coasters

We arrived at about 4 am in Seattle on our red eye from LA. We were exhausted but knew we needed to press on. We had a long drive across the state of Washington to our next park, Silverwood in Idaho. We fueled up on coffee, beef jerky and some new fangled bee pollen energy pills from a side-of-the-road gas station. I remember way back in the day when I would traverse the country in my little 280z they used to sell honest-to-goodness speed pills in the gas stations and truck stops across the country. I admit I have had my share of No-Doz with a chaser of bad, 15 hours old coffee that tasted like a burnt stick.

The drive over was beautiful. we went over the Cascades and drove for a long while along a raging river and stopped for a bit about mid-way to look at the gorge. We passed through Spokane and took a side road highway for the rest of the way into Idaho and beyond to the little theme park. It is truly in the middle of nowhere and sits next to a large RV park. I can imagine the locals taking week long trips to camp and enjoy the fun.

The park is beautiful with wonderful flower arrangements everywhere. What I thought was the coolest part was they have this little movie theater that shows scary movies at night while you munch on pizza. Too bad we are never at the parks long enough to do stuff at night. It is always ride the coasters, walk around, grab some grub and possibly drive a 1000 miles to the next park at night.

We drove all this way for just two coasters, Tremors and Timber Terror. Both woodies and a lot of fun. Both were fast and shaky, just like I like them. You know, the feeling like the train will fly off the track at any moment. We skipped the other coaster, Corkscrew as it is just a clone of many others across the country. But of course we had to ride the log flume.

Later we grabbed the biggest ice cream cone we have ever had. It was like a half gallon of ice cream on top of a cone. I could barely eat all of mine. We then headed over to the carousel. It was a beautiful old merry-go-round.

 

We jumped back into the car for a long drive down towards Montana. As we were driving through Missoula we remembered our friend Renee lived there and texted her about places to grab a bite to eat, being that it was late we didn’t expect her to join us for dinner but she did at a local Cracker Barrel. We have known Renee for a long time and she is someone that I admire very much. It was fun to catch up and we had a nice evening. It is always cool to meet up with people as we travel around the country. With social media you can literally have friends in all four corners of the country and it is fun to finally put a real person to the profile, if you know what I mean.

The next day we would make the long drive towards Denver and have our rental car almost blow up on the way into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Stay tuned!

Up Next: Where You Goin’ Purty Boy? 

Coasters to date on the tour: 21

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When in LA you must visit Hollywood right? We woke up early to drive down to the Sunset Strip and then up to the Hollywood Hills in search for the famous sign. We meandered through the park that leads up to the Griffith Observatory and we spent an hour looking for parking. We finally managed to squeeze into a tight spot and made our way inside. It was a cool place but my favorite feature was actually outside. They had the planets on the sidewalk in concentric rings that showed just how far they would be in scale to each other. The sun was right where the building was located and Pluto was about 400 yards away.

We snapped a couple far-away pictures of the Hollywood sign and jumped back in the car for a treat that would become a highlight of the trip. It was black ice cream from a little place called Little Damage. We saw it on Instagram, where else, and just had to go. There was a line around the corner outside. We made our way inside and each got a cone. Just as advertised it was black soft serve ice cream in a black waffle cone. While it didn’t taste any different than a plain, well, vanilla one it was a cool treat.

As we made our way back to the car we noticed that we were walking along the famous Walk of Fame. You know, the stars with the names on them. It was not impressive at all. In fact it was dingy and dirty on a street far removed from what most would think of as Hollywood. There were plenty of homeless laying amongst the stars too. We did get to see a bunch of trucks with cameras and stuff setting up to film a scene for a movie. No real “stars” in the area that we could see.

After our morning we headed over to Pasadena, again just a few miles away but almost an hour drive, to get ready to see Metallica at the Rose Bowl! This was the Rock n Roller tour right? It was epic. You can read about it here:

Metallica at the Rose Bowl

The next morning we woke up early and drove down the street from our hotel to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Another hot and crowded day and we spent way too long waiting in line for a couple Flash Passes. They kept running out of the little pager-like things and when the attendants would walk away and come back we would lose our place in line. By the time we handed over a couple hundred bucks I was beyond frustrated and just wanted to get inside the park and ride some coasters.

There are A LOT of coasters at Magic Mountain. The first coaster we jumped in line for was Ninja that closed down while we were in the seats! We would end up riding it later in the day.

Next up was a woodie, Apocalypse and then Gold Rider and a stand-up, Riddler’s Revenge. I don’t know why I subject myself to the stand up coasters. They always leave me walkin’ funny if you know what I mean.

We went into the air conditioning to ride the 4D Justice League ride. Its not really a coaster but more like a video game. I really like them, Michele not so much. It was cool to have a backlot tour of the one in Six Flags over Georgia earlier in the summer to see how they work, when I was at the coaster convention.

