Two Views

July 30, 2007

Melissa and Baha have posted their wrap-up of the road trip, and even posted the counterpart to the shot I put up in one of my entries.

What a bunch of photo nerds.

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Vancouver Bound!

July 30, 2007

Next stop on what is turning out to be a rather busy travel year is Vancouver!

I have know my friend Brian for about 22 years - since way back in junior high. He’ll be getting married in September, and I have just booked my flight.

I don’t know much about the Pacific Northwest, so it should be rather interesting. I gave myself lots of time in the city, and even booked one of my fool-proof “get out and see stuff” locations: the local branch of Hostelling International. I love hotels, but know that I would have a tendency to hang around watching bad TV and eating too much if I felt too comfortable. At a hostel I feel the urge to get up and go before anyone gets the impression that I’m looking to make new friends.

Oh, and hats off to Haddad Travel, who has now found me great deals on not just the Lebanon trip of last spring but now this one as well. Nice people - I recommend them!

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No Fun

July 26, 2007

In the wake of four posts flaunting what a great time I had over the weekend, it is time to stop and remember that on the other side of the planet things just plain suck.

Do whatever you think is best and within your capacity to help establish a solution to this unbelievable disaster.Support our troops. Their needs are relatively simple and this digital age has made it easier than ever to do your part to let them know we’re here for them just as much as they’re there for us.

The people of Iraq who just want to get on with their lives need help getting through this too, and here’s a great place to start.

Oh, and one more thing. Please check this out.

Posted in: the world 5 Comments »

A Tale of Two Coasters, Days Three and Four

July 25, 2007

After Indiana we hauled ass down to Cincinnati. The sky was beautiful the entire way, and the rather mundane scenery was made a bit more memorable because of it. After some wandering around the highways we settled on this Super 8 Motel in Mason, Ohio just across the street from King’s Island. Had we not been tired and already done 10 hours of driving we might have found a more inexpensive roost, but alas we were pooped and needed some quality bed time.

Sunday morning we slept in. After a bit of breakfast/lunch (depending on whose tab you review) we decided to warm up with some mini golf. The course was a tough one! Much skill was required, and we each had holes that caught us up a bit. It was a beautiful day, but I admit I was happier in the shade than the sun.

Once that was over I figured it was probably a good idea for me to re-apply my sunscreen and we stopped back at the hotel. A bit of a nap later and we were on our way to King’s Island. I didn’t find mention of it on the site, but as it turned out going after 5pm resulted in a $20 deduction in ticket price! Too good a deal to pass up, and we lingered around the parking lot for 20 minutes. In truth we could have put a few more hours at the park to good use, but alas we asked a lot of ourselves for a four day period, and I think the nap helped me quite a bit. I might have been dragging towards the end of the day if not for that (although I did unleash a Crabby Moment while slowly discovering that they close all the food places at 9pm, while the park itself closes at ten! losers.).

Unfortunately I do not have many pictures from King’s Island. Just didn’t occur to me, I guess. There’s a few more on the memory card that I can post later, but here’s Melissa and Baha on the Monster. There used to be a version of this at Riverside called the Spider - always notorious for causing a death one summer. A woman choked on her own vomit if I remember correctly.

I didn’t remember correctly enough, for I ended up feeling a little gross after riding this. I guess I should have know better. For whatever reason I ended up with a tremendous amount of spin on my car and was wincing the entire time. We were commenting on the seemingly short length of the ride while we were waiting, but I must admit I was thanking my lucky stars for the ride’s brevity while on it!

The Beast, though, was my motivation for suggesting King’s Island in the first place and delivered the goods like nobody’s business. An absolutely terrific coaster. I even paid the ridiculous amount to get the goofy little picture they take of you on the ride. I’ll scan and put it here soon. All three of us loved it.

Melissa and Baha got on line for some enclosed ride that flips you around in the air, only to find out that it was broken! While they were doing that (I heard some kid say “upside down” and backed out immediately) I jumped on the Beast line and squeezed in another ride. Just before the park closed Baha and I climbed on again, and although I was glad I rode it during the day first, the real fun begins when the sun goes down. The Beast is buried at the back of the park behind trees and terrain. At night you can’t see a thing - it was only by the light of the half moon that we saw anything at all. An amazing way to ride this coaster.

To summarize others we rode, I’ll say: the Scooby-Doo “haunted house” was a total waste of time. The mild coasters - the Fairly Odd Coaster (a no-frills wooden) and the Raptor (a tame suspended coaster) - were a lot of fun. There was a giant Arrow Dynamics inverted coaster that brings to mind the Afterburner on crack. We skipped that one. There were other kooky steel coasters that we also skipped. The Racer, a wooden racing coaster designed by the legendary John Allen, was a lot of fun although some confusion prevented us from actually racing another train. You have the option of riding backwards if you like - we went traditional.

