slipstreaming my anachronistic surreal consciousness - sharing with you my multiple epiphanies that were spawned while sitting on my porcelain throne (these are the ones I didn't flush) "don't believe everything you think…"
Monday, September 08, 2003
Great Adventure
I went with my friend, Brian.
Sometimes, trying to keep up with him can be a 'predestination' attempt.
(that was a multi-layered pun, go figure)
I picked him up right before 9am.
I drove 1st shift, all the way to the 1st NJ rest stop. The drive was great! I've never been to those highways. It was a good scenic drive. And, I played music that Brian's never heard before.
Brian drove from the rest stop to Great Adventure. He liked driving the truck. He now wants to get a SUV because he liked being higher than others and the intimidation larger autos have to those driving smaller cars. We arrived a little after 11am.
Brian was my tour guide. We didn't follow any plan. Which actually worked out well.
The day basically went like this...
Brian: "Do want to ride this?"
Me: "Okay."
And, when the line was long & slow...
Brian: "Do you want to wait in this line?"
Me: "Might as well, we're here."
(Note: I've overcome my fear of roller coasters during high school; but, I still have a slight case of acrophobia. There are times, when I stargaze, during a clear evening night, I get a little nauseous because I feel that I might fall into the stars.)
Here's the order of what we rode:
1st was Batman, because it was the 1st thing we saw and Brian said that he never rode it because the last time he was in Great Adventure (6 yrs. ago), they shut down the ride while he was in line for it. The wait in line wasn't so bad, but the ride wasn't so great.
2nd was Movietown Water Effect and it's only purpose is to get you soaking wet.
3rd ride was Batman & Robin: The Chiller the wait in this line was close to 1 hr. & 30 min.! Because the Batman part of the ride was down & they were only using 1 coaster for Robin. We were still wet from the previous ride when we started in line and finally dried-up by the time we rode it. Brian would've spent the extra $20 on the Fast Lane Q-bot just so that he wouldn't have to wait in line. The wait was almost worth it because the ride was good and the head operator was funny even though she was serious about her job {she saw everything from her Hlidhskjalf (I actually just updated that word in Wikipedia.)}.
(Brian tried to teach me how to whistle. My whistle sounds like it has laryngitis. It's something, I forgot to add to my list of musical talents.)
4th was Nitro! I was told that, if you want to get rid of the butterflies in your stomach while riding a roller coaster, you need to scream. And, scream I did! It worked to degree because I unfortunately had more butterflies than I could scream out. I have never felt a drop like that roller coaster! I didn't bother to purchase our 1st photo on that ride because of the expression of fear on my face. The only thing that looked good were my biceps being fully flexed because I gripped on the seat guard as hard as I could as I screamed going down! I definitely was not ready for that ride!
5th was Skull Mountain. Despite being advised not to, Brian still wanted to ride this because all the indoor roller coasters he's rode have been good (our favorite is the "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith"). That changed after we rode this. I think they built a nice facade building and kept the interior in total darkness just to hide this bad ride. (Good marketing spin techniques.)
6th was Medusa because someone, after riding Nitro, recommended it and said it was a "smooth" ride. Funny thing is, everyone we talked to that rode Medusa said the same thing. It sounded like they were describing an alcoholic beverage. Anyhow, it wasn't exactly "smooth" because my head & ears hit the overhead seat guard a couple of times. This was the 1st photo I purchased. I then purchased all other photos on rides that took them. They may be a bit costly (almost the same price of a Long Island Iced Tea) but they're worth it.
7th was Saw Mill Log Flume which is your typical log ride but at the end of the ride are 3 water guns which people can pay to spray the passengers before they end their ride. We were dry until some kids with quarters wanted to get us wet.
We then attended an "all you can eat buffet" at the Garden of Eatin'. The food was like eating 7/11's hotdogs & hamburgers.
8th was Houdini's Great Escape.
9th was Superman Ultimate Flight. We got to see the sunset, waiting for this ride.
10th was The Great American Scream Machine.
11th was Nitro again! This time, I was ready to redeem myself and look better for the picture.
We left the park around 9pm.
The weather for the entire day was great! It was sunny, yet cool. And during the evening, it was mild enough to still wear a tank top without feeling cold.
It was the most fun that I've ever had in NJ! And, the most fun I've had this year! And perhaps, the most fun I've had, since I moved here in Long Island!
Brian drove to Manhattan and because of an unusual heavy traffic, we got there around 11:30pm. He needs to say the prayer for patience (just like the bumper sticker).
(Passing the jackfruit scented landfill in Staten Island was disturbing to the olfactory.)
We went to a bar & a dinner. Stayed till almost 4am.
I drove back. Brian played his harmonica. Then, I played Chicane's 2nd album (a Christmas gift from my friend, Jeff) "Behind The Sun" (chillout music) which helped him sleep.
I got home by 5am! I had to work at 9am. I'm still recuperating from yesterday. I feel like a zombie (without the desire to eat living brains).
Brian didn't have to work till 2pm. (the bastard!)
It's good to have a friend, who can be goofier than you. You'll see what I mean, when you view the photos that were taken in some of the rides, on my phlog.