Throughout the day we rode coaster after coaster. We rode, Full Throttle, X2, Green Lantern, Goliath, Batman, Scream,  Viper and Gold Rusher and one coaster that would become one of my favorites in the country, Twisted Colossus. Michele had been waiting to ride this her whole life, way back when it was still Colossus when she was a kid.

Wood meets steel as the iconic woodie returns as the new Twisted Colossus — the longest, most innovative hybrid coaster in the world. Still in its landmark location along the perimeter of Six Flags Magic Mountain and nestled inside the tracks of the behemoth coaster, Goliath, Twisted Colossus remains the coaster monument most recognizable to millions of people who pass by the park each year…but now with an exciting twist.

Integrated into the beautiful crosshatching of white wood will be intertwined track, steep banks and unrelenting rolls and spirals. Revel in the fun and excitement of traditional wooden coaster thrills while facing your fears on the latest state-of-the-art coaster technology. Twisted Colossus is the best of both worlds, a modern marvel making roller coaster history!

It was amazingly fun! An Amazing coaster with numerous banks, drops, and high speeds! 4,000 feet of track, 80 degree drop, and 4 minutes of absolutely amazing fun! Would recommend for those who seek thrill! It is one built by the genius minds at Rocky Mountain Construction who are the premiere coaster builders, in my opinion. Their iconic track is so smooth and fast that it feels like nothing else in the coaster world. I’m a huge fan and think their coasters are some of the best in the world. (“I agree,” says Michele.)

Of course we rode the log flume and carousel like we always do and were out of the park relatively early but had one heck of a time trying to find the car. In fact, Michele and I got separated looking and when I finally found the car I spent another 20 minutes looking for her! She went on a date somewhere with Bugs Bunny!

We had dinner plans later in the evening with a good friend of mine, Alex, who is my co-host on Mushing Radio. He suggested we go to this little Cuban place in his neck of the woods. I had a Cuban sandwich, of course. It was delicious! We sat for a long time talking and catching up before heading to the airport to catch a red-eye flight to Seattle. Will we ever get a good night’s rest on this trip?

Up Next: Silverwood 

Coasters to date on the tour: 19

Do you like what you are reading? Want to see more? use the hashtag #rocknroller17 on social media and you can see pics on Instagram, tweets on Twitter and our daily trials and tribulations on Facebook.

As we left Knott’s Berry Farm we looked at the map for our next stop, a nightcap at the Santa Monica Pier. “It’s only 25 miles away, thats nothing,” I proclaimed. Little did I know that 25 miles would take over two hours in the crazy and constant bumper-to-bumper traffic on the spaghetti of LA freeways. Remember we haven’t slept yet from our flight down the night before. Michele napped as I drove and cussed at the drivers nearly taking off my fenders as we weaved in and out from lane to lane.

We finally arrived at the iconic Santa Monica Pier at about 6:30. I am almost certain you have seen this coaster in many movies and TV shows. Most recently it was showcased in the series on Amazon called Goliath starring Billy Bob Thornton. In fact the little bar and hotel that he frequents on the show is just down the road from the pier as it is in real life.

We parked quite a ways from the pier because it was so crowded and took in the sights of the cool mini-mansions along the beach.

Our goal was to ride the coaster. We paid our ten bucks or whatever it was and jumped in line. It was a cool old steel coaster that the ride attendant let us ride three times. What a deal! We grabbed dinner at the historic Pier Burger on the pier that reminded us of a 1950s style diner. The fries were amazing and so were the shakes. We sat for a while and people watched before we headed back to the car for an even longer drive to the hotel that was only a few miles away…

 

Up Next: LA and Magic Mountain

Coasters to date on the tour: 8

Do you like what you are reading? Want to see more? use the hashtag #rocknroller17 on social media and you can see pics on Instagram, tweets on Twitter and our daily trials and tribulations on Facebook.

We kicked off the 2017 Rock n Roller coaster tour after a red-eye flight down to Los Angeles from Alaska. It seems that every affordable flight from Alaska to the Lower 48 or what we call “outside” to those who don’t live here. We scored an amazing deal on Kayak.com and found a one-way ticket for just 29 bucks. How is that even possible? All those airline junk fees and taxes should be more than that right?

Exhausted we grabbed our rental car, a Hyundai Veloster and hit the road for the hour long trip south to Knott’s Berry Farm. Michele snoozed as I swerved in and out of the fast LA traffic like a boss. We arrived early and grabbed a quick breakfast at IHOP.

The gates to Knott’s opened at 10 and we were one of the first ones through. It was going to be a hot day and with lots of people. Knott’s is the park that Michele has her earliest memories of. She grew up in California and her family used to make an annual trip down to this park each summer.