The bumper cars were too slow to be interesting. The swings were cool but not as tall as others I’ve ridden. Going to the top of their 1/3 scale Eiffel Tower was nice, but my heights issues kicked in immediately and I spent the time hugging the wall and staying far, far away from the rail. A woman who was also staying conspicuously close to the center asked “Umm… is this thing moving?” I managed to croak out “yes, it seems to be swaying a bit.”

I took the next elevator back down.

There were some things that we missed that would have been nice to catch - as mentioned, we should have given ourselves more time there. After being able to jump on any ride we wanted in Indiana (and even staying on if we wanted to ride again), I had forgotten that one ride can take 45 minutes of your day away from you just waiting in line. Oops.

The next morning we enjoyed another breakfast at the Waffle House before beginning our long trip back. Baha took the first leg. As my stretch started to drag on and on, we realized that our estimate was a little off. There was periodic construction to contend with as well, which didn’t help our time much. Around Albany (12 hours later!) Melissa took over and I decided that I’d best call in to MIT and let them know that noon might be a better time to expect my arrival.

I should have taken the whole day off.

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A Tale of Two Coasters, Day Two

July 25, 2007

Saturday morning I got up and hung out with my good friend Skid while everyone else did their bathroom cycle and took care of other pressing concerns. This was taken in the beautiful sun room in Ethan and Jen’s house, and the color balance ended up totally bizarre in the file - hence the switch to black and white.

A quick breakfast at a local favorite, and we were good to go. Below Phin is demonstrating a new-found fascination: if you let go of something, it simply falls away to the floor! Great fun. I don’t think he has quite noticed that this always results in retrieval via the parents and can be used to his advantage, but he’s getting there.

Once again we hit the road, taking in a corner of Pennsylvania and a bit of northern Ohio. This leg was an easy one - only about 5.5 hours to Indiana. Very manageable.

Indiana Fun Spot ($16, $8 after 4pm) was teeny tiny and held a small assortment of traditional fairground rides (Tilt-a-Whirl, Scrambler, Bumper Cars) in addition to the Afterburner - their name for the great old Arrow Dynamics shuttle loop in their possession. It is rumored to be the prototype of this type of coaster, built in 1977. Interestingly, the first coaster of this type that was put into revenue service was installed at King’s Island, our next stop. That one has long since been demolished.

This coaster is more trouble than it appears. The concept - going one way through a loop and then doing the same in reverse - has been re-popularized by the “boomerang” style launched coaster, but there’s something about this one. You sit in your car staring forward seeing only the very peak of the loop and the other platform. The anticipation is a big part of it. After being thrust forward you drop into the loop and then scoot back up the other side. The loop is over rather quickly, but takes you through quite a ride in the process.

Once there, a nerve-racking little system nudges the train a little bit forward - then a little bit forward - then a little bit forward some more. As there are no side rails to give you an idea where you are, you feel like one more nudge and the train is going to pull itself off the back end of the tracks! Of course, there’s plenty of space on the other end (confirmed from the ground), but it’s hard to know that when you’re up there.

Then, you’re pushed back in reverse. It’s an unsettling feeling.

It made me feel sick.

That’s how it goes.

Here is Baha bravely climbing aboard after Melissa and I had done our trips and emerged wide-eyed and wobbly - I felt bad that I didn’t go with him, but frankly I would have barfed on both of us.

One thing that came right back on seeing this coaster was how fascinated I was by it when I was a kid. All the movements, all the sounds - they were exactly how I remembered them from back in the day, right down to the red, white, and blue paint job. Wherever we were in the park I would always sneak a peek at the coaster when I heard it start another cycle.

It wasn’t the most fun ride I had on the trip, but I’m glad I did it anyway.

After that we wandered a bit through the zoo. It seems that Indiana Fun Spot specializes in rescuing big cats that were purchased when they were young and cute and didn’t poop so much. I wasn’t aware you could privately own lions, leopards, and such, but you learn something new every day. There was also a little family of deer. Two young ones who would scamper about, and mama sunned herself casually.

After the zoo we took in a few more rides. I was still feeling a bit unsettled, so I abstained from most of them, but did take a spin on the Scrambler. Melissa and Baha were up for another go, but I decided against it and instead took a mildly arty picture of them. Too bad Baha was in a shadow; oh well.

Posted in: photo 3 Comments »

A Tale of Two Coasters, Day One

July 25, 2007

The first day of our journey saw us heading out to Buffalo NY to spend the evening with Jen, Phin, and Ethan. Baha had never seen Niagara Falls, so up we went across the border. I had just visited in May, so not much was different except my overwhelming feeling that there is nothing I could do photographically that hasn’t been done before. Above is Melissa and Baha taking their traditional self portrait. The falls are, of course, on the left.

I did manage to get a lovely picture of a tree, though. This one looks much better as a print.

After a pleasant dinner at Pearl Street Grill in downtown Buffalo, we met up with the Cox family and settled in for an evening of chat. Wish we had a bit more time there, but alas that is the nature of road trips.

