I was really SCARED......

Today Leeann and I took Katie and Leeann's best friend Lisa to Dollywood. We had a blast but man was it HOT up there today. I should really say, down there as Sevierville is south of us. We have been to Dollywood before, but then, anyone who lives in this area has been to Dollywood at least once. We have season passes and the way we figured it, if we go twice in the year we have paid for the passes. This is the third time we have gone to either Dollywood or to Splash Country, so we have more than got our monies worth.

But, we did have a lot of fun. We went to a part of the park I have not been to before, the part with all the good roller coasters. Now let me set the record straight before I tell you what happened. I love roller coasters. I love going to parks and riding roller coasters. Wooden, steel, loops, no loops, doesn't matter, I love roller coasters!!!! Today, not so much. We got there and went to Thunderhead Railroad. This is a wooden roller coaster. I love wooden roller coasters and I have loved them as far back as I can remember. My first wooden coaster was The Beast at Kings Island Ohio. I used to love to go to that park and spend all day riding that coaster. Today, we jumped on Thunderhead Railroad and for the first time in my roller coaster riding life, I was SCARED. This ride crosses over it self 32 times. Up, down, all around. I was actually pushed out of my seat for most of the ride. I was SCARED. Katie on the other hand, loved it. I don't get her sometimes, she loves to go fast, but I was SCARED.

Oh, it gets better. My lovely wife, her best friend and my sweet innocent daughter talked me into going on Mystery Mine. A steel coaster that will give me nightmares for weeks to come. I have never been on a coaster that went STRAIGHT up. I did not misspell, STRAIGHT up. Not once, but TWICE. The second time was STRAIGHT up in a DARK room. Fire, rocks, and a corkscrew and an inverted straight track that leaves you upside down for about 20 feet. My knees were so weak I had a hard time walking down the stairs.

But wait; there is more fear in store for me. We stopped for a drink, and then they (the women in this trip) talked me into riding Timber Tower. Let me see if I draw you a picture, you sit on a seat with others around this big pole painted to look like a log. Your seat, along with everyone else, goes up the pole and starts to spin around. Not that bad, but then the pole starts to swing back and forth while you spin on top of a pole. Now when I say swing, I mean it leans WAY far over. It was so far over that you could look straight down. This is the same ride that several month ago, the ride broke down with 50 people stuck on TOP of the ride for over 6 hours. So you could just picture my joy in getting on this thing in the first place knowing that I could get stuck on top of this thing, but then to see it lean and pitch back and forth so. I just couldn't wait.

We get off this oversized toothpick and I am thinking, maybe we can take it easy for the rest of the day. NOOOOO, it's back to Thunderhead Railroad for one last game of scare the pants off DON.

We did finally leave the park just as it started to rain and we drove to a mountain top area where I am video taping a wedding this weekend, But it was a fun day, a day that we all really needed. I will post some photos later when I get them scanned in. You won't have a hard time finding me in the photo; I am the one screaming my head off.


I WAS SCARED........