Lately it seems like this blog is more about the new roller coasters I've ridden this year... and today's post will be no exception. Last weekend, the Stu/Laurie clan and I trekked over to Indiana to visit
Indiana Beach and
Holiday World. I would compare Indiana Beach to a "mini-Geauga Lake." Holiday World is much larger and features a sizable water park. In fact it's so sizable that I spent more time walking barefoot on concrete between attractions than actually being wet. And yes my feet ached the next day. However I
was good with the sunblock and suffered no pinkitude.
In any case, I added nine coasters to my count between the two parks, for a
total of 83. Three of them made it into my Top 10 Wooden Coasters list, which just reiterates how severely lacking Cedar Point is in that department.
I neglected to mention previously that we also made a day trip to Lakemont Park near Altoona, Pennsylvania several weekends ago to ride
the world's oldest operating roller coaster. Yes, it's mostly a nostalgia ride, but it's also interesting to see how they were made back then; and it isn't without its minor thrills. Lakemont is also home to another woodie that made my Top 10, the Skyliner, which doubles as
outfield decoration for the Blair County Ballpark.
In other news, despite this being
The Year of the (Theatre) Hiatus, I have agreed to sub for some rehearsals of FPAC's
Into the Woods. The Fairmount Performing Arts Center runs a children's theatre camp, and I am now serving as Assistant Music Director for this production. In addition to covering two rehearsals a week when the Music Director (my friend Mike) can't be there, I will be conducting the orchestra the evening of July 19th. Plus a little bit of money and getting to meet new people. The usual story.
Since I have gotten a pretty significant amount of coastering in already this year, and I normally avoid the parks in July, I don't feel bad about this break in the hiatus. And it still leaves my weekends free (which are already booked with other stuff). Besides, I'm pretty close to using up my vacation budget, so aside from a few Cedar Point trips later in the season, I'm not planning anything big. It's not even July yet and my Cedar Fair pass has already paid for itself.
I'll also mention in passing that I've lost 20 pounds since early April by way of healthy eating. Walking around all these parks probably helps a bit too, but I'm mainly watching calories and portions. After the first week or so of being hungry all the time, my body has adjusted itself to expect less. It's also saving me a bit of money on food, which is a happy side effect, considering the job situation.
