Would you do it?

"The fierce Kingda Ka is simply the tallest, fastest roller coaster on Earth. This remarkable thrill ride breaks all world records for coaster speed and height, zooming from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and catapulting you 45 stories into the sky.

Get propelled horizontally at 128 mph via hydraulic launch
Hang on tight as you shoot 90 degrees into a quarter-turn
Blast 456 feet high, then plunge vertically into a 270-degree spiral
Experience weightlessness as you swoop down a valley and up a 129-foot camel hump"




So...whaddya think? Think I could do it? Think I could do it TWICE! Hells yeah! Man what a weekend I had! Let me tell you about it.

First George and I were intending on driving up to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to see Josh Kelley and Collective Soul in concert with Ben. We started off right on track and continued on I-95 while having good stimulating conversation about college and our experiences with crazy roommates and Ramen noodles. Anyway, the next thing you know I start to see cars ahead of me slow down...up ahead was a rotary. A ROTARY! (a round-about for all you non-knowers of the term rotary. Yeah I have a funny story about that too...let's just say a rotarian does not sit in a rotary over on the East Coast..) Alright, so thinking it's kind of weird to have a rotary in the middle of the freeway, George says..."Gloucester?! We're in Gloucester!" (pronounced GLAHSS-TAH) We quickly refer to my trusty map that got me across this large country.

View Larger Map

So you see the green arrow? That's where we were! And do you see the little town up the coast north of there called Salisbury? Well that's where we were supposed to BE! Being the smart and saavy travelers that we were, we re-routed to go across towns and backroads to try and get to the casino ASAP without going ALL the way back. Bad luck hit again though when we came to the bridge to cross into New Hampshire. "Bridge OUT OF ORDER!" And yes, it was screaming at us. Bridge out! You've got to be kidding me! We had to back track again...to finally find a through road to the 95. Once there, getting to Ocean Blvd. was easy. Though to think how much time we could have saved by actually paying attention to the signs. Boston officially gets my vote for city with the worst signage system. Officially.

After skipping through the sceevy slash mildly amusing town of Hampton Beach, we finally arrived to see Josh Kelley on the stage...and man was I happy. :) Oh and Collective Soul was pretty good too. All those early 90's songs I'd forgotten about, came around full force in my memory!

Man, but the weekend just gets better.

But rather than writing a novel that I know none of you have time for, I'll just summarize bulletin-stylie!

• After concert, got pulled over in Burger King parking lot for missing tail light. (That damn tail light just loves to give me trouble doesn't it! Thanks for the jail record Mr. Tail Light!)
• After warning ticket, we find out BK is closed. Humf.
• Sleep, but only for 4 hours.
• Wake up, get pulled over again...by the SAME cop. Exact words? "So we meet again..."
• Drive through terential rain to NYC.
• Cross George Washington Bridge to find we have to go back to pick up 1 Amtrekker.
• Pay 8 bucks to fix that mistake.
• Have eggs in a sans English shop in the Bronx.
• See 1 Amtrekker wandering aimlessly.
• Yell at 1 Amtrekker.
• Accidentally hop on the fast track on the turnpike, have to pay MAXIMUM TOLL!
• Drive to Jackson, New Jersey
• See Angel, get in for free to Six Flags Great Adventure! Wahoo!
• Get VIP treatment, escorted to the KINGDA KA! The fastest, tallest rollercoaster in the world!
• Then the rain starts, shutting down the ride.
• We wander aimlessly throughout the park, riding kiddie rides compared to the King...
• 20 minutes waiting for the worst ride that we never got to ride..blah!
• And then...FINALLY! We see the clouds clear and the rain cease, to find ourselves with exit passes to ride the KING! Sheer exhileration!
• Tiger show...

Haha, and then finally as we exited the park...where we were High Fived by all the newbies, or that's what I assume they were. We drove back to Boston that night, making excellent time and making sure that our stimulating conversation was NOT distracting us from the task at hand. All I knew is that I did not want to end up in Ohio or West Virginia...oh Lord please Not West Virginia....

And while I passed out peacefully in my bed, George and one kidnapped Amtrekker continued on throughout the night chasing fooseballs and kitty cats. And that's all. 2 days, a million roads, and one very happy camper.