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Road Trip!

July 24, 2007

You’ll have to wait for all the pictures and gory details, though I did get to the above shot of some bridge on I-90 and the one below of “Baha In Front Of Coaster”. We drove about 15 hours yesterday, which did not leave me much time to start reworking all the images from the trip. I was tired to the point of mildly delirious when I stumbled into my place.

So, the short version:

- Phin is huge! Ethan and Jen are well, it was a nice visit but too brief.

- There are Certain Truths as one gets older, and two of mine are: spinning things and upside down roller coasters are definitely off the list.

- Regardless, it was fun to see “The Loop Coaster” in action again and I’m glad I rode it. Even if I did feel like barfing afterwards. No video. Sorry.

- The Beast, on the other hand, is a roller coaster that I could ride all day long. I squeezed in three trips on it, and Baha and I would have done another if the park wasn’t closing.

- Driving from Cincinnati to Boston partially in the rain isn’t the best idea. It’s a long drive. I was feeling demented towards the end. But we all handled it particularly well, all are safe and sound back at home, and I’m already scheming to get back out to ride The Beast again…

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A Tale of Two Coasters

July 19, 2007

It won’t be long before Melissa, Baha, and I head out west in search of roller coaster thrills and chills.

The basic plan is to drive out to Buffalo to visit Phin, Jen, and Ethan for an evening and then depart Saturday morning for Indiana. The weather predictions call for high 70s and sunny, so I think we’re good to go!

Indiana Fun Spot and Zoo looks pretty small, so I think an afternoon there will suffice. Once I ride the Afterburner - their vintage Arrow Dynamics launched loop coaster - to my satisfaction and we have taken in all that this park has to offer, we’re heading south to Cincinnati. It’s only about four hours away, so we plan to also do that leg on Saturday to give us a full day at King’s Island on Sunday.

Besides the nostalgia-driven goal of riding Afterburner, I am dying to climb aboard The Beast at King’s Island. I have been fascinated by it since seeing a roller coaster tape that my cousin Jim and his partner Glenn had. They would frequently watch it and reminisce about the Steel Phantom out at Kennywood Park which we had just visited. I, however, grew more attached to the footage of The Beast. Clocking in at 4 minutes, with a 140 foot drop and a top speed of 65mph, The Beast sounded like my kind of coaster (which hadn’t - and still hasn’t - really been defined, but it’s a start).

Funny, I’m not much of a coaster aficionado and am typically a bit timid about them. On the Kennywood I never did ride the Steel Phantom, but I was more than happy to hang around while Jim and Glenn stood in line, as there was a great bench pretty close to the track after the first Phantom hill. The train would come barrel-assing through and make the most pleasing deep, rumbly whiiiirrrrrrr sound as it flew past my head.

I did eagerly climb aboard Kennywood’s wooden coasters, though, and enjoyed every single one of them. They have some classic coasters out there, and they were a lot of fun. There are a number of other coasters at King’s Island, and I anticipate trying out as many as we have time for. If nothing else, I want to squeeze every dime out of the park ticket price that I can!

Beyond that, we have Monday to get back and haven’t planned that one bit. We have a lot of miles between Cincinnati and Boston, and the bulk of it will have to be driving, but I’m sure we can find a few other ways to get up to no good.

Stay tuned for pictures, video, anecdotes, and lord knows what all when we return!

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Two More

July 11, 2007

Noting that as a photographer’s blog “Inflight Shutdown” was running low on photographs lately, I dug up a couple more items from Buffalo. The top one is from back in February, the bottom from May. Nothing special I guess, but I’m trying to resolve my thoughts on color saturation, and having these up and out there for a while helps me visualize how all of this is going to go.

So where are all the photographs lately? Well, it goes like this: for a while it was easy to get images when I was walking between jobs. The bulk of the images you’ll dig up on this blog are from in between MIT and Chain Camera Store (yes, as someone asked, I deliberately don’t mention the store name because yes, the managers get grumpy about it). I have worn out this “location” (such as it is), and there are no more images to be had.

As I insist on working two jobs, not a lot of time left to go on photo missions.

Never fear, though, I’m hoping to get some great stuff from the Coaster Pilgrimage. Stay tuned.

Posted in: photo 3 Comments »

Search-O-Matic

July 9, 2007

Rachel got me thinking about search terms, so I recently installed SiteMeter to track all my visitor info.

It seems that at the moment the heaviest traffic is people looking for:

1) Early eighties stuff
2) Mt Tom (and its variants)
3) Riverside Park

Seems fair. Fascinatingly, someone did find me by searching for “web wank” (I don’t want to know) due to an old post about putting up my photo archives, and “sony laserdisc repair” came up as well.

Hmm.

Maybe I should put some filthy phrases in here to try to up my traffic.

No, no… that just wouldn’t be right at all.

But if some showed up in my comments it wouldn’t really be my fault, now would it?

Posted in: bloggy business, filler 2 Comments »

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