California Dreamin, Part 1

Paramount's Great America, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

How can I possibly describe the time I had in northern California this past weekend? Each day was so incredibly rich with surprises and unforgettable moments, with wonderful rides and parks, with generous and genuine coaster enthusiasts and friends. I haven't had this much fun since.....well, since the last time I went to California! This time, however, I got to tour the northern part of the state. This was my first visit to this part of the country and all I can say is that it left me dumbstruck. Blown away. Gobsmacked. The violence of plate tectonics has forged a landscape so humbling and awe inspiring that it's easy to see why millions of people have chosen to come and, as Greg Galley put it, "sit on a time bomb." But this trip wasn't about seeing the landscape. For me, this trip was an antidote to cure the no-wedding blues. You see, Friday, April 28 was to have been my wedding day. So ever since Susan and I decided to call the whole thing off, I could think of no better way to make what would be a bad day better than to come to California and spend the day coastering with my bro Sean Flaharty. I couldn't care less about the whole Coastered 2000 thing. I just wanted to spend some time with Sean and Jeff Johnson, friends who know how to cut loose and have fun. So, unbeknownst to Sean, I made my plans and hoped to have a good weekend. I got so much more than that. My generous host and co-conspirator for this weekend was Matthew "Mamoosh" Sullivan. Matthew knew how much I wanted to come to northern California and he offered to drive me around the entire weekend, so I let him in on my little secret and told him that I was coming! We booked the same motels and drove to all the parks together. I didn't really know Matthew very well until this weekend, so this was one of those leap of faith moves I made based on instinct. Since I began posting to RRC, I have had the great fortune to make friends almost effortlessly, thanks to trusting my instincts and believing that a person's true character comes across in their posts. I had a gut feeling that we would get along very well, and my instincts proved correct. I made three great friends this weekend and had a blast with Matthew and our two other travelling companions, Mike "Bassistist" Miller and Greg "Coasterbuf" Galley. These guys are wickedly funny, very witty and very silly! The things we did! I haven't laughed so much since last year's Stark Raven Mad! I think we talked non-stop the entire weekend, and it wasn't all about coasters either. For me, the real mark of friendship comes when the coaster talk stops. And Matthew, Mike and Greg are good friends. Friday morning at Paramount's Great America. 5 a.m. Oh. My. God. Look away, I'm hideous. This time of day shouldn't exist! Luckily I got into San Jose early the night before and got a good night's sleep. The park had set up a couple of tables filled with bagels and cream cheese, danish, muffins and some serious coffee. Thank you for the real cream. By the way I had wonderful coffee all weekend! A good sized contingent of coaster enthusiasts showed up for this moring's event. Chris Murray and his cousin, Steve showed up, as did Sean Winder and Ivan. These four guys are so nice, so cool and so much fun! I cannot wait to hang out with them again! And it was so great to see Steven Wilson again! My one and only meeting with Steven was at Michigan's Adventures over Labor Day weekend, and he is truly a warm (especially in those hot sweatshirts he wears!) and generous person. I also got to ride with Locoboy and met Bruce Jensen, Jim McIntire and another RRCer named Mike, aka Hammerhead, aka Krispy Kreme hat guy! A TV news crew had set up cameras for a live feed on their morning news show. This was my first media event for a roller-coaster, but since I work in film and video production I am used to the hurry up and wait sort of pace these things require. Derek, the *awesome* PR rep at PGA, was kind of enough to open up one of the restaurants for us to sit in until the camera crew was ready. Derek, by the way, is a major coaster enthusiast and knows a lot about coasters all over the country. He was great fun to talk to and has an infectious, enthusiastic personality. Apparently he's only been working for PGA for just a few short weeks, so look for some fun events from this guy in the future! Finally it was time to ride Stealth. David Escalante, ACE's northern California rep and organizer for this event, gathered everyone together and said they had a tradition here of letting all newbies have first ride of the day. Wow, I told you the California coaster crowd was cool! The first row was off limits because of the TV crew, so Mike Miller and I took a spot in the second row. We got in, figured out how to strap on the restraint vests (which are so unbelievably comfortable I wish all OTSR's would be retrofitted this way), got our legs locked in (lap bars and knee pads only) and were promptly lowered on our backs. YEOW!!!! What a bizarre feeling! We climbed the lift hill on our backs in a reclined position. Mike and I started laughing uncontrollably! When we reached the top there was a slight dip, we put our arms out and then we were FLIPPED OVER facing straight down! We *FLEW* down the first drop and started screaming hysterically, at the same time laughing at how bizarre the sensations were! When we reached the vertical loop we were flipped back over and oh my god, the forces on the downside of that loop were intense! The riders in the back two rows were waving at us from the other side of the loop! It is hilarious! I honestly can't remember the precise layout of the rest of the ride, I just remember lots of flipping and flying and an OH MY GOD IT'S TOO CLOSE FACE