"I looked up at the sky & saw the sun, and the way that gravity pulls on everyone"
Part 6: The ups & downs
Luckily enough, it was around 9pm on a Saturday night & there wasn't much traffic. Even more fortunate was the fact that I was driving the wrong way on a stretch of dual carriageway that was only about 100 yards long. Before you could say "God damn, stupid Australians driving on the wrong side of the freaking road" we were back to normal. We were both exhausted but we had to get at least back to Ohio to make the next day viable. So on I drove, through New York state, through a little bit of Pennsylvania (Where we had to get out of the van just so we could say we'd set foot in that particular state) & into Ohio. We then found a motel & crashed for the night.
Sunday morning came soon enough & before long I was back behind the wheel of my trusty van. Our destination: Cedar point; a theme park that, at the time, boasted the biggest roller coaster in the world. (I believe it may well be true again, after building an even bigger one!).
Upon arrival I was most shocked to hear Mr.Dull say "You're not getting me on that!" about pretty much every ride in the bloody place. Looking back, I think going to Cedar point may have been an act of sacrifice on his part. Knowing I would get a lot out of it even if he didn't. While this was undoubtedly a very kind gesture from him, I didn't feel too gracious as I had driven him everywhere for a week.
Before any rides were ridden, I fell foul to having to change my top again. This time my assailant was a great big chuffing bird, who obviously hadn't had a crap in days. It quite literally divebombed me! My shirt was covered, Mr.Dull was still chuckling to himself on the bloody plane home.
After cleaning up, it was time for some action! While my unexciting companion mooched around doing nothing in particular, I went on a series of fantastic rides. I was totally exhilarated & I hadn't even done the main attraction yet. I joined the queue for the Millenium Force, it took about an hour. An hour of getting marginally closer, of thinking "Fuck me, that is really bloody tall". I felt a little bit of a pleb as I got on alone & with no one sitting next to me. Then I felt some trepidation as I neared to top of this colossal peak, high over lake Erie. Then I felt a mixture of adrenalin & extreme fear as the damn thing hurtled back towards the ground at an angle of about 80 degrees, hitting 85 miles an hour. I think the term I used at the time was something like...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OOOOHMYFUCKINGGODI'MGONNADIEAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH"
This was followed by a far more relaxed "WHOOOO HOOO".
It really was an awesome ride.
After that nothing else warranted my attention, so I'm glad I had enough wisdom to take the "lesser" rides first.
All that remained now was to drive back to Lima. This took about 3 hours because I was foolish enough to trust Mr.Dull with the map. I don't know why. I'd already successfully navigated all our journeys so far without any help.
Oh look, it's Toledo again, grrr.
Back at the hotel we had a few drinks, then packed and got some kip in preparation for the long trip back to Blighty.
To be concluded...
Luckily enough, it was around 9pm on a Saturday night & there wasn't much traffic. Even more fortunate was the fact that I was driving the wrong way on a stretch of dual carriageway that was only about 100 yards long. Before you could say "God damn, stupid Australians driving on the wrong side of the freaking road" we were back to normal. We were both exhausted but we had to get at least back to Ohio to make the next day viable. So on I drove, through New York state, through a little bit of Pennsylvania (Where we had to get out of the van just so we could say we'd set foot in that particular state) & into Ohio. We then found a motel & crashed for the night.
Sunday morning came soon enough & before long I was back behind the wheel of my trusty van. Our destination: Cedar point; a theme park that, at the time, boasted the biggest roller coaster in the world. (I believe it may well be true again, after building an even bigger one!).
Upon arrival I was most shocked to hear Mr.Dull say "You're not getting me on that!" about pretty much every ride in the bloody place. Looking back, I think going to Cedar point may have been an act of sacrifice on his part. Knowing I would get a lot out of it even if he didn't. While this was undoubtedly a very kind gesture from him, I didn't feel too gracious as I had driven him everywhere for a week.
Before any rides were ridden, I fell foul to having to change my top again. This time my assailant was a great big chuffing bird, who obviously hadn't had a crap in days. It quite literally divebombed me! My shirt was covered, Mr.Dull was still chuckling to himself on the bloody plane home.
After cleaning up, it was time for some action! While my unexciting companion mooched around doing nothing in particular, I went on a series of fantastic rides. I was totally exhilarated & I hadn't even done the main attraction yet. I joined the queue for the Millenium Force, it took about an hour. An hour of getting marginally closer, of thinking "Fuck me, that is really bloody tall". I felt a little bit of a pleb as I got on alone & with no one sitting next to me. Then I felt some trepidation as I neared to top of this colossal peak, high over lake Erie. Then I felt a mixture of adrenalin & extreme fear as the damn thing hurtled back towards the ground at an angle of about 80 degrees, hitting 85 miles an hour. I think the term I used at the time was something like...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OOOOHMYFUCKINGGODI'MGONNADIEAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH"
This was followed by a far more relaxed "WHOOOO HOOO".
It really was an awesome ride.
After that nothing else warranted my attention, so I'm glad I had enough wisdom to take the "lesser" rides first.
All that remained now was to drive back to Lima. This took about 3 hours because I was foolish enough to trust Mr.Dull with the map. I don't know why. I'd already successfully navigated all our journeys so far without any help.
Oh look, it's Toledo again, grrr.
Back at the hotel we had a few drinks, then packed and got some kip in preparation for the long trip back to Blighty.
To be concluded...
And that's what Flash thinks today @ 22:45
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