After one of the most fun and memorable days I've ever had at Visionland's Opening Day, the park was now about to close. But first, Visionland put on a great fireworks show (and thanks to a snafu with the park's PA system included the only rendition of "Titanic - Life in the Fast Lane" we're ever likely to hear.) We said our goodbyes to Todd Long, who couldn't *wait* to get back to Florida for a fun-filled cruise that would include countless hours of........sitting in a chair. Robert Ulrich said he and his son Sam were staying overnight in Birmingham and they would meet us the next day at SFOG. And off we went, Susan and I, back to Atlanta - ignoring the lessons I learned last week about driving long distances after a park closes. And oh yeah, it was late, very late. And we were tired. And stinky. Susan asked me if I'd still love her if she smelled like this all the time and I said the two words every man must utter in situations like this: "Yes, dear." And I was driving a rented Plymouth Voyager and okay, I haven't driven a van since I was a mascot at KU and had to tote around the Big Jay costume all over the midwest and now I can't figure out how this thing works and I CANT SEE OUT THESE SIDE WINDOWS!!! And people in Georgia drive without a lick of sense (that's a southern expression, isn't it?) and they come out of nowhere and LIM launch themselves right up behind you and then they SIT THERE until they've paranoided you into thinking things that aren't politically correct to voice out loud these days but you think them anyway because you're human so you're convinced three white boys are gonna run you off the road and turn you into mincemeat. Or if not that they'll pull up right alongside you and refuse to move forward or backward. How rude!!! What are they doing, LOOKING AT ME??? They would *never* do that in Minnesota, people don't have the nerve! What am I supposed to do, look at them? Okay, so I slowly turn my head and look, but not directly at them. I see something going on, some motion inside the car. I turn my head more and look directly down at them. They are waving. A guy in the front and a girl in the back. So I wave back and give a faint smile. The guy in front smiles and turns away from me. Then they take off, in seconds LIM launching the car down the road away from me. People in the South are funny. It is now 1:30 a.m. We pull off I-20 onto Fulton Industrial Blvd. This was a last minute change - we had planned to stay at the La Quinta Inn in Marietta, but I just received my Super 8 V.I.P. card and wanted to take advantage of the savings so we found a Super 8 two miles from the park. We turn onto the street for our motel and there are bums and winos walking up and down both sides of the street. The first sign I see is "Totally Nude Dancers." Another one next door is for "Buxom Babes." "Beautiful Naked Ladies." "Lap Dancing." "Open 24 hours a day." "Super 8." Oh. My. God. Susan turns to me and says "Thanks for taking me to work, see ya later." We didn't get to the park until 11:00 the next morning. There are *very* tall trees lining the entire park. There are some trees in Georgia that are EVERYWHERE - they are called Magnolias and they are absolutely beautiful!!! Now I have never been to SFOG and this will be Susan's first Six Flags park anywhere, so neither of us knows what to expect, other than it's supposed to be a pretty park and have 7 good coasters. After the day is over Six Flags Over Georgia will be my very favorite theme park.
The wide open plaza is very inviting, in fact one of the things that left such a great impression on me was the number of people who, long after the park had closed, chose to hang out in the plaza, some standing around chatting, others sitting down and eating. I can't think of another entrance that accomplishes the feeling of "Take your shoes off and sit a spell" better than SFOG's. Look up, look down. Everywhere you go there's a change in elevation, with absolutely beautiful landscaping that *demands* to be noticed. I've been inside this park for 10 minutes and it's already the prettiest park I've ever been to. We walked DOWN into this thing - I forget what it's called, it's a lushly covered canopy that covers the sidewalk in a giant sweeping arc. There are benches on either side for people to relax as they get out of the sun. I saw one like this at Adventureland last week, but it wasn't as pretty as this. I'll see at least one more of these, even more beautiful, before the day is over. I am falling in love with Georgia! We decided to do Batman. This would be our first Batman ever! We walked past the USA area, went under the railroad tracks and DOWN into Gotham city.
