONE circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"

Hmmm...I think we were tricked into thinking there was a theme park around here and we are actually being taken to be ground into hamburger patties!

Oh, there is a park back here. I guess I can scratch those paranoid delusions now.

I would imagine coming by trolley or horse & buggy would have been easier than trying to actually drive here!

The real reason we are here. Psych. I am now firmly convinced that any coaster named Wildcat is really code for rough, sucky coaster.

...but if it get's the ACE plaque, I guess it must remain. Although I must say that Leap Teh Dips craps all over this coaster!

There were some serious 'Oww' moments in this coaster. I think I counted at least four or five before the hemorrhage.

It was a hot day, so we decided the log flume would be a good take.

Yippee...count me in. I want to get wet, baby!

A sign of quality for some, but others may beg to differ...including the bird that crapped all over the sign.

I think this is the longest lift hill I have ever seen for a log flume! I liked the fact that it went up into the mountain, but was disappointed that it only had the one drop at the end - and we certainly did not get soaking wet. I imagine this could be interesting at night in the dark as it's long enough where you could probably get away with some hanky-panky or some heavy petting. Michael and I opted not to make out on it though as there were other people around that would have seen us.

Next was beer & food time. I had the turkey & ham panini w/a Sam Adams...molto delicioso!

The free soda was a nice touch, although I'm not a big soda drinker. By the end of the day though, almost every one of these little kiosks was completely empty including the ice and water. I would assume this is intentional so kids don't go into sugar shock before the end of the day. Although, I did see one family that had about four HUGE beverage containers and we watched them fill them all up, stick them in their back-packs and head for the exit. Like they had the money to pay the $45 pp to get in, but can't afford to pay 99 cents for a bottle of soda? I was like, Double You Tee Eff!

And with all that free soda comes an extra serving of yellow jackets at every trash receptacle. Thank God this wasn't a Cedar Fair park or it would have just been one big mass of bees attacking people. Hey, that could be an awesome Sy-Fy movie! Thousands of giant killer bees attacking people at Lake Compounce with giant crocodiles eating swimmers as they slide into the lake from the waterslides. Maybe even throw in some rabid creatures of the night attacking Debbie Gibson & Tiffany while they grope & fondle each other on the log flume in the woods? Sounds like a winner to me!

Zoomerang! This coaster has the sexiest paint job of any coaster I've ever seen.

Which do you prefer...sexy paint job on Zoomerang or a Muff shot? Or both?

These were the worst flyers I have ever ridden. Shame on you Lake Compounce! Shame, shame, shame!

Obligatory Pirate shot. I have NEVER seen so many people in line for a swinging ship ride...ever! Guess it goes to show that a little theming can go a long way to lure in riders. It still irks me that CP is not moving the ride to the Frontier area where it would look better swinging out over the lagoon versus plopping it down in Demon Drops vacated space. Oh well, at least they aren't totally getting rid of it...quit your whining, Phil!

And we leave you with a teaser pic of Boulder Dash. More to come soon!

[beatle11]

Loving the pics. Keep em coming.

[Philrad71]

Pt. 2 of Lake Compounce...

Actually, I think we're going to divert this a bit. This is the totally run down, crappy campground in the middle of nowhere that we stayed at which was about fifteen miles from Lake Compounce. I think this place saw it's hey-day in the 70's and is now more of a burden to the current owners.

 

"Hey where y'all headed this weekend?"

"Why, I think I'm gonna go shake my groove thing down at the GCS!

The campsite itself wasn't too bad...although there was no one around so it was kinda creepy. We huddled close at night fearing that we would awake to find an axe to our throats!

This was the office, but it was never open the entire time we were there. The red sign mentions to just find an open site (which included just about everything except for empty seasonals). We found our site and then on our second morning, this beat up pick-up truck pulls up in front of our tent and just starts blaring the horn at like 7:00 in the morning - scared the crap out of us! Then this 70-something year old fat hag started yelling at us that we owed her like $75 for two nights camping & then said that we had actually been there three nights when we had only been there two. She was a total f%&king b%$ch and her rates were absolutely insane! Michael ran out to pay her while I stayed in the tent clutching my pillow like a scared lil girl!

