Between work events and personal life, I've spent more time in theme parks this spring than I have in the past decade. Today I took the afternoon off, because a cousin I hadn't seen in 16 years was in town (son of the cousin who lives in Palm Coast) and we went here, because Girlchild works for The Parks That Have No Whales or Famous Mice, and could get us all in for free.
Boy couldn't spare an entire afternoon for coaster riding, he had Things to Do (and he's smart enough not to want to walk around a theme park in 90+ degree heat if he can beg off gracefully) but he met us for lunch at Margaritaville at CityWalk, and the food was actually very good. The margaritas are of course VERY good, they'd have to be. We had a few at the outdoor bar while waiting for Boy to join us. I watched the bartender squirt perfectly mixed margaritas out of a tap and wondered what it would take to install one of those babies in my house. Surprisingly, the food was good and the prices weren't as theme park obscene as I'd feared. I've been to the Rainforest Cafe at Disney. I know fear.
Oh yeah, we all rode The Hulk and loved it. My 63 year old cousin is my idol and what I want to be at 63 - cute and energetic and riding roller coasters with multiple upside-down loops. She rocks. Once again, she walked faster than everybody, was up for every ride, and was still going strong when we closed the place at 7 (it closes early in May). We hopped to the Other Park late in the day and did the Jaws ride (new and refurbished, but kinda "eh" still), blew off Men in Black because the wait was too long, but The Mummy had only a 15 minute wait at the very end of the day. The Mummy is awesome. I'm too tired to add even one more damn link, but if you're in a tourism mode you can find it via the links above.
My feet hurt, I'm exhausted and dehydrated. It was hotter than hell and a deodorant proving ground - mine barely passed.
I really hate to think that tomorrow is Thursday and all the same work shit I hate will be waiting for me. This was like being on vacation and would have been a great kickoff to the weekend. This should have been Friday, but Cousin M has to schlep back to MD on Saturday, driving, with his two large dogs on board. He needed a midweek theme park date so he can chill in the pool with a beer tomorrow and Friday, before making the schlep up I-95 again, and I'll just have to suck it up and go to the office tomorrow. I am tired now, but mentally I feel energized and refreshed. A long afternoon of margaritas and extremely cool roller coasters will do that.
roller coasters and elegant Margaritas...Now that is a good family/cousin outing to have rather then a feed around the picnic tables... I enjoy dropping by to see what's up with you. Recently, I heard the phrase, "Come to Jesus" meeting and finally, know what it means. Belated thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteA friend and I took a girls weekend/road trip to the same park. We had such a blast on the RipSaw falls ride I almost hyperventilated. Here's a tip if the skinny girls in the back of the log get out, the big girls should move to the middle lest they plow their way through the rides. When I move to St. Louis I plan on a lot more amusement park visiting.
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ReplyDeleteThe margarita tap was like a religious experience - I had no idea that the technology existed to produce a really damn good margarita from a hose. I want.
It was one of those times that I'm glad to live where I do, and glad Girl has an "in" - damn, those tickets are seventy bucks apiece now! I am not a big fan of Orlanduh (low wages, not low cost of living) but on those occasions that I am "connected" I do appreciate the perks. And we had a fabulous, delightful, amazingly fun time. My cousin M was such a joy, he is a 35 year old man very much in touch with his inner child in a good way, and his enthusiasm made the entire afternoon for me. Everything was Awesome! Wow, look at that! When you live here you get jaded. He yanked me out of my jadedness for an afternoon.
Oh, Girl blew the margaritas on tap fantasy, it's just the mixer on tap. This did not dissuade me - pour a shot of tequila and squirt flawlessly mixed margarita fixings to blend it? I'm still on board for that baby.
ReplyDeleteGirlchld steered us from Ripsaw Falls, she wasn't in the mood to get that wet and figured Cousin C wouldn't appreciate driving home 2 hours home, sticking to her car seat in wet shorts. But I've done similar rides and love them! Did you do the Hulk and Spiderman? I loved Spiderman - though the techie in me kept wondering how they did it.
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