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road trip

ACE Preservation Conference: Indiana Beach

August 4, 2018 by robertforto 2 Comments

It has been quite the summer! The Rock n Roller Coaster Tour across America has taken me from Orlando to the Northeast to middle America and I find myself at my second American Coaster Enthusiasts Preservation Conference. This year we are at Indiana Beach in Monticello, Indiana and Michigan’s Adventure on the Great Lakes.

Michele and I parted ways in Boston. She had to fly home to attend our business and I flew to Chicago for this leg of the tour. It was a slow slog down I-65 to the middle of nowhere Indiana. I checked into my motel at the Pine View Resort that was in the middle of a corn field. I arrived a day and a half early and didn’t venture too far from the motel. I worked on my Master’s courses by the pool and enjoyed leisurely dinners at the local family restaurant. The first night I had a huge three course chicken dinner that only cost $8.95 and could have easily cost 40 bucks back home.

Friday morning was the first day of the conference at Indiana Beach. Who would have known that all of this fun was only 0.6 miles from my little motel! It changes your perspective a little bit when you don’t venture too far from where you are. Its like driving down the interstate and puling off and setting for a Big Mac when at the next exit is the most amazing burger shop in the world that you missed out on.

I checked in and grabbed my name tags and tickets and headed into the park. It is a cool little spot where a lot of it is built on piers that jut out into the lake. We had the day to ourselves with the first formal event being a walk through of one of the rides later in the day. I walked the boardwalk and grabbed a Pronto Pup. Its a corn dog for those of you who don’t know…

I jumped on a cool coaster called Steel hog first. It was fun! It sort of a mash up of a mouse and a corkscrew. It was the first time I have ever ridden one like that. The restraints were interesting. The sort of squish you in like a vise.

Next up was a couple woodies. The premier coaster in the park is the Hoosier Hurricane which is by far the longest and juts out over the lake in a few spots. It is fast but a bit rough. Next was the Cornball Express. It was a lot of fun too.

I didn’t know what to expect when I was in line for an older steel coaster called, Tiger. By the looks on the peoples faces that went ahead of me and the warning by the ride attendant to hold on and brace for the sharp right turns, I knew I was in for a treat. That first right turn caused a cracked rib on the same spot as always. It is never going to heal if I keep this crap up!

The rest of the afternoon I spent people watching along the boardwalk and riding things like the dark ride, the sky ride, the scrambler the little train, and more. I was surprised at how fun Frankenstein’s Castle was! I haven’t been in a walk through haunted house in a long time and this was a good one. It was huge!

The last coaster I rode before we met up for dinner as a group was the Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. It was a fun one! It has this little elevator that takes you up to the top and then is a mess of twists and turns through a “mountain”. The cars are a super tight fit for four people but it was a quick coaster and everyone was laughing in our car.

Dinner was late. They forgot to make the burgers and by the sounds of it from the grumblings of my fellow coaster geeks, we were hungry! We finished off the meal with a cake commemorating the 40th anniversary of ACE and we got ready for our night runs durning ERT.

It was a fun first day of the conference. I met up with several friends that I met last year at the conference in Alabama/Georgia. It was cool to see them again.

Tomorrow we finish up here and drive north to our next stop at Michigan’s Adventure!

Up Next: Michigan’s Adventure 

Coasters to date on the tour: 24

Do you like what you are reading? Want to see more? use the hashtag #rocknroller18 on social media and you can see pics on Instagram, tweets on Twitter and our daily trials and tribulations on Facebook.

Filed Under: #rocknroller18, Alaska, coasters, Daily Post Tagged With: ace, coasters, Indiana beach, ride with ace, road trip, robert forto, roller coasters

Road Trippin: East Bound and Down

June 9, 2011 by robertforto Leave a Comment

I always find just a little irony in that in my 12th flight to and fro my home in Alaska that you always leave from Denver’s East Terminal when you head West. At least if you are flying on Alaska Air or Frontier.

I don’t know why I think about stupid stuff like this, but I do. To me it’s like why do your loved ones dress you up for your funeral. I mean really, come on guys…

If you were a hard workin’, Carhart wearin’, blue collar guy– and your family dresses you in a suit from Sears and a pair of cheap shoes don’t they know your feet are going to hurt wherever your beliefs say you are going.

Talk about a Highway to Hell.

Just one more bit of traveling confusion: why do we, in America, call Asia the Far East when it’s directly west of San Fran?

So to close I bring you the greatest road trip song of all time (courtesy of YouTube of course) East Bound and Down from Smokey and the Bandit.

Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Road Trippin Tagged With: alaska, alaska airlines, denver, east bound down, frontier airlines, postaday2011, road trip, smokey and the bandit

The cattle train to the Great White North

June 8, 2011 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Picture this: you are at 37000 feet on a red eye from Denver to Anchorage. Babies are cryin, lights are blaring and the stewardesses, flight attendants, or whatever they are called these days are passing out our “complimentary” .5 ounce (14g) of gourmet snack mix.