Guess she didn't like two queers staying in her campground. Destroyed the family Christian values or something???

Then I decided I was going to go all anti-religion on her ass for being such a douche, so I cracked a beer at 9:00 in the morning and had a little fun in the church. "Oh Father, we thank thee for thine Molson Golden!"

Prayeth to the Lord Molson sayeth the Pastor Phillip!

Now that I got that out of my system, let's check out the amenities shall we? Here's a wagon that may have actually seen action in an episode of Little House on the Prairie. Must preserve this timeless classic with eight foot high fence...don't want no one stealin' it!

This one's called, "See who can race over the dilapidated bridge without breaking your ankle!"

Random stoplights in the campground that didn't work even thought they had 'em wired up real good with an orange extension cord. Wonder if they paid hard earned cash for them or stole them? Nahhh...a good, wholesome religious woman would never sin to THAT extent!

Ummmm....no. Seriously...do NOT stay at this campground! Pay the extra money and stay at one of the local hotels!! Heck, I would have rather camped out in ESPN's parking lot than stayed at this redneck dive!

Let's get the h-e-double hockey sticks out of Gentiles (which I think is Gaelic for Screaming Witch) and head back for more Boulder Dash!

After coming down the first hill, you are just absolutely SCREAMING through the woods!

I think this one edged out RFII & Phoenix as my #2 wooden coaster.

It's a really long ride through the woods, but yet it never, ever let's up throughout the entire ride. Kinda like what The Beast used to be like back in the day.

Lots-n-lots of bunny hills taken at what seems like break-neck speed!

Signage...

And we'll end this update with stats.

 

More Lake Compounce coming soon, including the chair ride of death! Thanks for reading!

[beatle11]

You'd think a camp site called "Gentiles" would be more friendly. At least you made it out alive. Thanks for sharing.

[Philrad71]

^It was really weird because we tried about four times to go up to the office and even the trailer to try and pay them for the site, then they just show up blaring the horn early the second morning scaring the living crap out of us!

 

Connecticut was a lot more ummm...interesting than I had ever imagined. I figured the worst thing that could happen to us would be getting lost on the way to the Pottery Barn, but it was way more ghetto than that!

[eddie200330]

These just keep getting better! The more they come the funnier they get! You could make a damn fine B-rate movie out of your all adventures, especially the camping parts!!! LMAO

 

Keep up the good work, and I hope you have some more to share!!!

[WFChris]

I just HAD to check out that campground's website, they have a laundry list of real nit-picky rules!!!

 

http://gentilescampground.com/rules

REGISTER - Register upon arrival. Check out time is 12 noon. Check in for another day before 12 noon. Payment is due before stay. One family and one camping unit per site. A family consists of mother, father and 3 unmarried children under 18 yrs old, or 2 adults over 21 yrs old. Additional charge for each additional person. Do not sublet or transfer campsite. In order to register, you must provide Name, Address, Vehicle License Plate Number, Vehicle Make, Drivers License Number & Payment.

 

CAMPSITES - One unit to a campsite. All sites and trailers, campers etc. must be kept neat and clean. Do not erect any sheds, buildings or platforms. Consult camp management. Building codes must be kept. All sites must be raked clean before departure. Do not leave garbage out-put in trash bin.

 

QUIET HOURS - Quiet hours observed from 11pm to 8am. All activity between these hours should be limited to assure no disturbance to other campers. No loud adusive language or music. Obscene or indecent dress or conduct will not be tolerated. Camp management will make decisions relative to noise levels.

 

FIRES - Fires are permitted in firerings or fireplaces. Do not move firerings. Keep fires low and attended. Do not leave fire. Put fire out before you leave site. Put all fires out before retiring for the night. Do not let children play with fire. OPEN FIRES PROHIBITED per STATE LAW FIRE MARSHAL. No glass or cans in fire. Keep water bucket or sand nearby fire for safety.

