For your amusement

Or was that amusement park?
So my (new) company had it's annual summer picnic today. Apparently they rented out the entire park for just company usage. Ok not the WHOLE company, only those of us on this coast, despite the semi-limited invite list, the place was still pretty full. The ride lines were all fairly short, and only the roller coaster I actually went on had anything resembling a "normal" wait, but even that was only about 12-15 minutes. (That's the black and white image below, and yes one set of those appendages are ~my~ sexy legs.)

For starters, we had a few folks that wanted to ride the old school wooden beasts. We played around on the signage in front of the ride, because I wasn't ready for that kind of vibration. Here's da wife and I, following the directions on the sign.

Although it's not quite the best effect with a photo, since you can't hear us yelling...


Some people I know, and some I don't rode on the ship. If I had realized it didn't actually go upside down, I would have ridden too. (Hanging upside down on those rides is usually a day killer for me. Something about too much blood in my brain...)

(I remember back in the day riding the boat at the amusement park we'd go to, and the ride inevitably turned into a "tastes great" vs "less filling" shout war. Ahhh... the good ol' days.")

*grin*
And here we have a guy about to go on a VERY fast steel coaster, apparently calling a friend to let them know that he was about to "take off". I wonder if the guy in front of him is texting people on the ground...

Oh and the guy behind him looks like he's just finished the ride. I wish I had grabbed the shot of after their trip. He had his head slung low, and was looking a bit green.


And finally, we have the shot of my big ride of the day. (I say big ride, because da wife and I had ridden the most aggressive tilt-a-hurl ride I've ever been on. I think over two of the hills we managed 4 complete rotations at a high rate of speed. I was thankful to have kept my lunch with me.)

Despite not being a rabid coaster fan, I did enjoy this one quite a bit. (still felt gross for a while after, but had fun nonetheless.) I really do like the smoothness of the ride(at least compared to the wooden ones), and the fact that most of the higher G forces are distributed to the lower limbs and torso instead of the head and neck. To be fair, I was concerned for my legs on several of the turns where it seemed as though if I had let them hang loose, that I would have lost them on a support beam. I would even ride this one again, but before lunch I think. ;-)

To top off a fun day (despite the not quite drizzle of a day), several of us gnoshed on a funnel cake on the way out, and enjoyed the sunshine that arrived at long last. I think next time, we may get some old-time photos and take in some water rides if it's warm enough. And for some odd reason, I have a song running through my head. It's "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by the Vengaboys, and it's firmly stuck in there. Ah well, maybe if I hum "Penny Lane" by the Beatles...