The balding overweight, rayon shirt wearing, tourist is sitting diagonal from me sippin on an Alaskan Amber that he paid at least 6 bucks for and alternating with a chaser of Cranberry Cocktail. If you have ever had an Alaskan Amber you know it’s one of the smoothest, easiest drinking beers you can get.

This guy must either be a lightweight or he’s starting off his trip off right by experiencing the local flair. Kinda like going to Hooters
if you visit (god forbid) Buffalo, I guess…

But what’s more interesting is he’s holding his petit snack and eating it like a little squirrel.


I amuse easily I know.

But I have to admit that the cranberry juice did look refreshing and I’m nursing my 3oz cup like I’m in the middle of the desert  and it JUST may be the last drink I ever have in my life.

The snack is tasty too. Even though it amounts to a small handful, it does contain yummy pretzel sticks, corn chips with flax seeds!, and
cheddar corn sticks.

Gotta love the cattle train to the Great White North!

Tell us about your recent treks on the friendly skies.

More to follow…

Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Road Trippin Tagged With: alaska, alaska airlines, alaska amber, postaday2011, road trip, robert forto, travel

Road Trippin: Jordans Bistro in Denver, Colorado

June 7, 2011 by robertforto 1 Comment

One of our favorite places to meet friends when in Denver is Jordan’s Bistro in the heart of the University of Denver campus.

This Irish-style pub hits the mark with all of the favorites from authentic dishes such as boxty and shepherds pie to an adult mac and cheese that is die for. The decor reminds me of sitting at the bar in the United Kingdom. As soon as you walk in the door it feels like you walked into another world.

We used to frequent Jordan’s before walking just a couple blocks to the Magness Arena to watch the D.U. Pioneers hockey team. We had season tickets and always made a point to grab a beer and dinner before heading to the game.

This place does get packed on the weekends with college students and diners in the University area. Be sure to put your name on the list and enjoy a cocktail or beer at the bar.

Click on the Foursquare icon for Jordan’s Bistro and get out and explore your world!

 

Filed Under: Daily Post, Road Trippin Tagged With: denver, jordans bistro denver, road trip, robert forto

Road Trippin: Evergreen Lake, Colorado

June 3, 2011 by robertforto 2 Comments

What is a vacation/road trip/work-cation without a day hanging out with your 14 year old daughter for lunch and a walk around a beautiful lake?

Today, Nicole and I decided to get away from it all for a little bit and head up to the foothills to Evergreen Lake. Evergreen a beautiful little place with a downtown that is perfect for a colorado mountain post card with cool cafes, coffee shoppes, consignment stores and ice cream parlors. It is also home to the infamous Reagan’s would-be assassin John Hinkley, Jr. and more importantly Evergreen Lake.

Nicole and I headed up I-70 in the Jeep with the windows zipped down. It was supposed to be a record breaking scorcher today but it didn’t feel like it with the crosswinds blowing thru the truck. When we made it to our destination we both looked like we survived a wind tunnel with hair-do’s the size of Mount Everest!

We grabbed a burger at the One World Cafe that overlooks Evergreen’s main street and just seconds from the lake. Lunch was wonderful. One of the things I miss most about my crazy dream chasing in Alaska is having days like this to spend with my kids.

After lunch we took the short drive to the lake, got Qyain (our German Shepherd), grabbed the camera and hit the path!

As soon as we arrived Qyain headed for the water and pulled Nicole in! She was wearing Capri-pants, shoes and socks. She will have a blister by the time we are done.

 

Of course Qyain wanted to chase the wildlife, the ducks, the sticks and everything else. He is the only dog I have ever owned that chases waves and barks his fool head off trying to catch the white caps.

I like this one. It is Nicole and Qyain looking over at the waterfall. I think it captures why days like this are so important.

This is at the bottom of the dam/waterfall at the east side of Evergreen Lake. A favorite fishing hole as a lot of kids were there with their poles.

The lodge at Evergreen Lake. In the winter people can ice skate on the lake and they light it up. It is very beautiful in the winter.

Back at the Jeep. I love my Jeep! It is the funnest vehicle I have ever owned. We are fixing it up little by little. Michele’s dad used to sell cars and we got this jeep practically for a steal! I can’t wait to get it to Alaska.

We headed home down the pass through Kitterge and Morrison. I have always loved that drive through the canyons along the river. The windy mountain road ends right next to Red Rocks Amphitheater and then a quick hop on E-470 and home in 10 minutes.

What a wonderful day!

 

 

Filed Under: Daily Post, Robert Forto Tagged With: Colorado, evergreen lake, nicole forto, One World Cafe, postaday2011, road trip, robert forto

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