It is almost difficult to believe that an entire year has passed by since my first encounter with the Six Flags theme park atmosphere.  Last year I was slow to acclimate, uncertain of my taste in intense recreation.  I came to think of myself as a sort of killjoy that found more contentment in washing dishes and writing at the picnic table by the pond.

Rachel and Jillian (homeschooled friend) could not wait to get our annual visit underway.  We have them to thank for talking the dads into orchestrating our Six Flags adventure this year.  Jillian’s 15th birthday was on the 13th, and with Six Flags Over Georgia Homeschool Day on the 11th, it was an extra treat.

We arrived at the park in time for lunch.  It is amazing to see so many homeschoolers in one place and one time…the crowds at Six Flags always manage to be immense.  The people in our group were Dad, Rachel, Mr. Sam, Robert (18), Trevor (17), Jillian (15 on the 13th), and Richard (12).  Joseph decided not to go along this year.  We happened to meet another friend of ours, Annie Lagarde, briefly.  We haven’t seen her since last summer.  She will be 18 in June.

Our first stop was the Ninja.  The amusement in rollercoasters is still curious to me – whenever I take the time to analyze it.  As soon as the long line is over, you are seated and strapped in.  You have surrendered your free will to that of a heartless, seemingly autonomous machine that takes you up…up…(do you think they made rollercoasters before the flood?)…up…down.  You are whirled around for seconds on end.  There is no turning back.  Yet at the end, you simply laugh at yourself.  I suppose it does little good to analyze something of its sort.

After the Ninja…

It is also interesting to me that rollercoasters feel so different from the way they appear from the ground.  The steel rollercoasters just glide – the wooden ones are bit different.
Dad insisted that we take on The Great American Scream Machine as our next stop.  It was an exciting, up and down coaster…very bumpy in my opinion, but a fine enough ride.  I was bouncing about six inches out of my seat half the time.  Mr. Sam called it a “cross country” ride.  Rachel and Jillian loved it so much that they rode it again that afternoon.  I rode next to Dad on most of the rides.

After the Scream Machine…

My first rollercoaster ever (Rachel’s as well) was the Superman, which we rode last year.  After this year’s experience with many other rides, I will have to conclude that it was the most torturous, much to my surprise {I suppose I never gave Superman enough credit…really, diving through the air like that is not for the faint of heart}.  It made the other rides not seem so bad.  The Superman was down this year.

Staying hydrated is the most important thing.  Last year Rachel and I didn’t feel our best, as we didn’t drink enough.  This year, thankfully, Dad brought along some bottled water (the water bottles can be refilled at the water fountains, which saves money – otherwise you have to spend nearly $4.00 a bottle at the park!).

The Dads – Mr. Sam on the left, our Dad (Mr. Bryan) on the right (sunglasses).

Ah, the classic, historical Riverview Carousel.  Who could afford to miss it?

My self-photography at its greatest – on horseback.

It wasn’t cool enough for Richie, and the dads didn’t mind taking a break, so the girls got to enjoy the Mary Poppins-style amusement.

Off to the British section, which landed us in the path of the Georgia Cyclone.  Quite a twister.

The Georgia section sported a ride that I thought was the most ridiculous thrill-seeker thing I had ever seen.  The tiny bicycle like “seats” force you to stand rather than recline, making the Georgia Scorcher a most unusual rollercoaster.  It was actually a good ride.  We rode it twice.

The second time we boarded the ride, my seat/harness did not feel very secure.  The buckle was difficult to click.  My seat was oddly suspended, leaving my feet dangling in the air.  I was getting somewhat panicked.

“Sir, can you please fix my buckle?”  I called to one of the ride assistants (they must get so overwhelmed with all the visitors).

“Amanda, if your feet don’t touch the ground, you’re going to die,” Jillian, who was seated next to me, teased.

“Yeah, you’re gonna die,” the worker played along, blasé in response to my situation.  I was determined to not go down in history as someone who died on a thrill ride. {LORD, please protect me…}

“Fix my seat!” I exclaimed.

“You’re fine; you’re safe,” the man responded.

“No I’m not!”  Was my insolent presumption.  I was keeping the onlookers fairly amused.  Just then my seat dropped into its proper position, along with my humility.  I am entirely too self-conscious the majority of the time as it is.

The G-force on your feet is interesting, if you take the time to notice.

Off to Gotham City.  The Mind Bender is interesting, through the trees and over the bright green water (it’s the Riddler effect).  We rode it twice – in fact, I think that Rachel and Jillian may have ridden it three times.

The girls also took the Crime Wave, where they met up with Imani, a ballet friend of Jillian’s.  Her family moved to Georgia after Hurricane Katrina.  I wasn’t interested in riding the swings this year.  They actually remind me of an old little swing ride that we saw in Uzbekistan.  For the furtherance of your knowledge, communist “thrill rides” are rustier than capitalist ones.

The Batman was next – yet another ride in which the seat did not seem secure to me.  I am certain that it was still a bit wobbly when we were zapping around for under a minute.  But I didn’t fall out, which was nice.  There were quite a few theatrical enhancements to complement the all-around Batman atmosphere.

Then we came to our last great ride.  Jillian and Richie assured us repeatedly that the fear factor was greatly inflated, and that after rising up the initial 275 feet in the air, there wasn’t anything else that frightening.  The Goliath is aptly named, as it seems that its towering height would just about kill you if you accepted the challenge.  The Batman was Imani’s first rollercoaster, which she had just ridden with us.  I was amazed that she was willing to follow us already on to the next ride.

Thus, we loaded on…up…up…the view was amazing…then down, dropping roughly the length of a football field.  It wasn’t as bad as it looked from the ground, just up and down – and lots of wind.  As we came around the last bend we saw the flash of the park camera (I didn’t even want to see our picture).  Our mouths were dry from the wind, but we were clapping and cheering as we got off {Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands…}.  It was hilarious.

Dad took a picture of us afterwards:

I sat out with the dads for awhile, but the others decided to take on the Scream Machine and the Ninja again.  The Ninja was apparently having some technical difficulties.  As I was watching them ride it from the distance, the cars on the ride seemed to slow down and turn in an odd manner.  They told me after they got off that the ride felt a bit creepy and rickety.

We had a nice meal at McDonald’s on the way home.  Last year we mistakenly attempted a shortcut through the National Forest.  For the furtherance of your knowledge, there is no such thing as a shortcut through a forest.  We got home much earlier this year.

Thus, all is well that ends well.

MAY GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Comments

Friday, May 25, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by Yxpu
I just wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about the ad I’m suppose to make for you. I’ve been VERY busy (check my blog for details). Even now, I’m on the road.

Ok, gotta scram.
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Monday, May 28, 2007 – Untitled Comment

Posted by Jocelyndixon
Hey

I’m glad you got to blog and glad you liked my template. It was a lot of trouble to get it up there with no problems!

Yes, they have javascript… and will for now.

Well, NJAO is coming great and glad you’re on board!

Love you as always,
Jocelyn

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