Today was a looong day. We left Palm Harbor and drove up 75N, through Georgia all the way to Chattanooga. We arrived eleven hours after leaving, totally exhausted.
We stayed in King's Lodge but to be honest it was more like Jester's Lodge. Only fit for a couple of fools. But when the room only costs 35 dollars, you really can't complain. Can you?
We watched the Yankees beat the Twins and Roger Clemens win his 350th game.
Showing posts with label Palm Harbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palm Harbor. Show all posts
Monday, July 2, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Day 33
Another hot, humid day and another difficult run. This one was also 40 something minutes and I didn't feel a whole lot better.
Since both Paulo and I got a bit sunburned from yesterday, we decided to go to Panera for a bit of wifi time. Except that the signal was too weak for me to actually get anything done. Feeling frustrated, we went back to my parents and hung out.
My mum cooked up another feast - this time baked ham, potatoes and green beans. Nothing beats a bit of home cooking, I tell you.
Paulo and I went back to Howard Beach after dinner where I took a commanding lead in the wiffle ball series. I'm now three up in the series after a 9-1 victory. Like Paulo's game, the sky was quite overcast and the sunset wasn't the Mae West.
We decided to stop in Peggy O'Neills for a drink on the way home. There weren't many people there but the ones who were were rowdy as hell. We had a couple of beers and then went back to my parents to get stuck into the Yuengling that I had bought last night. We just chilled and had the chatsies for a couple of hours. And the Yuengling went down a dream.
Since both Paulo and I got a bit sunburned from yesterday, we decided to go to Panera for a bit of wifi time. Except that the signal was too weak for me to actually get anything done. Feeling frustrated, we went back to my parents and hung out.
My mum cooked up another feast - this time baked ham, potatoes and green beans. Nothing beats a bit of home cooking, I tell you.
Paulo and I went back to Howard Beach after dinner where I took a commanding lead in the wiffle ball series. I'm now three up in the series after a 9-1 victory. Like Paulo's game, the sky was quite overcast and the sunset wasn't the Mae West.
We decided to stop in Peggy O'Neills for a drink on the way home. There weren't many people there but the ones who were were rowdy as hell. We had a couple of beers and then went back to my parents to get stuck into the Yuengling that I had bought last night. We just chilled and had the chatsies for a couple of hours. And the Yuengling went down a dream.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Day 32
I woke up this morning feeling a bit hung over from the rush of yesterday. I struggled through a 40 something minute run though. My legs are good now but I am finding it hard to breathe with the heat and humidity.
I got back to my parents gaff, had a quick swim and a bite to eat and then went to the beach for a while. I drove to Honeymoon Island and stayed for about two hours. Except that two hours in the sun in Florida is like about twenty hours in the sun in Dublin. So, I got burnt, even though I was wearing sunscreen.
There was more chilling and relaxing by the poolside before a fabulous dins cooked up by me mum. She made spagh bol and it was qualiteee.
Paulo was looking to relax some more, so I drove to Howard Beach on my own to watch the sunset.
It was a quiet night, watching baseball and having the chatsies with my parents.
I got back to my parents gaff, had a quick swim and a bite to eat and then went to the beach for a while. I drove to Honeymoon Island and stayed for about two hours. Except that two hours in the sun in Florida is like about twenty hours in the sun in Dublin. So, I got burnt, even though I was wearing sunscreen.
There was more chilling and relaxing by the poolside before a fabulous dins cooked up by me mum. She made spagh bol and it was qualiteee.
Paulo was looking to relax some more, so I drove to Howard Beach on my own to watch the sunset.
It was a quiet night, watching baseball and having the chatsies with my parents.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Day 31
The Story Of A Junkie
Hi. My name is Dave. And I have a problem. I'm a junkie. A coaster junkie. I just can't get enough. Ever...
The Top Four Things That Might Mean You Have A Coaster Problem
1. You stay in the park so long and you spend so much time at one ride that you meet all the staff that work the ride. Both shifts.
2. You are walking around the park and see a woman, on break, on the other side, miles away from the ride and say, "hey look it's your one from that ride."
3. You queue for the front cart for about 45 minutes, even though you could just walk on to any of the other carts.
4. You skip a meal because you want to do that ride just one more time.
We went to Busch Gardens today and I realised that I am in fact a coaster junkie. After getting a taste on Tuesday, I was ready to jump head first into things.
I bought the tickets and upgraded to a fun pass - good for the rest of the year. Oh yeah, I'll be going back again.
On Paulo's advice we went into the park and right to ShieKra. Partly to attempt to avoid the long queues but mostly to get it over with. He had ridden it before and didn't want to be thinking about it all day. While we were queueing, I convinced him to sit in the front row. As we got closer, he seemed a bit edgy and stopped talking. I just shuffled along, oblivious to what we were about to encounter.