Now it was time to head on over to the Georgia Cyclone, where we were to meet Robert and Sam, and two other RRCers, Tom Kelly and Curt Hassinger. Tom and Curt were first to arrive, and it was obvious within moments after meeting that we would like these guys. Tom is a very chatty guy who can talk about absolutely anything! And like me, he likes to give you the details! He is also a runner and impressed the hell out of me when I found out he ran the NYC Marathon 3 times! Curt is a super friendly guy who smiles ALL THE TIME and there is something about him that makes you feel like you've known him before.
Next we rode the Dahlonega Mine Train. It wasn't as bad as the guys said it was, and we even had the possibility of getting splashed by the Shoot the Chutes next door. Didn't happen though. We walked up, up, up to the Monster Plantation, a boat ride that is just too cool and as Robert put it, very un-Six Flags! Robert and Sam sang the song for us as we went through the ride, which is long and very very cute ("Keep away from the Swamp!"). Down, down, down into Lickskillet. I totally love this name. Robert said it was made up because it sounds southern. All three guys braced Susan and I for what would surely be an unpleasant ride on the Ninja. But it was fun!!! There were only two big banging spots, and even they weren't that bad. As Robert put it, though, everybody there had grown up on the ultra smooth Mindbender. Ninja is very compact and overlooks the most beautiful coaster I have ever seen.
SFOG doesn't really have alot of flat rides but besides the Monster Plantation we rode some really fun rides, including the Wheelie, The Great Gasp, and my very first Shoot the Chutes, Splashwater Falls (however Curt and I both panicked at the last second and ducked our heads).
The carousel itself is classic classic classic - Sam got the best horse which has a sword and hatchet and he played like a swordfighter during the ride. I looked back at Susan and I could tell she was a very happy lady. This is the moment I'll always remember from SFOG. The ride took *forever* to come to a stop (no brakes!) and I hated to leave. We walked back down that wonderful hill and slowly made our way back to Gotham. Along the way though we stopped by the Coca-Cola Cool Zone. Another first. Another great moment of ecstasy. We spent a long time in Cool Zone while Susan made another unsuccessful attempt at getting corn-on-the-cob. Actually I needed the time because I just was NOT used to the heat in Georgia! The Cool Zone is the best invention in amusement parks since the inverted coaster.
We got multiple rides on the top 5 coasters (Cyclone, Mindbender, Batman, GASM and Viper) before the night ended. Sam showed me the "Interstate Highway for the Ants" (I can't believe he found that!). We also did our first ever First Generation Freefall and did the penny trick. I bought a wonderful figurine with all the Looney Tunes characters riding a roller coaster. We ate dinner at Dee Jay's Diner (mmmm). But I left my heart in Georgia when a man walked by with a tray full of sno cones. This is my very favorite theme park. Thank you Six Flags!!! Susan and I spent Monday by ourselves touring Atlanta. We went to Turner Field and saw the stadium and Olympic cauldron, drove downtown and went to Centennial Olympic Park where I danced my jig on top of the commemorative wall. We also went to Underground Atlanta, then we toured the World of Coca-Cola. I have one thing to say. Beverly is THE NASTIEST, MOST VILE, BITTER, EVIL THING I HAVE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH! I cannot *believe* Dave Bowers would offer me a glass on Monday night's IRC chat. Beverly is pure and utter evil, and I can't imagine any self-respecting human being ever consuming it. Of course that makes it the perfect official soft drink for RRC. Thankfully we ended our vacation on a high note, with an absolutely perfect Southern meal at a restaurant called Sylvia's. I had catfish, collard greens and sassy rice. FAN-tastic!!!! Thanks to John Frederick, VP of Finance at SFOG, for going *way* beyond the call of duty in getting me a good deal on my season pass. And thanks to Peggy Ulrich for being a coaster widow for one extra day. Sam, you are an awesome kid - we were total strangers and you were so nice to both of us, thank you. Finally, thanks Robert, Sam, Tom and Curt for being so nice to Susan. You never even communicated with her before but you treated her like a lady and a friend, thank you. You guys showed us what southern hospitality is really all about. Thanks again everybody. We'll never forget this trip. Mark
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Email: MarkinArk@earthlink.net