10th Anniversary of Special Theme Park Visit

Today is the tenth anniversary of a fun, diversionary trip to a theme park with my two children.  My wife was busy at the time, so I took the kids to Wild Adventures theme park on the outskirts of Valdosta, Georgia.  Will and Rebecca were both pretty much fearless with the thrill rides there, but I wasn't.  But I resolved to tackle all of them, no matter how daunting. 

So I rode scary coasters like Boomerang, Cheetah, Hangman, and Bugout.  I went on the straight-up-and-down exercise in terror known as Double Shot (Universal's Islands of Adventure has a larger, but smoother version in their Doctor Doom's Fear Fall ride).  And I partook of what scared me the most, looking up from ground level: Power Surge, a "circle" ride quite like no other, being tossed about and inverted in my seat far above the ground.  Oh, and let's not forget the gut-wrenching gravity torture machine, Pharoah's Fury, a boat-shaped ride that swung back and forth in ever-increasing swoops.  All of this I conquered on that day, a day in which I repeatedly faced my primordial fears and pressed on.  To others, this may sound a bit laughable...but it was a big deal to me.

After that trip, for about two or three years, I made a point of visiting theme parks to ride roller coasters and other thrill rides.  I had a great time with my children...but they were growing up and weren't as interested in the thrill ride experience as before.  And Melissa NEVER was.  So here I am, now, having gone for a few years since going on a thrill ride at a park.  The last time was in south Florida, in the city of Dania on a fantastic wooden rollercoaster appropriately called the Dania Beach Hurricane.  But I've heard this this great ride has been dismantled...so sad.

I don't know about the future for me and theme park thrill rides, and I only got out to a few parks in the Southeast.  Plus, I have to keep in mind that one negative drag on my enjoyment was the often inexcusably long time I had to spend waiting in line just for one ride.  Also, I tired of the long driving to and from the parks.  O.K., so I'm getting old and impatient.  Wait, I've always been impatient!