It's a 200 foot ascent up the ramp, then a short little u-shaped turn around. Then the ride stops. It stops after they just tip you over the edge. For about five seconds that feels like a year. And in the front row you are looking straight down at the drop and 90 degree bend which leads to the first loop, which leads to the first twist, etc.
After you have had enough time to question why you chose the front row, why you even got on the ride and why you are sitting on a contraption that is about to drop you and let you free fall 200 feet, they drop you. And it scared the bejaysus out of me. I screamed, not because you are meant to but because I was fucking terrified! But what a rush! As I said before, once you go front row you can never go back. Ever. The rest of the ride wasn't all that great (see - told you I have a problem) but we got off feelin' all out of sorts anyway. We checked our gobs on the screen as you leave because of course they take a picture of you when you totally horrified and laughed at our expressions.
We decided to cool off for a bit on the water rides. So we rode Stanley Falls Flume, Tidal Wave and Congo River Rapids where we got wet, wetter and absolutely soaked.
Then it was time for our second fix - Kumba. While it doesn't offer a terrifying drop, it does offer a couple of loops and non-stop twists and turns. Since it is a bit older, it does have a floor but it was still a total rush. We were soaked to the bone and still reeling from SheiKra but we loved every second of it. Afterwards we decided that Kumba gets the nod over SheiKra.
All of the 'rush' of the first couple of hours was making Paulo pecky so we stopped for a bit to regroup and eat.
Since it is not wise to eat and then get high, we decided to chill on the train ride around the Serengeti Plain. It was relaxing but the amount of animals were a bit underwhelming to say the least. As we pulling back into Nairobi station a thunderstorm rolled in. We took cover in the snake house.
After waiting out the storm for about half an hour we reemerged and ran into this fella.
We made our way over to the next coaster on our list - the almighty Montu. Now this ride is the real deal. Floorless, more loops than a nut house and never ending twists and turns. In typical fashion, we queued for the first cart and were blown away. This was the best coaster I have ever been on. Full stop. Man, the kick, the rush, the euphoria. It was great but we wanted more.
We took another breather and then decided to go with a little curve ball - Cheetah Chase. The queues were long, so we had to break out our 'free passes' that we received due to a bit of hassle while trying to purchase tickets. They basically let you cut the queue, since you go into the ride from the exit. I kept saying to Paulo that it was only a kid's ride but was I wrong! The fecking thing drives you along in a little cart that gives you the sensation you are going to go off the edge of the track as you go through each of the 180 degree turns. And there are a lot of them. There's even a bit off a drop thrown in as well. It was a brilliant little ride!
Since Cheetah Chase is so close to Montu, we decided it would be rude to not have another go. Again - queue, front row, unbelievable rush and another hit.
By now, time was getting on but he convinced me to have one more go on Kumba. We got the Skyride across the park to Kumba. When we arrived, there was no queue. Happy days! One more front ride to finish the day and had home feeling good.
Except when we got off Kumba we looked at each other and decided that we had to finish the day off on Montu. Back on the Skyride across the park and into the queue. We had to wait a while and I was starting to fade but once we got on it was worth every second of the wait.
So for those of you counting, it was one SheiKra, two Kumbas and three Montus. Sweet mercy.
On the way back to the car, I had a go at one of the carnie games and scored an 87 with the hammer to win a small Batman doll. He now hangs happily in the back of our Dodgy Dodge along with the Mario that Paulo won in the wiffle ball toss.
We drove home wrecked, stopped for a take-out and went back to my parents house waiting for the hang over to kick in.
Hi. My name is Dave. And I have a problem. I'm a junkie. A coaster junkie. I just can't get enough. Ever...
The Top Four Things That Might Mean You Have A Coaster Problem
1. You stay in the park so long and you spend so much time at one ride that you meet all the staff that work the ride. Both shifts.
2. You are walking around the park and see a woman, on break, on the other side, miles away from the ride and say, "hey look it's your one from that ride."
3. You queue for the front cart for about 45 minutes, even though you could just walk on to any of the other carts.
4. You skip a meal because you want to do that ride just one more time.
We went to Busch Gardens today and I realised that I am in fact a coaster junkie. After getting a taste on Tuesday, I was ready to jump head first into things.
I bought the tickets and upgraded to a fun pass - good for the rest of the year. Oh yeah, I'll be going back again.
On Paulo's advice we went into the park and right to ShieKra. Partly to attempt to avoid the long queues but mostly to get it over with. He had ridden it before and didn't want to be thinking about it all day. While we were queueing, I convinced him to sit in the front row. As we got closer, he seemed a bit edgy and stopped talking. I just shuffled along, oblivious to what we were about to encounter.