CHOPPER!! By the time it's over you're left completely exhilarated and really feeling as though you've experienced the sensation of flying! For some the moments didn't last long enough, but I thought it was a good mix, and I actually liked the flipping aspect. Some of us commented on how slow the ride looks while watching it from the queue, but it feels very fast when you're riding it! Stealth is definitely one of the most unique sensations I've ever experienced on a roller-coaster! Sean, Sean's mom, Phyllis, Scott Short and Jeff Johnson didn't show up until around 8:30. Of course I was on the ride at the time and I came flying into the station on my back when Sean first saw me. The expression on his face was priceless! It was a good surprise and Matthew set him up good! He was the perfect accomplice! Sean, Jeff and Scott's first ride on Stealth was hilarious! By this time the morning news show had ended, and in their place was a crew shooting footage for a coaster show on The Learning Channel. The producers asked that everyone ride in silence so that the talent could narrate the ride. Poor Sean had to ride Stealth for the first time without screaming! Locoboy and I decided to scream using sign language! Stealth is an awesome ride. PGA has a hit on their hands, both with coaster enthusiasts and the general public. We were told that PKD would be getting one for 2001, only their version would focus more on dips and turns and flying and less on inversions. YAY Vekoma!!! In addition to getting all those rides on Stealth, Derek walked us over for the first ride of the day on Top Gun! This was *much* better than I expected! What a great inverted coaster! It is a rather short ride, but the pacing is outstanding, and all the elements sneak up on you so you never know what's coming around the corner next! And the turnaround over the lake is just brilliant. Top Gun is every bit good as Batman in my book. We walked to an off limits area in front of Stealth and did a group interview for The Learning Channel. I thought this was a great variation on the traditional one on one interview process. We were encouraged to throw out our ideas and opinions together and not be afraid to debate various topics. The producer asked excellent and thought provoking questions covering a wide range of coaster and park related topics, and I was happy to address some rather controversial subjects such as rider misconduct, coaster-induced blood clots and coaster mishaps. The rest of the day was spent touring the rest of the park. I got to ride one very unique flat ride called Flight Commander. Apparently these are a vanishing breed, and it was very fun piloting my own plane and performing 360 degree maneuvers! Mike Miller's RRC button did a kamikaze and landed in the pit, where it presumably crashed and burned. Mike looked devastated and Chris "Funtype" Murray captured the horrifying footage on film. Look for it on the Fox network soon. Grizzly. Oh my God, we embarrassed ourselves so bad! That pesky Learning Channel crew wanted to follow us around as we headed for a coaster, so what better coaster for serious enthusiasts to head for than Grizzly? They dropped a boom mike just above us and got us chatting about coasters as we made our way to the ride. Among the various conversations going on all at once, Sean and another enthusiast began talking animatedly about the Grizzly's punishing power and its elite status among serious coaster enthusiasts. We then took over an entire train and proceeded to stroke in unison during the entire 17 seconds it took the train to complete its first turnaround. What a rush! PGA reminds me a lot of PKD, minus the woodies, plus Stealth. There are very few traces of the Marriott connection with SFGAm, other than the front entrance, one food court area, and a few individual rides such as the Demon. It is a very compact park, and the layout is rather odd in that you have to walk the entire circle around the park to get from one side to another. Fortunately it is a small park but it would be nice to see a path created that would give guests a shortcut to other attractions. I believe SFGAm did this successfully and it helps a lot on the feet! Sean, Phyllis, Scott, Jeff and I left PGA around 3:30 p.m., but not before stopping at Guest Relations, where Derek was waiting to give each of us a large tabletop Stealth clock! It was a fantastic surprise and a wonderfully designed clock! Thank you, Derek! And thanks *very* much to David Escalante for all his work! I rode with Sean, Phyllis, Scott and Jeff to Santa Cruz. Poor Phyllis. The woman's bladder was full to the point that she had to take away Sean's water bottle because the sound of all that water sloshing around made her go crazy! Add to that a massive traffic jam and Sean's merciless teasing ("Mom's thimble is full", "Mom's gotta shake the dew off the lily") and I don't know how this poor woman got through the drive. The drive, by the way, was breathtaking! Incredible vistas and valleys with trees actually standing in the middle of lakes! Finally we reached Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This was the most anticipated park of the year for me, the one I was most looking forward to. As much as I tried not to, I had some very high expectations for this park. Everything I'd heard about it led me to believe this would be my kind of park. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk exceeded my expectations in every way. This place is *SO COOL!