2004-08-25
we put amusement in amusement park
Everybody wang chung tonight! Six Flags rocked the ultimate and now I will regale you with stories of my untimely bravery and bargain hunting abilities. Sit back and grab a friend next to you.
Six Flags was of course, the first stop on our little daytrip. Gurnee is so close to us, that it only took Jake about two hours to get there. Which means that he went an average of eighty miles an hour downtown Milwaukee's highway-arching-supersystem-whatnot. Jake is Sambo's brother. We'll call him Mang because that is his all time favorite word. Besides barmitzvah. Don't ask.
We arrived as the gates were officially opening which is ten o'clock. Since Sambo and I had won our tickets out of a moment of sheer luck o' the Irish[finally it comes around]we had to wait for Mang to buy his before we could head off. Now, I don't need to tell you that we are not children anymore so the little rides and games were out of the question. Rollercoasters were our biggest concern and the new Superman ride was the first contender.
The park was pretty dead because it was a Tuesday and supposed to rain in the forecast. Which it did, but not to the extent many people must have thought it would. Otherwise what else besides a death in the family, or a sudden plague of locusts would keep you from Six Flags? So lines which would have ordinarily been an hour, were only fifteen minutes. Superman usually is backed up but we got to the front of the line quickly.
Superman is the ride where you ride the rollercoaster on your stomach. It gives the impression that the person riding the coaster is flying much like Superman would to protect the world. There are enough harnesses however, to make this impression die fast. The first drop is pretty fast, and there is an inverted loop or two that brings you lying straight backwards and looking up at your feet. Pretty nifty. The ride itself is about two minutes however and not worth all the hype the hypemachine has produced on it.
Next was Batman. I guess we thought we would tackle all the superhero genered rides first. Mang told us that when he was there in July, Batman was the suck, but we talked him in to going on it and we are persuasive bitches, amen. So Of course we sit on the end. Since the cars are only two-by-two, Mang ended up sitting alone. Batman took off! Not such a sissy ride anymore. They must have boosted it up since July, if that is possible. Batman is when your feet hang down. It was nice to see your feet swinging around in front of you. Do Batman's feet do that? I can't remember Michael Keaton doing that in the movie. Oh well. More hype I suppose.
Then, was Vertical Velocity. OK. First it was bathrooms because the combination of bars and harnesses resting acrost our bladders made us have to take a mighty relief. Next, we made it to Vertical Velocity. The rollercoaster that goes straight up and down. On one side, we have a slight twist and on the other we have a straight incline of god, buddha, jehovah, allah, aliens, whatever-only- knows. Sambo warned me that thing took off. Since I had never been on it, I just had to believe her. Yes children to answer your question, it did take off. Sixty-five miles an hour to be exact. I had to shut my eyes. You might think this makes me a sissy, but in truth all rollercoasters are better with your eyes closed. Try it and then find out who the sissy is. All in all, my favourite of the park.
Raging Bull was awesome, being the second time only that I had been on that ride. Mang had never been on it. Something about the way Mang's eyes lit up was well worth going on it again. Plus, there was a little Hispanic kid who budged just to get to sit with us cool kids. The whole time he clapped his hands and said "yeah" like he was Little John, the rapper. We were laughing too hard at the kid to really remember the ride.
We went on the American Eagle for Mang because it is the oldest rollercoaster at the park and has stood the test of time. Something about the American Eagle makes me nervous. The thing creaks like a mother for one thing. And for another, everytime I visit the park, there is always some kind of malfunction. But the ride was awesome. I forgot how jerky and long it was. By the end, my dizziness had kicked in and we all needed water.
Finishing with a mighty finish, we went on the big carousel. Taking the top tier because the bottom is for babies, we watched the entrance to the park. Porky Pig, Pepe LePeu, and Bugs Bunny were all doing dance routines to some sappy arsed music. Sambo said the music made her sick. Not in the way that she had been on too many rollercoasters, but in the way that the sappiness of the park finally hit her and she had to leave. Which we did. To go shopping.
Gurnee Mills has a mall full of outlet stores. The first stop on the list was Hollister, where I purchased two shirts. One was maroon[to which Sambo said "of course, maroon"] and another was a blue t-shirt that says "I lost my marbles" and has the name of some made up marble tournament on it. My greatest purchase was a dress at Windsor. Originally, it was $146.50 but I purchased it on sale for only $10. Don't tell me that ain't a bargain? It is a light pastel green and ivory. Reminds me of some kind of slip-dress but it is beautiful. And washable. From the store Forever 21, I purchased a sweet teal button down. Finally, hitting up the music store, I purchased the 13 Going on 30 Soundtrack. Which I have been listening to religiously.
In other news:I have huge cramps. And I have no idea how to wang chung.
This has been your rollercoaster braving, bargain snatching diarist. Me grabbing that dress out of your hands will give you whiplash worse than the Demon.
PS:Does anyone know how to wang chung?
Quote of the day:"Yeah *clap clap* yeah *clap clap* YEEAH!"-[Raging Bull boy]