Father Daughter Trip

Marie and I just got back from a two day stay at Cedar Point. For the first time, we stayed at the Hotel Breakers- located on the east beach side of the park. Having ridden the coasters all day on Thursday, it was nice to simply walk back to the hotel, shower, and pretty much collapse on the bed- only to wake early the following morning to do it all over again!

This was definitely a "coming-out" year for Marie in terms of the roller coasters. We rode em' all! The last five years or so, I had always gone to the park with either Josh or a young Marie, so I too had never ridden the big one- Millennium Force. I'm pretty sure that I witnessed my entire life rush before me as Marie and I plummeted down that first hill. The most terrifying part of the ride is simply the fact that you have no shoulder harness- just a small lap bar to brace yourself as you tumble down over 300 feet from the air- at an 80 some degree angle! Needless to say, after surviving the first ride, we rode it no less than 4-5 more times during the day. Very cool!

This picture is actually from the Mean Streak. You know the lines are pretty small when you can ride a coaster over and over again until you get that one picture that you truly think captures the moment. We actually had the entire train to ourselves when we had this pic taken. Cedar Point's new coaster- The Maverick- is also pretty awesome. (although we had to stand in line too long due to its constant mechanical problems that caused it to stop- over and over again.) It's a combination of the Corkscrew, a Magnum style roller coaster, and the rocket launch characteristic of the Top Thrill Dragster.

For me, it was a great get-away if for no other reason that I know the day is eventually coming- sooner than I care to admit- that Marie probably isn't going to want to hang out with her ole' dad once she hits the high school scene...not to mention those rotten, no good boyfriends who will invariably pop up into her life and have the audacity to actually want to date my little girl...ugh!