We made our way to the back of the park. This is a little tip I learned at the last coaster conference I attened. I know, I am a coaster nerd… We jumped in line for the first coaster of the day, Silver Bullet and then over to Sierra Sidewinder and then over to my favorite coaster in the park, GhostRider.

The crowds were in full force by this time and we waited for a long time to ride this woodie. It did not disappoint! It was fast with plenty of air time and a ridiculous 108 foot drop and a 450 degree downward helix.

We then headed over to the Pony Express which is the first time we have ridden a coaster like this. You are sitting on a horse, of course, and the restraints hold you in from the front and the back. Its a quick out and back ride but fun.

Next up was the tried and true Wild Mouse inspired, Coast Rider before we headed into a ultra cheesy but air conditioned Voyage to the Iron Reef. We grabbed a quick lunch and snack before waiting for more than an hour and a half for the log flume. It was worth it. Michele loves these rides and it is nice to get a little soaked in the hot California sun. We headed across the lot to a cool ride, Timberline Twister. It had a cheesy story but for a coaster it was unique.

One coaster that we should have skipped was Jaguar. even though it had an ultra-cool layout that took the track around a large section of the park, the wait was absolutely awful! It was so crowded and hot (and smelly) it was not worth the wait at all. It was what Michele calls a concision ride, an old coaster that smacks you around and the restraints give you a headache but it was coaster credit none-the-less.

We left by 4 and headed north to the famous Santa Monica Pier for a nightcap!

Up Next: Santa Monica Pier

Coasters to date on the tour: 6

Do you like what you are reading? Want to see more? use the hashtag #rocknroller17 on social media and you can see pics on Instagram, tweets on Twitter and our daily trials and tribulations on Facebook.

After the day in the Silicon Valley I headed about an hour north to the San Franscio area. I stayed at a very nice La Quinta Inn just outside the city for three nights. Things are very expensive in this area of the country and hotels are no exception. I have been staying in most hotels for about $75 a night and this one was one of the cheapest at almost $135.

The first night I ate at this awesome little Irish place near the hotel. I had short ribs and some bangin’ mashed potatoes along with a strong stout. This was after I drove around almost an hour to find parking. I was just about to give up and eat fast food when I found a spot a few blocks away from the tavern.

Sunday morning I headed into the City by the Bay. On the list were the required tourist stops, Golden Gate Bridge, Fishermans Warf and Alcatraz. I wanted to step foot on ‘The Rock’ but tickets and tours have been sold out for weeks. I almost went on a sunset sailboat cruise around the prison in the bay but Michele talked me out of it because there would probably have been romantic couples on the boat and me–the weird single guy–might seem a little creepy.

It took forever to make it to the bridge. Traffic was terrible heading into the city and there were so many tourists at the bridge that it was a madhouse. Imagine thousands of people lining up to take the exact same picture with their smartphones, selfie sticks, GoPros, Nikons, Canons and even an old Polaroid or two. I walked around for an hour or so dodging hundreds of bikes. I guess it is THE thing to rent a bike and ride it across the bridge.

After being up to my eyeballs with the tourists I headed down the hill and along the waterfront towards Fishermans Wharf. Along this stretch of the bay is some really spendy real estate. Michele looked online and found a place for a cool mil and a half for one of those famous San Fran row houses.

Fishermans Wharf was packed too. Along the road there is everything from an Applebees to a Ripley’s Believe it or Not, retro candy stores, pot shops, t-shirt vendors and countless touristy knickknack shops filled with people tripping over each other to buy junk made in China. I decided to grab a lobster and shrimp bowl for lunch. It was awesome! A half of a lobster and a bunch of shrimp for twenty bucks. After lunch I walked up and down the wharf to people watch and hope I didn’t get pick-pocketed. It was probably stupid to walk around with a Rolé on my wrist but hey, you gotta live large right? There were street performers, musicians and even this dude that was painted head to toe in silver paint and acted just like a robot.

I grabbed a sundae from the famous Ghirardelli chocolate store and they were handing out free samples of chocolates that I have never had before–the things we miss living in Alaska. I sat and watched the cable cars for a while and contemplated taking a trip up the hill. It was so cool to watch how they turned the entire car around by hand on this platform in the street just like they have been doing for probably a hundred years.

I jumped back in the car after paying 35 bucks for an hour and a half of parking and had my sights set on the Haight Ashbury District. It was surprisingly pretty far away from downtown. It is interesting that when you watch movies about this area they make it seem that so many of the places are so close together. I highly doubt Dirty Harry would roam the vast streets of this city with his .45 in real life. His beat was probably a ten block radius around the Wharf. It was cool to see where the famous car chase took place from the old Steve McQueen movie, Bullitt and the places that Monroe from Too Close for Comfort and that God awful show with Balki from the show Perfect Stangers hung out. God, I watched too much TV as a kid!

