A ride on a roller coaster or six women in a country house for a weekend?
Depends on whom you ask, I think.
Miriam and I, being low on funds, decided to stay close to home at the beginning of July, but we still wanted to get out of the city. The great thing about living in New York is how close so many different options are. You want the ocean? No problem. You want the mountains? No problem. You want the quaint countryside? No problem. You want historical locations? No problem. You want record-breaking roller coasters and the largest drive-thru safari outside Africa? No problem!
SIX FLAGS
Our friends, Chris and Carlos, are avid theme park fans and are also season pass holders to New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure. And they just happened to have two extra passes available for Miriam and me.
Now, I’m extremely afraid of heights, making me a HUGE pansy when it comes to roller coasters, but I’ve wanted to go to Six Flags for years because of their drive-thru safari, and Miriam loves roller coasters but has never had anyone to go with, so we were both very excited about our invite.
It looked like it was going to be a beautiful, hot day, which meant the park had the potential to be packed, so we dragged our butts out of bed at the crack of dawn and caught the Jitney over the bridge to New Jersey where C&C picked us up, and off we went!
We made it to the park before it opened, giving us a great parking spot, and lined up by the gates with our tickets in hand. Once the gates opened we got to spend some time meandering through the shops as we waited for the rides to officially open. When the ropes were dropped, allowing us through to the rides, C&C took us to their favorite coaster, Nitro.
I had warned them ahead of time that I don’t do roller coasters but that I am the GREATEST bag holder there ever was. I reassured Miriam that I was perfectly content sitting on a nearby bench to wait for them. Once she saw me haul out my camera with the big zoom lens she knew I would be okay.
(Those crazy kids on Nitro)
Because it was so early in the day there were absolutely no lines so they were able to get right on the ride. They loved it so much they decided to go around another time, which was great for me because I wasn’t ready with my camera the first go-around, but it wasn’t so great for Miriam…she learned she couldn’t ride a roller coaster back to back without feeling a bit queasy!
Directly across from Nitro was the water ride, Congo Rapids. Now, water rides I can do, and water rides I love, so we shoved our belongings into a locker and headed in. It was already quite hot so a water ride early in the day was a welcomed relief. The Congo Rapids is like a giant bumper raft, slamming you into walls and rapids as you sail down the river, and getting you thoroughly soaked if you are in a prime spot when the water splashes over. We had so much fun we decided to stay on our raft and ride it around four times! Again, the benefit of no lines.
Miriam and I were smart in that we wore our swimsuits under our clothes and wore fast drying shorts and tops, but we weren’t as smart with our footwear. We both wore tennis shoes as we knew we would be doing a lot of walking throughout the day, but tennis shoes are NOT fast drying and, instead, keep your feet fairly soaked until your feet turn into pruned blobs that used to resemble feet. Oh well, you live and you learn.
Somehow, the gang managed to convince me to ride the indoor, pitch-black roller coaster, Skull Mountain. Carlos suggested wearing sunglasses to make it extra dark. Something to hide the ground from me even more? Sure! I screamed like a petrified, little girl the entire ride, much to the amusement of my friends. See: Pansy.
We then headed over to The Golden Kingdom to pick up our tickets for the Wild Safari. We walked through their small in-the-park zoo, Safari Discoveries, and were just in time for the sea lion feeding where they showed us a few tricks. We saw the nursery with bear cubs, walked through the aviary, tried to get the attention of a pot-bellied pig, and I even stopped and tried out my turkey call with the wild turkeys. My father would have been so proud.
(Sea lions showing us their new trick)
C&C then showed us Kingda Ka, the coaster that broke nine records, including tallest coaster in the world and fastest coaster in North America. It basically pulls you back and launches you at a high speed; the whole ride lasts 30 seconds total. If you want to experience it from the front row, click the link above. I had a panic attack just looking at it, and Miriam, upon seeing it, said she did NOT need to ride it. Enough said.
After grabbing a “healthy” bite to eat (and by healthy, I mean greasy park food) we climbed into the van for the Wild Safari. Our park tickets came with admission into the Wild Safari if we wanted to drive through it with our own vehicle, but we opted to upgrade to a guided tour because of the cool extras involved—like getting up close and personal to a tiger and feeding the giraffes!
The Wild Safari is a 350-acre wildlife preserve where most of the animals are allowed to roam free and can come right up to your vehicle, or in some cases, cause traffic jams. The elephants and big cats are penned up (which is sad for the elephants…but understandable for the big cats) in smaller areas separate from the other animals.
(Traffic jam)
The one problem I had with the tour was that our guide didn’t stop the van to let us take pictures unless we asked, and you can only ask so many times before you get tired of it. He just drove and talked, and then enjoyed bragging about the beautiful pictures he was able to take when he’d come out on his own. Seriously, dude?? I’m sitting in your van with a big zoom lens, flitting back and forth to get pictures of the animals on both sides of the van, and you don’t think I want beautiful pictures?! I have a lot of blurry photos but was also able to capture some nice shots. Someday I’ll have to go back and drive myself through so I can stop and get the pictures I want.
But the big bonus on this trip was getting out of the van to feed the giraffes. They were so cute and couldn’t wait to get the sweet potato treats we had to offer. It was such fun! Definitely worth the upgrade to the guided tour.