Everyone should have a friend like Brian. He can make you relive the salad days you've never had. He has shown me how to have the life of Riley. (Which could be why people think I'm over a decade younger than I really am.)
Sometimes, trying to keep up with him can be a 'predestination' attempt.
(that was a multi-layered pun, go figure)
I picked him up right before 9am.
I drove 1st shift, all the way to the 1st NJ rest stop. The drive was great! I've never been to those highways. It was a good scenic drive. And, I played music that Brian's never heard before.
Brian drove from the rest stop to Great Adventure. He liked driving the truck. He now wants to get a SUV because he liked being higher than others and the intimidation larger autos have to those driving smaller cars. We arrived a little after 11am.
Brian was my tour guide. We didn't follow any plan. Which actually worked out well.
The day basically went like this...
Brian: "Do want to ride this?"
Me: "Okay."
And, when the line was long & slow...
Brian: "Do you want to wait in this line?"
Me: "Might as well, we're here."
(Note: I've overcome my fear of roller coasters during high school; but, I still have a slight case of acrophobia. There are times, when I stargaze, during a clear evening night, I get a little nauseous because I feel that I might fall into the stars.)
Here's the order of what we rode:
1st was Batman, because it was the 1st thing we saw and Brian said that he never rode it because the last time he was in Great Adventure (6 yrs. ago), they shut down the ride while he was in line for it. The wait in line wasn't so bad, but the ride wasn't so great.
2nd was Movietown Water Effect and it's only purpose is to get you soaking wet.
3rd ride was Batman & Robin: The Chiller the wait in this line was close to 1 hr. & 30 min.! Because the Batman part of the ride was down & they were only using 1 coaster for Robin. We were still wet from the previous ride when we started in line and finally dried-up by the time we rode it. Brian would've spent the extra $20 on the Fast Lane Q-bot just so that he wouldn't have to wait in line. The wait was almost worth it because the ride was good and the head operator was funny even though she was serious about her job {she saw everything from her Hlidhskjalf (I actually just updated that word in Wikipedia.)}.
(Brian tried to teach me how to whistle. My whistle sounds like it has laryngitis. It's something, I forgot to add to my list of musical talents.)
4th was Nitro! I was told that, if you want to get rid of the butterflies in your stomach while riding a roller coaster, you need to scream. And, scream I did! It worked to degree because I unfortunately had more butterflies than I could scream out. I have never felt a drop like that roller coaster! I didn't bother to purchase our 1st photo on that ride because of the expression of fear on my face. The only thing that looked good were my biceps being fully flexed because I gripped on the seat guard as hard as I could as I screamed going down! I definitely was not ready for that ride!
5th was Skull Mountain. Despite being advised not to, Brian still wanted to ride this because all the indoor roller coasters he's rode have been good (our favorite is the "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith"). That changed after we rode this. I think they built a nice facade building and kept the interior in total darkness just to hide this bad ride. (Good marketing spin techniques.)
6th was Medusa because someone, after riding Nitro, recommended it and said it was a "smooth" ride. Funny thing is, everyone we talked to that rode Medusa said the same thing. It sounded like they were describing an alcoholic beverage. Anyhow, it wasn't exactly "smooth" because my head & ears hit the overhead seat guard a couple of times. This was the 1st photo I purchased. I then purchased all other photos on rides that took them. They may be a bit costly (almost the same price of a Long Island Iced Tea) but they're worth it.
7th was Saw Mill Log Flume which is your typical log ride but at the end of the ride are 3 water guns which people can pay to spray the passengers before they end their ride. We were dry until some kids with quarters wanted to get us wet.
We then attended an "all you can eat buffet" at the Garden of Eatin'. The food was like eating 7/11's hotdogs & hamburgers.
8th was Houdini's Great Escape.
9th was Superman Ultimate Flight. We got to see the sunset, waiting for this ride.
10th was The Great American Scream Machine.
11th was Nitro again! This time, I was ready to redeem myself and look better for the picture.
We left the park around 9pm.
The weather for the entire day was great! It was sunny, yet cool. And during the evening, it was mild enough to still wear a tank top without feeling cold.
It was the most fun that I've ever had in NJ! And, the most fun I've had this year! And perhaps, the most fun I've had, since I moved here in Long Island!
Brian drove to Manhattan and because of an unusual heavy traffic, we got there around 11:30pm. He needs to say the prayer for patience (just like the bumper sticker).
(Passing the jackfruit scented landfill in Staten Island was disturbing to the olfactory.)
We went to a bar & a dinner. Stayed till almost 4am.
I drove back. Brian played his harmonica. Then, I played Chicane's 2nd album (a Christmas gift from my friend, Jeff) "Behind The Sun" (chillout music) which helped him sleep.
I got home by 5am! I had to work at 9am. I'm still recuperating from yesterday. I feel like a zombie (without the desire to eat living brains).
Brian didn't have to work till 2pm. (the bastard!)
It's good to have a friend, who can be goofier than you. You'll see what I mean, when you view the photos that were taken in some of the rides, on my phlog.
Everyone should have a friend like Brian. He can make you relive the salad days you've never had. He has shown me how to have the life of Riley. (Which could be why people think I'm over a decade younger than I really am.)