It's a 200 foot ascent up the ramp, then a short little u-shaped turn around. Then the ride stops. It stops after they just tip you over the edge. For about five seconds that feels like a year. And in the front row you are looking straight down at the drop and 90 degree bend which leads to the first loop, which leads to the first twist, etc.
After you have had enough time to question why you chose the front row, why you even got on the ride and why you are sitting on a contraption that is about to drop you and let you free fall 200 feet, they drop you. And it scared the bejaysus out of me. I screamed, not because you are meant to but because I was fucking terrified! But what a rush! As I said before, once you go front row you can never go back. Ever. The rest of the ride wasn't all that great (see - told you I have a problem) but we got off feelin' all out of sorts anyway. We checked our gobs on the screen as you leave because of course they take a picture of you when you totally horrified and laughed at our expressions.
We decided to cool off for a bit on the water rides. So we rode Stanley Falls Flume, Tidal Wave and Congo River Rapids where we got wet, wetter and absolutely soaked.
Then it was time for our second fix - Kumba. While it doesn't offer a terrifying drop, it does offer a couple of loops and non-stop twists and turns. Since it is a bit older, it does have a floor but it was still a total rush. We were soaked to the bone and still reeling from SheiKra but we loved every second of it. Afterwards we decided that Kumba gets the nod over SheiKra.
All of the 'rush' of the first couple of hours was making Paulo pecky so we stopped for a bit to regroup and eat.
Since it is not wise to eat and then get high, we decided to chill on the train ride around the Serengeti Plain. It was relaxing but the amount of animals were a bit underwhelming to say the least. As we pulling back into Nairobi station a thunderstorm rolled in. We took cover in the snake house.
After waiting out the storm for about half an hour we reemerged and ran into this fella.
We made our way over to the next coaster on our list - the almighty Montu. Now this ride is the real deal. Floorless, more loops than a nut house and never ending twists and turns. In typical fashion, we queued for the first cart and were blown away. This was the best coaster I have ever been on. Full stop. Man, the kick, the rush, the euphoria. It was great but we wanted more.
We took another breather and then decided to go with a little curve ball - Cheetah Chase. The queues were long, so we had to break out our 'free passes' that we received due to a bit of hassle while trying to purchase tickets. They basically let you cut the queue, since you go into the ride from the exit. I kept saying to Paulo that it was only a kid's ride but was I wrong! The fecking thing drives you along in a little cart that gives you the sensation you are going to go off the edge of the track as you go through each of the 180 degree turns. And there are a lot of them. There's even a bit off a drop thrown in as well. It was a brilliant little ride!
Since Cheetah Chase is so close to Montu, we decided it would be rude to not have another go. Again - queue, front row, unbelievable rush and another hit.
By now, time was getting on but he convinced me to have one more go on Kumba. We got the Skyride across the park to Kumba. When we arrived, there was no queue. Happy days! One more front ride to finish the day and had home feeling good.
Except when we got off Kumba we looked at each other and decided that we had to finish the day off on Montu. Back on the Skyride across the park and into the queue. We had to wait a while and I was starting to fade but once we got on it was worth every second of the wait.
So for those of you counting, it was one SheiKra, two Kumbas and three Montus. Sweet mercy.
On the way back to the car, I had a go at one of the carnie games and scored an 87 with the hammer to win a small Batman doll. He now hangs happily in the back of our Dodgy Dodge along with the Mario that Paulo won in the wiffle ball toss.
We drove home wrecked, stopped for a take-out and went back to my parents house waiting for the hang over to kick in.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Day 30
The Bitterness Of The Parrot Lady
I woke up this morning very early. Ridiculously early. Before the sun came up early. Why? I wanted to watch the sunrise from the beach next to Aglin Pier. I had seen that the 70 something year old pier provided excellent views to the east and the sunrises were magnificent. Well, except for this day. I woke up to rain and overcast skies. Still, I drove to the pier hoping for the best. But it wasn't to be. The sun never came out and there was still a charge to go out on the pier, even at this hour. I sat on a bench and watched as the sky grew a bit brighter. Then I went back to the hotel for a bit of wifi.
Paulo woke up, we packed up and set off on our way. Back to Orlando. We had a date with Dollar to return the Dodgy Dodge and after the series of phone calls on Monday we thought that things had been sorted. Paulo's connections in the US and UK had managed to speed the process up for us and had mailed him a voucher for the next month's rental. Happy days, or so we thought...
The drive back up was pretty uneventful. A bit boring even. We had seen all the roads before. But we arrived at Orlando Airport at about 2:30. Things went a bit pear shaped right from the start. We tried to explain to an attendant in the carpark that we wanted to leave our things in the car, while we tried to rent it again. He thought we were crazy. He didn't know what the hell we were on about. But he let us go. Into the arrivals departure and into the queue.