The Haight as its called, is a groovy place to see. After I found a place to park on one of the famous near vertical streets–I could never drive a stick shift in this town–I walked around the tie-dye shops, record stores and took pictures of the sights. The people here look like the millennial version of the summer of love.

The mainstream media’s coverage of hippie life in the Haight-Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America. Hunter S. Thompson labeled the district “Hashbury” in The New York Times Magazine, and the activities in the area were reported almost daily. The Haight-Ashbury district was sought out by hippies to constitute a community based upon counterculture ideals, drugs, and music. This neighborhood offered a concentrated gathering spot for hippies to create a social experiment that would soon spread throughout the nation.

A lot of famous people, especially musicians, walked these streets and it was cool to see the scene.

Check out the Wiki page for much more on the area.

I was back at the hotel in time for dinner and had an awesome pastrami and swiss sandwich at a deli near the hotel. What was cool about this little place was the owner had plastered all of the negative reviews the place had received on the Internet along with food critics from the local rags and a sign above it saying something to the effect of, if you don’t like our food, we don’t care, don’t eat here. Classic. All the sudden everyone is a foodie and a Yelp junkie these days.

Muir Woods

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness

A quote by John Muir

The next morning the plan was to get out of the city and re-connect with nature a bit. I wanted to visit Muir Woods which is about an hour’s drive from my hotel. I guess it was the plan for everyone else too. What I don’t quite understand yet is this whole Uber thing. When did it become a thing to pay some dude in a Beemer to drive you to a park and drop you off on the side of the road for 20 bucks? Not to mention there was no cell service in this neck of the woods so how on earth are you going to summon him or someone else trying to make a buck with a nice car and an iPhone? I get the whole you don’t need a car in the city thing. But an Uber to a national park? Really?

Like I said, I think everyone thought it was a good day to visit the Woods. Parking was crazy and it took me almost an hour to find a spot and that was after I stalked a family in a mini van from Rhode Island who were trying to have a family picnic out of the back of their car. I was busy giving their three year old the eye because he was taking too long to eat his PB and J that mom hurriedly whisked the lunch rubbish in the eco-friendly shopping bag–everyone uses those in Cali, you know–and pulled out of the parking spot without even a glance.

The trek through the woods was a blessing and a curse. The scenery was magnificent with massive redwoods towering toward the sky but what irked me was people don’t know how to shut up. I get it, you are out with your friends for a stroll in the park but it sounded like an old-school party-line in the woods. A constant din of chatter about boyfriends and sushi bars and ‘mommy I want a snack (even though we have only walked a hundred yards and my feet hurt)’ that it almost ruined the supposed tranquility of this place. I could go on and on about this for pages and pages about self entitlement and the ME generation and instant gratification and all that crap but please people, stop and look around once in a while. Enjoy the beauty of nature. Everything is not about YOU! Quit whining and quit trying to impress everyone around you. Don’t you know you look like an idiot with your baseball hat on crooked and your skinny jeans so tight you have to walk like a penguin down the trail? Nobody wants to see the millionth selfie on your Insta feed and there’s no need to carry a sippy cup, err your Nalgene, on your belt covered in stickers when you only plan to walk to the first bend in the trail.

I finally got away from the noise and made my way up the hill and onto a trail that looked down onto the busy trail of people below. It was a nice three mile hike back to the visitors center.

I took the back way down the mountain and stopped at the beach that was at the edge of San Francisco Bay. This was a cool place where the locals hang out. There were family bar-b-ques and people flying kites on this little beach cove that was no longer than a couple football fields.

I stopped at Hooters. Yep, I go there for the wings, just like I read certain magazines for the articles. Sadly, this place was not how I remembered it since my last visit was when I lived in Denver almost seven years ago. Now the wings are greasy and the waitresses aren’t as “attentive” and “persuasive”as they used to be. I watched a gaggle of them hang out at a group of tables near the back of the restaurant doing, you guessed it, gossiping while I waited almost a half hour for my check.

What am I turning into? My father? A grumpy old guy? No. I just find it amazing that an entire generation just doesn’t have a clue. I have been a lot of places over the years but I have never seen this more than right here in California. It is amazing.

The next morning I had to catch a flight back to Anchorage and was flying Virgin America for the first time. What a cool experience. I love Alaska Airlines and it is who I fly 90% of the time but the Virgin vibe is just plain cool. It’s awesome that they merged with Alaska Air, I hope they bring some of the cool factor over soon.

In just a couple weeks Michele and I start our third annual Rock n Roller coaster tour across America and we will start it in where else? California. In L.A. to be exact as we travel there for a couple theme parks and the Metallica show at the Rose Bowl. I hope all of my rabid readers follow along. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Up Next: Wherever I May Roam

Coasters to date on the tour: 35

Do you like what you are reading? Want to see more? use the hashtag #rocknroller17 on social media and you can see pics on Instagram, tweets on Twitter and our daily trials and tribulations on Facebook.