Before we left the preserve we stopped one more time and went right up to the cage housing the big white tiger. There was just a thin, metal fence between us. It was a hot day so he didn’t want to do more than just lie there and pretend we weren’t there, but that was cool enough for me. I could practically reach out and touch him!
(The tiger rubbing on the fence to get closer to his handler)
After we were dropped back off at the park we quickly found one of our favorite things: the cooling showers. They were spread throughout the park in order to provide a little cool-down on hot days. We had been hitting them up the entire day, and it was necessary after sitting in the warm van. It had the benefit of a water ride without the lines!
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| (The cooling shower!) |
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| (The shirt Miriam got me: Tastes Like Crap!) |
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| (Those fools are in the fifth row) |
Off to Bizarro! They got in line to get on this twisty, turny ride complete with fog and fire, and I scored a lovely bench seat to dry off. I had my camera ready and was able to catch them on the coaster way up above me. When they finished with the ride, I took one look at where I had been sitting and realized no one would be sitting there anytime soon. Whoops! Maybe I shouldn't have sat down until I was a little bit drier...
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| (The bench after I was through with it) |
Then we grabbed a quick bite and headed over to the birds of prey show, where we got up close to some amazing birds, like owls, falcons, and eagles. They were really beautiful, and the host, albeit cheesy, was entertaining and knew his stuff.
I told Miriam she hadn't been on enough rides and the sun was starting to set so we needed to step it up a notch, so off we went to The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight was another pitch-black, indoor roller coaster, but I didn't think my stomach could handle it (apparently, I have a weak stomach AND a fear of heights), so Carlos and Miriam headed in while Chris and I sat and chatted on a bench outside. It was lovely. As soon as they were done there all three got on line at Superman. Miriam was really excited about this one because it gives you the feeling you are really flying, and at one point on the ride all three of them struck the Superman flying pose. Wish I could have seen that!
At this point the park was starting to close down, so we let ourselves have one last treat: funnel cake! Yummy! Then we made our way through the various shops as we meandered to the parking lot. We managed to open and close the park! It was a long, yet very fun and entertaining, day!
(Funnel cake!)
A WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY
The following weekend we headed up to our friend's country home in upstate New York. Six of us gals made the trek for a relaxing weekend in the country, topped off by a concert by the Boston Pops in Tanglewood, MA. The drive up was spectacular as nature took over where the big city left off. What was even more fantastic was the doe and her two babies hanging out in our friend's yard as we pulled up to the house.
Her property was lovely-- there was a small pond filled with frogs and turtles, flowers and trees everywhere, and the clean country air. As we walked over to the pond it looked as though the ground was moving in front us as we stepped. Upon closer inspection we realized there were hundreds of teeny tiny baby frogs everywhere! They were so cute!
(The pond)
(Big frog)
(Teeny tiny frog!)
(Frog and turtle friends)
But what would a weekend with six girls in a country home be without alcohol? We had the mimosas, sangria, wine, and Skinny Girl margaritas flowing! And that also meant spontaneous dancing, fun photo shoots, and amusing Mad Libs. And when I say Mad Libs, I mean Mad Libs, people. The "Six (plural noun) had a/an (adjective) time (verb ending -ing) in the (place)" Mad Libs. We also ate so much amazing food, had fun grilling out, attempted to do yoga (don't do it in the grass in the morning unless you want to get wet), and recited the lines along with Pretty Movie as it played on TV (I think, collectively, we have the whole movie memorized). We even took a field trip to Walmart! (When you don't have a Walmart, it's pretty darn exciting to get to go to one...) Strangely enough, I ran into a former co-worker of mine while perusing the Walmart aisles. He just happens to own a country home in the same area! What a crazy, small world.
(Miriam working the grill)
(Mimosas with fresh berries)
(Beautiful tomato salad)
(Miriam imitating the Mad Libs cover)
All in all it was a beautiful way to spend the weekend. That Sunday, before heading back to the city, we drove over to Tanglewood to watch the Boston Pops play a variety of classic show tunes, with special Broadway guest stars, Kelli O'Hara (South Pacific, Pajama Game) and Jason Danieley (Next to Normal, Full Monty), singing Cole Porter.
The Tanglewood grounds are absolutely gorgeous, set in the Berkshires, and are home to the Boston Pops during their summer season. The Pops play in a giant shed filled with concert seats, but patrons also have the option to bring their own chairs, blankets, umbrellas, food, and drinks, and sit out on the lawn. We found ourselves a shady spot, set up our blankets and chairs, and prepared for our picnic, as we listened to the Pops play. Miriam and I even walked up to the back of the shed to get a view of Kelli O'Hara and Jason Danieley as they sang with the Pops. It was really fun to watch.
(View from Tanglewood grounds)
(The Pops, Kelli O'Hara, and Jason Danieley)
As we drove back to the city after the show, I was once again amazed by the beauty of the area, with its rolling hills, lush forests, and deer absolutely everywhere. I kept thinking how much my dad would enjoy driving around upstate New York. Now if only I could convince him to make the trip...
Oh well. Until then I'm off to Puerto Rico!
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