Fortunately, we were waited on by a nice girl called Iris. She was empathetic to our situation but when Paulo produced the voucher, she started having doubts about our rental agreement. When the corporate account that we had paid into and were trying to use to pay Dollar for the car had been closed, we knew we were in a spot of bother.
Unfortunately, Iris's boss Becky was having none of it. Not a sizzling. She sounded like a broken record because her response to everything we said was "I need a voucher." We tried to point out that we had a voucher, that it had worked last time, that we had talked to so & so in the US and so & so in the UK. Every time she replied, "I need a voucher."
After a while, I got so annoyed I had to walk away for a few minutes. Paulo was suffering from severe hunger but he hung in there and remained diplomatic. Iris was great. She chatted with us, made jokes and even gave Paulo a banana. In the end after several phone calls, Becky returned. This time she said, "In 17 years, I have never seen this situation before. I need a voucher..."
We got another Dodgy Dodge but took the car after paying the full rate because Dollar wouldn't give us the internet rate until they received a fucking voucher. But we were able to leave it between Sky Cars and Dollar to sort out.
We headed back to International Drive and stumbled into Bennigan's barely able to walk from the weakness of hunger pangs. We were greeted by Lisa, who was our server and talked at about a volume of 11 on dial up to 10. She asked if we would like a drink, as it was happy hour. I replied by asking for a pint. Her response was to ask me for ID. The usual...
During the meal I phoned my mother and sorted our digs out for the night. We drove east to Palm Harbor, passing Tampa along the way. The city looked great in the soft light of the sunset.
We pulled in to a U Save for some Coronas and then made our way to my parents gaff. We relaxed for a few hours with them, chatting and drinking a few beers. When 11:30 rolled around, we were ready to hit the scratcher.
I woke up this morning very early. Ridiculously early. Before the sun came up early. Why? I wanted to watch the sunrise from the beach next to Aglin Pier. I had seen that the 70 something year old pier provided excellent views to the east and the sunrises were magnificent. Well, except for this day. I woke up to rain and overcast skies. Still, I drove to the pier hoping for the best. But it wasn't to be. The sun never came out and there was still a charge to go out on the pier, even at this hour. I sat on a bench and watched as the sky grew a bit brighter. Then I went back to the hotel for a bit of wifi.
Paulo woke up, we packed up and set off on our way. Back to Orlando. We had a date with Dollar to return the Dodgy Dodge and after the series of phone calls on Monday we thought that things had been sorted. Paulo's connections in the US and UK had managed to speed the process up for us and had mailed him a voucher for the next month's rental. Happy days, or so we thought...
The drive back up was pretty uneventful. A bit boring even. We had seen all the roads before. But we arrived at Orlando Airport at about 2:30. Things went a bit pear shaped right from the start. We tried to explain to an attendant in the carpark that we wanted to leave our things in the car, while we tried to rent it again. He thought we were crazy. He didn't know what the hell we were on about. But he let us go. Into the arrivals departure and into the queue.
Fortunately, we were waited on by a nice girl called Iris. She was empathetic to our situation but when Paulo produced the voucher, she started having doubts about our rental agreement. When the corporate account that we had paid into and were trying to use to pay Dollar for the car had been closed, we knew we were in a spot of bother.
Unfortunately, Iris's boss Becky was having none of it. Not a sizzling. She sounded like a broken record because her response to everything we said was "I need a voucher." We tried to point out that we had a voucher, that it had worked last time, that we had talked to so & so in the US and so & so in the UK. Every time she replied, "I need a voucher."
After a while, I got so annoyed I had to walk away for a few minutes. Paulo was suffering from severe hunger but he hung in there and remained diplomatic. Iris was great. She chatted with us, made jokes and even gave Paulo a banana. In the end after several phone calls, Becky returned. This time she said, "In 17 years, I have never seen this situation before. I need a voucher..."
We got another Dodgy Dodge but took the car after paying the full rate because Dollar wouldn't give us the internet rate until they received a fucking voucher. But we were able to leave it between Sky Cars and Dollar to sort out.
We headed back to International Drive and stumbled into Bennigan's barely able to walk from the weakness of hunger pangs. We were greeted by Lisa, who was our server and talked at about a volume of 11 on dial up to 10. She asked if we would like a drink, as it was happy hour. I replied by asking for a pint. Her response was to ask me for ID. The usual...
During the meal I phoned my mother and sorted our digs out for the night. We drove east to Palm Harbor, passing Tampa along the way. The city looked great in the soft light of the sunset.
We pulled in to a U Save for some Coronas and then made our way to my parents gaff. We relaxed for a few hours with them, chatting and drinking a few beers. When 11:30 rolled around, we were ready to hit the scratcher.