* I felt cool just being there! It was so much better than I expected! First of all, the setting. Is there a more perfect setting for an amusement park? Absolutely no way. The ocean is right there in front of you. You don't even have to cross a street to get to it. The waves looked huge to me, but everybody just laughed and said it was nothing. A US destroyer was parked just offshore, making an impressive looking sight! There weren't many beachgoers at this time of day, but I found the huge log piles scattered along the beach fascinating! These logs get washed up on shore and the parks department gathers them up and puts them in big piles staggered along the beach and voile, instant bonfires along the same scale as Knoebels Phall Phunphest! We only had two hours to spend on this night, but we definitely made the most of it. Matthew, Mike and Greg opted to take in a few more flat rides at PGA and showed up half an hour later. In the meantime we first rode the Carousel. This is a catch the brass ring carousel, and it is very different from the one at Knoebels. First of all, it goes so fast!!! I've never ridden a carousel that moved so quickly before! Secondly, once you catch the ring you have to immediately toss it into the clown's mouth which is 10 to 15 feet away from the ring dispenser! If you hit the clown's mouth his eyes light up and a horn sounds! Jeff Johnson tried to get us to double fist it, but it was all I could do to catch even one! It was *very* fun, and after we got off, Steve G. gave me one of the rings he caught as a keepsake. He impressed me all weekend long with his intelligence and generosity. He also has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Anybody get a picture? :-) Next we rode the Hurricane. This is a Windstorm coaster like the one at Old Town. The great thing about this night was getting to ride with Mike Miller and Chris Murray and Steve. They'd never done any of this stuff before either, and they were loving it just as much as I was! I rode the Haunted House with Phyllis. This thing was hilariously cheesy. I especially liked the execution!!! After we came out Phyllis told everyone I tried to kiss her! I swear to God, Sean, I never laid a hand on her! It was dark, I'm a man, she's a woman. What would you do?! Finally, we rode the Giant Dipper. Okay, this thing is FUN FUN FUN!!! In fact after my fourth or fifth ride I started likening it to the Phoenix. The Giant Dipper is the Phoenix of twisters. It is pure, flat out fun! The station is curved and housed inside a cool, old building. When the coaster makes it's turnaround above the station, the whole building shakes! Mike and Matthew said this is what a low level earthquake feels like - get me out of here!!! In fact the Giant Dipper was originally named the Earthquake! You can see the sand underneath the station, meaning this whole thing was built on the beach. Incredible. Everything about this ride is classic. Except the trains. Morgan trains. MORGAN TRAINS. Huh, kinda comfy. That's surprising. I wish the single lap bar were a buzz bar instead of ratcheting, but that's minor quibbling. I rode my first ride in the backseat with Sean, and thanks very much to Steve for giving it up. The moment we left the station one of the ride ops sounded the whistle! Toot toot! After that we went into the tunneaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!! AHHHHHH!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST TUNNEL N THE WORLD!!!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!! We climbed the lifthill and whoosh! down the first drop we came, nice airtime!!! Up and down the little second hill and then the sweeping fan turn YEOW!!!! around and slamming into Sean then a small drop down and up the next hill and WHOA MY GOD!!!!!!!!!! AIRTIME!!!!!!!!!!! what a shock! then a couple more fun hills and it's up on top of the station and into the turnaround and still going around around around arOOF!! OOH!! AHH!! OH MY GOD!!! dropping out of the turnaround and up and over another set of hills including one with another pop of airtime then it's up to the final turnaround AHHHHHHH! OOOOOOOH!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!! MY SIDE!!! I yell to Sean THIS COASTER HAS EVERYTHING!!! We are laughing and screaming and slamming into each other and finally head home on the last set of hills, then it's up into the station, where a bunch of nutty coaster enthusiasts and GPers are leaning over the posts waiting to slap hands with us as we pass them. The ride comes to stop and WOO-HOO!!!! I LOVE THE GIANT DIPPER!!! We then rode in the front. The airtime was much different here - there weren't as moments of airtime, but the intensity was much greater. And the LATERALS!!! Oh sweet Jesus, I thought I was gonna crack some more ribs on that last turnaround! I really don't know which I like better, the front or the back. Both offer a very sweet ride. And make no mistake, the Giant Dipper, much like the Phoenix, isn't the tallest, nor the fastest, it doesn't have the strongest or most sustained airtime. It doesn't have the most of anything in the way of forces. What it does have the most of is FUN. I could ride this coaster over and over and over. And I would do that, in abundance, on Sunday. For now, though, it was time to bring the evening to a close. But not before taking a group photo under the Giant Dipper sign above the boardwalk. And not before Sean and I took our shoes off for a quick dip into the ocean. Night turned into day as Sean exposed his feet, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding light. We then ran full throttle directly into the path of what became a huge wave heading straight for us! As fast as we ran in, we just as quickly turned around and scurried back onto the beach before getting engulfed by that wave. What idiots! We said our goodbyes to those who would not be joining us for the next day's events - Locoboy, Sean and Ivan. It was great meeting you Ivan! I'll see you and Sean at SRM! And Eliot, your home park is Awesome with a capital A! Hope you had fun in Florida! Locoboy is going to go loco when he hears what we did the next day. Up Next: Six Flags Marine World