 

PETS - One pet perferred to a site - two pets minimum. Keep pet on a leash. Keep at site, never unattended. Do not let pet roam. CATS and DOGS must have rabies certificate and license presented upon arrival. Permanent campers must present an up-to-date copy of rabies certificate and license to be filed at the office. Cats are attracted to sand, do not let them roam. Our children play in the sand. All droppings must be picked up and disposed of in proper manner. No Pit bulls allowed in camp. Be it known any type of pit bull, any type of rottweiler and any type of reptile (any animal considered dangerous by responsible standards) is not welcome in camp. Report any bite or scratch from animal to authorities.

 

VISITORS - All visitors must register upon arrival and pay required fee per person. No more than 4 visitors per site and maximum stay shall be 3 hours. We must respect our neighbor camper's space. All visitors must be out of camp before 10pm. Overnight visitors must check in at office and pay required fee. See Rules. VISITORS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN POOL.

 

WATER - We have well water. Do not abuse. Do not wash cars, trailers, equipment, etc... Do not allow children to play with water. Be considerate of our water.

 

POOL - Pool is open daily from 12 noon to 7pm. Swim at your own risk. Youngsters under 14 yrs old must be accompanied by an adult. No smoking, pets, food, bottles, glass, cans, soap, floats, toys, balls, diapers, sun lotion, rough play, running, activities that endangers others, cut-offs, indecent exposure allowed in pool area. Proper swimwear required to swim. Bathing caps appreciated for long hair. NO VISITORS allowed in pool.

 

BIKES, SKATES, SKATEBOARDS - Do not allow children to ride skateboards, skooters, rolelr blades on camp roads. Use designated area. No mini bikes or quads allowed in camp. Bikes can be used.

 

ABANDONED UNITS - Any trailer, camper, car, personal property, etc... left abandoned for more than 30 days will be left to the discretion of the management as to cicumstances thereof and will become the property of the campground.

 

GENERAL RULES - No gambling of any nature allowed in camp. No abusive, obscene, profane or threatening language or conduct to be used at campground NO DRUGS OR EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL ALLOWED IN CAMP. ILLEGAL DRUGS WILL BE REPORTED TO AUTHORITIES. Anyone involved in such activity that requires police to be called will be asked to leave immediately without refund and will no be accepted to camp in the future. Visitors included. No fire arms or bow and arrow or any weapon allowed. No obscene or indecent conduct allowed. If any circumstance not covered in above rules becomes a problem, camp management will decide the outcome. No business conducted in camp. No soliciting. No washing machines, freezers or outside refridgerators allowed. Report any problems to office. Do not do any motor work or any work on cars, trucks, etc...

 

GARBAGE - Please place garbage only in dumpsters. Do not leave garbage out because wild animals can be attracted to it. DO NOT PUT FURNITURE (ex. chairs, matresses, shelves, sofas, also tires, bikes, tanks, etc..) in dumpster. We are not a dump station. Garbage dumpster is for garbage only.

 

VIOLATORS OF RULES WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY - WITHOUT REFUND.

 

We are a family campground and we like to keep our campground safe and pleasant.

 

For $35 a day, and the weird '3 hours for $5 and you cant go in the pool!' for visitors rule, this is a very very strange place. And leave your gangster dog at home!

[beatle11]

We are a family campground and we like to keep our campground safe and pleasant.

 

That's pretty funny considering the experience we read here.

[Mechanic]

PETS - One pet perferred to a site - two pets minimum.

 

How'd you manage to stay there without the minimum of 2 pets?

[WFChris]

^ I love the bit about roaming cats liking sand. wtf?

Oh, and their definition of a family is kind of scary/traditional. I wonder if they give gay parents any trouble for it not being a 'mother' and a 'father.'

[osm]

^Yeah, they would. Sad that people still have these attitudes today. Though they probably wouldn't be missing much from this campground.

 

Great pictures of Lake Compounce, how did you manage to get so close to Boulder Dash?

