Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vacation Report Part 4


Friday, June 18
Dorney Park is an amusement park in Allentown Pennsylvania. When I was growing up it was the place that our family went for our one day "vacation" each year. The park holds a special place in my heart when it comes to childhood and family memories.

I hadn't been to an amusement park in several years. Before my surgery and weight loss I had gotten too large to fit on any of the rides. Now with 170 pounds gone it was going to be different. I was "pumped" full of a new spirit of adventure. I couldn't wait to get on everything. In fact I don’t think there was a ride or water ride that I passed on all day long. I went on all I could.

Going to the park with me were 11 other family members including my sister, Shari and her family and my two nieces and their families. Paula and Bobby, my nepher, (now an Easton High School graduate) decided that they wanted to stay home. Paula isn't much of a thrill ride person and neither is Bob. Paula spent the day at the hotel relaxing, watching TV, and playing video games on her laptop computer.

Before I move onto the story of my personal victory of returning to riding roller coasters I have to tell you a story about getting to the park.

My 8 year old great nephew (my niece, Marci's son) Jordon, rode to the park in the backseat of my car. On the way there we continued a conversation started the night before about Jordan not wanting to ride any roller coasters. I kept teasing him and offering him various degrees of rewards if he rode a "big roller coaster" with me. My "offer" was as high as a $50 and a new I-pod. He still refused to say he’d ride.

He then asked "will you buy me a puppy?” This took me back a bit but I figured I’d found his “price”. I told him that if he rode a big roller coaster with me and his parents agreed (knowing that they wouldn't) I'd buy him a new puppy.

As we pulled into the parking lot we could see the roller coasters all being tested. As we all watch the empty cars go up and down Steel Force, (in the picture above) Jordan, from the backseat in the most resolute and disappointed manner I've ever heard says, "Well I guess I won't be getting a puppy." A classic kids moment for me. I'll be telling that story for a long time.

As planned we were at the park's gate when it opened at 10AM. Once we got inside our group planned on splitting up. Some of us wanted to go on the rides at the Dorney, park and others wanted to go to Wild Water Kingdom, the water park. But it didn't open until 11AM. So we spent the first hour riding park rides that everyone would go on.

We rode the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Whip. The first "thrill ride" we got on was the Sea Dragon. This was my first personal victory ride. Before I lost weight I wouldn't have fit into to the seat and the safety bar wouldn't have latched. But it did now. About half of us rode this ride and some of us did it twice. It was fun but not one of my favorite rides.

After the "riders" and the "swimmers" went their separate ways it was time to get down to the business of riding roller coasters. Shari, Bo, Melissa, Shay (Melissa's roommate's daughter) and I headed for Steel Force. We got on with hardly any wait.

Once again I celebrated the fact that I had no problem with the safety belt and the safety bar. It was a double weight loss victory because for Shari, who sat next to me, it was her first ride in on a roller coaster since her surgery as well. The 2nd time we rode it Shari and I got in the front seat. What a ride. I would only ride Steel Force one more time at the end of the day but I will always remember it as the thrill ride that marked my return to roller coasters.

Over the course of the day we went on to ride 3 more coasters, a log flume, and a ride that shoots up into the air. Shari and I really enjoyed Thunder Creek Mountain, the log flume, because it held a lot of memories for just the two of us from the last time we were at Dorney.

The best coaster was the "Talon". It was a coaster where your seat is below the track. The only thing between your feet and the ground (or sky during when going through the inversions) was air. I only got to ride it once but my sister rode it twice. It was our favorite.

At 1 o'clock the two groups met back at Shari & Bob's van. Shari and Marci had brought meat, cheese, peanut butter, and jelly and marshmallow cream for sandwiches. Marci brought chips and snacks. We had a little picnic right there in the parking lot. It had gotten very sunny and hot so we all had to kind of sit in the vehicles to get out of the sun and off our feet. But it was a great time of being together just as a family.

After lunch as a group we went back into the park. While everyone else went to use the restroom my brother in law, Bob and I rode the carousel. He's not one who enjoys most kinds of amusement rides but he wanted to go on the Merry-Go-Round. So the two of us climbed onto the up and down horses and off we went. We had a great time. We were just two old codgers riding and enjoying the nickelodeon’s unique version of popular country music tunes. It was one of the highlights of the day for me.
Next Post: Day at Dorney: Part 2

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