Farewell old home parks, hello new

[Jhcbiinoc]

Forgive me if I am posting this in an inappropriate place, but it seems as if it could be relevant, as it does involve theme parks and roller coasters (albeit no donkeys.....)

 

After 23 great years as a resident of Southern California, life is taking me somewhere new. For a multitude of reasons, I am having to make a major move and adjustment.

 

I will post the nutshell version here as to the why: my immediately family-my Mom and Dad are experiencing some rather serious health issues: my Mom has advanced Multiple Sclerosis that has progressed to the point where she is confined to a wheelchair and has no use of her legs, and more recently - about 6 - 8 months ago, my Dad developed some serious health issues that are preventing him from taking care of her the way he used to; we think he had a mild stroke in October, and he is displaying all of the symptoms of the onset of Parkinson's Disease, which has given him tremors to the point where simple things like driving are difficult. They, and the family need me out there-or at least close-to help them out for an indefinite period of time. "There" is a small town in Alabama, the town that I was born in (population less than 8,000). For reference, it's about 2.5 hours from Atlanta, GA and about an hour from Birmingham. (All of my family is in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Virginia, I am the last one out here in CA.)

 

After a visit out there early last month, where I saw and understood the situation more clearly and realized that they need me there, exhausting every possible alternative and option to get them back out here somehow or paying someone to stay to assist them other than me (which for a multitude of reasons are not feasible or possible) and much agonizing over knowing what the right decision was but being distressed about the prospect of leaving Southern California after so long and leaving all of the things I love here, I took a leap of faith and made the decision to do what I feel the right thing is to do, and help the two people who have always been there for me all of my life and that I love, and move out there to help them and to be closer. It's so tough and emotional for me to leave here but I feel good about what I am doing.

 

So I will be making one last trip as a So Cal resident up to SFMM on the 14th and Knott's on the 15th and then on the 26th, the truck gets loaded and the next day, my cat and I fly out to our new home. I will still have the same job working remotely. My parents have a guest house/efficiency apartment attached to the house they live in-complete with its own address, utility hook up, and entrance (it's essentially one big room with a living/sleeping area, bathroom and kitchen attached) so we will be living there, less than a mile from the hospital where i was born. My new home park will end up being SFOG (it's about the same drive time from where I will be living to SFOG as it is from where I live now to SFMM); Dollywood is about 4-5 hours away as well and I think Carowinds is about 6.)

 

It will be a huge adjustment for me as I will miss everything about living in So Cal. Of course, first and foremost, I will miss my friends, the weather, the sheer convenience of everything and many other things. But back to a topic relevant to coasters and parks-I will also really miss being able to call Knott's and SFMM my home parks and the fact that 4 out of 5 of my top 5 coasters are all out here-especially my #1, X2 (#2 is Tatsu, #4 is Scream, #3 is Silver Bullet). I will miss being able to drive 25 minutes and get to Knott's and marathon Silver Bullet in the offseason and being so close to SFMM (although I will be able to come back every year for West Coast Bash and possibly for Haunt in the fall). I will miss being able to go to parks in the winter as well and being able to go to the local parks to hang out.

 

But there are positives on the coaster and park side of things as well about being in a new place, and reasons to look forward to new things and adventures rather than dwelling on what I will no longer be in close proximity to. My other family out there, although they cannot be there to assist my folks all of the time, has agreed to help out whenever I need to get away for a weekend for a coaster event or a day or 2 at the park. One of my relatives has already promised to help out so that I can attend Deep South Bash in September and has promised to do so again during West Coast Bash next year. #5 in my top 5 coasters, Goliath at SFOG, is a short couple of hours drive away, and I will still have my Six Flags Annual Pass; SFOG is currently my third favorite park after Knott's and SFMM and a great one. Dollywood is a half day drive, and are rumored to be getting the first B&M WingRider in the US next year which is the 2012 ride I am the most excited about. And Carowinds is about 6 hours, and I will still have my Cedar Fair pass. So there are some things to look forward to on that front as well. With the not having to work so many hours, I will have time to post more TRs and photos and interact more. And with the lower cost of living there, maybe I will finally be able to save enough to take one of the TPR trips.

 

It's still tough to be leaving here, though. It's a huge adjustment, even if I am doing it for all of the right reasons, which are all for my family and I know that seldom does anything bad come of doing something good for someone else. Knott's and SFMM and So Cal will always be here-the people I love and value and quality time to spend with them will not. My parents are young figuratively speaking-they're only in their 60s-and I am hoping that my being there to help them get to appointments and treatment, getting their home together and just being there will lead to their health improving. That to me means more than staying out here, as much as I love it and will miss it.

[jzoole]

Aww you're doing a good thing It's tough to leave your old home parks behind, but it's certainly exciting to get to explore new ones in a more in depth way than a one-day trip allows you to. Good luck!

[Ed Farmer]

When I got a place in Seminole, I said something more along the lines of "good riddance" to SFGAm. But... the forthcoming XTREME additions of either a 100% original Zacspin clone or the never-before-seen clone of Georgia's eurofighter in place of Iron Wolf will surely make me want to waste money to visit this shithole! Bravo, SFGAm!

 

For real though, if friends mention to me that they want to visit, I harken back to previous poor experiences I've had at SFGAm recently and hope that it dissuades them from visiting.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

Sometimes family comes first before all else & it's good that you've made the decision to forgo all the things you've become accustomed to for the sake of being with your parents now when they need you most.