the orkin man

my family is visiting this weekend.

we went to cedar point yesterday. my mom, sister & aunt had never been before (dad and bro-in-law had).

best. roller-coasters. ever.

we rode millennium force first. nice little 80 degree drop. two-and-a-half minutes of pure speed. and all you have holding you down is a lap bar.

next we rode the maverick. as david (bro-in-law) and i were preparing for our front-row ride, we marveled at the description of the first drop: "steeper than straight down." that's right, 95 degrees. great ride.

then came the granddaddy of 'em all: top thrill dragster. david and i waited an extra 15-20 minutes for the front row. 0 to 120 mph in less than 4 seconds. straight up. straight down. no more than 20 seconds in all.

have you ever stuck your face under one of those heavy-duty air dryers in restrooms? the x-celerator? top thrill dragster puts you in the same ballpark.

by the end of the ride, i noticed that a swarm of gnats had (unfortunately) gotten in my way. my thrill became their kill (pictures to come at a later date). i paper-toweled them away and moved on my way to other rides (the raptor, the magnum).

but after those three rides, everything else pales in comparison. we finished the day with one more ride on the top thrill dragster (no bugs this time).

figured we'd save the best (again) for last.