[Philrad71]

How'd you manage to stay there without the minimum of 2 pets?

 

OMG...this is way too funny! Thanks for posting the guidelines, Chris!

 

This part also cracks me up:

 

ABANDONED UNITS - Any trailer, camper, car, personal property, etc... left abandoned for more than 30 days will be left to the discretion of the management as to cicumstances thereof and will become the property of the campground.

 

That would account for about 95% of the units we saw there. I think we saw one other truck besides the owner truck the entire time we were there!

 

As far as the Boulder close-up's, I got most of them while waiting in the queue or walking along the road to get back to the ski-lift ride and the river raft ride.

[triggernel]

Gentiles basically meant non-Jews.

 

Glad Boulder made up for the accommodations!

[the ghost]

Wow... even the pool rules are CRAZY strict. Yeah... this place sucks.

[Philrad71]

Being that I have encountered depression over our failure to get out to WCB, I guess I'll just have to settle for another update from Lake Compounce!

Let's check out the ski-lift, shall we? I'm sure I'm in condition to be able to handle me some rugged mountain terrain!

On second thought...this frickin' ski-lift better not break down! There ain't no way that I'm climbing down that!

If there was ever an OMFG panic attack moment in my life, this would be it.

The views were amazing, but I did not at all feel safe or nearly secure enough in this chair!

Being that I was so nervous, I felt the only thing I could do was to take pictures!

The only thing that is seperating me from falling to my death 100 feet above jagged rocks....yikes!

Here I present to you, four douche-monkeys who thought it would be cool to swing the chair, spit, swear and taunt the other guests on the ride as they passed them....really "cool" guys.

Unbelievable views, but let's just say that I'll check this one off my bucket list.

Boulder Dash baby...I want you...need you! Save me Boulder Dash from the evil ski lift!

Yes...let's go on something a bit closer to the ground like the rapids ride!

This ride was a lot of fun...and yes, we did get soaked! A couple of the young kids that rode with us thought it was especially funny when Michael and I got the brunt of almost every waterfall! Meanies!

What is everyone looking at you ask? Some dumb-ball that took his brother's shoe and threw it in the water! They had to shut the ride down for a few minutes while a crew member waded in to get it.

Take the trolley! Seriously...unless you want to walk a half mile to get back to the rest of the amusement park.

Or you can take the boat across the lake and it will drop you off in about the same location next to the rapids ride.

But wait a minute....double you tee eff is with all of the golf balls in the water?

It's quite a haul to this end of the park. Personally, I think a mega-lite would work down at this end. Have it go partially over the lake...or have it all over the lake!

The mystery has been solved...an island green!

Ummm yeah. If I can't hit a green in regulation from 80 yards out, what do you think my chances are of landing on a sloped island green? ZERO! But this guy came real close on his third ball. I have to say that this is the coolest game I have ever seen at a theme park! I'm sure the carp in the lake that swallow the golf balls and die love it too!

Any waterslides that dump you out into a lake full of balls is #1 in my book!

LC definitely has a very nice water park included in admission. They also have beer, which rocks. We were enjoying a Sam Adams on a deck overlooking the water park/lazy river.

You can hop off the lazy river and hit up a couple of tube slides, which then empty right back into the lazy river.

This dragon is a bit more subdued than the one at Playland that likes to suck on his own tail. Plus, if you have ever fantasized about riding a goat, you'd better get on over to Lake Compounce!

That is one of the sexiest boomerangs ever!

This coaster however...not sexy at all unless you love you some S&M.

Well, that's about it from Lake Compounce...a very beautiful park with one kick butt wooden coaster. I would definitely love to come back, but will definitely steer clear of Gentile's campground and the hot ski lift of death....thanks for reading!

[tiger01]

Alton towers has a green in the middle of the lake, but I would fail because I have only played golf on Wii Sports . I've played miniture golf though!

[beatle11]

This helps to deal with not being at WCB. Thanks. Great pics as always.

[Philrad71]

^ I was hoping this might help others with WCBW (West Coast Bash Withdrawl)!