For my 33rd birthday, Andy and I took a long weekend and flew to Cincinnati to visit my family and friends. We managed to pack quite a lot into just a few days, and managed to maximize our time by flying in late Thursday night, and flying out Monday evening (flying from Eastern to Mountain time is amazing!). My parents picked us up at the airport about 11pm (bless their elderly hearts- this is well past their bedtime, especially for my mother!), and deposited us at my Cincinnati home in College Hill, where we had the house to ourselves, as my other parents, Skip and Linda, were at their other home in Indiana (if you followed that, kudos). It was after midnight Eastern time, and still after 10pm Mountain time, so we were getting tired. I set Andy up in his room, and kicked on the window A/C unit in my room, and we went to bed.
The next morning, we got up and headed out to King's Island, which I hadn't visited in 19 years, since the summer I turned 14. I brought my back brace with me, so I could ride some roller coasters. Yes, I have a loose piece of bone in my spine, and yes, I have chronic spasms as a result. Yes, the piece of bone can dislodge and make my spasms worse. It can also, potentially (though unlikely), hit my spine in such a way as to paralyze me. Should I go on roller coasters? Probably not. But here's the thing. If I didn't do everything I wasn't supposed to do, my life would suck. So I weigh the risks with the benefits, and make my decision. I happen to have a back brace that is extremely effective, and cinches up so tightly, it makes it hard to breathe. If I'm having issues breathing because of how tight my brace is, ain't nothin' movin' in there.
We got to King's Island around 11, and while the heat wasn't oppressive, the humidity was. I was amused by the fact that I was sweating like crazy, but I could also breathe. In Colorado, I have moderate to severe asthma, depending on the day. But in the Midwest, where oxygen is abundant, I can breathe like a champ. I found myself taking unnecessarily deep breaths all weekend, just because I could. I was walking and running all over King's Island, and not once did I have to stop, double over, and break out my inhaler. It was amazing.
The first thing we did, was take the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which is a 1/3 scale model of the actual tower, and looked out over the park and over Mason. The roller coasters looked little from way up there! After heading back down, we started on the rides: the Viking swing, the Spider, the Scrambler, etc. I'm sorry, no matter how old I get, giant swings, and spinning rides will always just be FUN. We kept looking at the roller coasters, trying to decide which ones we wanted to go on, and which ones I thought might not ruin my back, and the one I kept wanting to go on was The Diamondback. This one has been around King's Island for most of my life, and looking at it, and its extreme ups and downs, I kept trying to convince Andy to go on it with me. He kept hedging, but after a while, he finally said a solid, "HELL no."
Instead, we went on the Tower Drop. In case you don't know, this is a ride that takes you straight up about 26 stories, and then just...DROPS. We got on, and as it went up, I asked Andy if I had ever told him I'm scared of heights, which made him laugh. I actually am terrified of heights. But I have also decided not to let that fear dictate anything I do in life. So I deal. We got up to the top, and the waiting began. The thing about this ride is not the drop. It's the waiting. We have no idea when it's actually going to drop, and that's more terrifying than anything else. I'm sure the wait was only about 60 seconds, but it felt like several minutes. After a few seconds, I suddenly realized I had made a horrible mistake. Oops. I wanted nothing more than to get out of that ride. NOTHING. In all seriousness, I wanted to DIE. I actually wanted to die right then, right there. Because the only way I was going to get out of that ride, was to actually drop dead. Suddenly, the ride dropped, and then stopped, and I went, "Huh. That was like...nothing." I realized two things: 1. The game was more of a cruel psychological joke than anything else (followed by an awesome thrill!). The real terror is not the drop, it's the anticipation (there's actually some really deep philosophical stuff to delve into there, but maybe another time). 2. I have actually been through worse in life. We all have been on our share of sketchy elevators in our lives (especially if you've spent any time at ATI's Indianapolis Training Center). But I have never been afraid of any issue on any elevator after surviving the elevators of the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow. While there in 1998 with about 400 other Americans on a mission trip, my mom and I were staying on about the 24th floor, along with a bunch of others in our group. We got on the elevator one afternoon, to go up to our floor. We got to between the 23rd and 24th floors, and our elevator got stuck. Not only did it get stuck, but it suddenly began shaking violently. Then suddenly, it dropped. Several floors. Then suddenly stopped again. Well, we just wanted out at that point. But after a few minutes, it started shaking again, and then, again, free fell. I was pretty sure I was going to die at 14. Well, we finally made it to the lobby in one piece, and we couldn't get out of that elevator fast enough. None of us went near that elevator the rest of our time in Moscow. Going through that very unplanned freefall has a way of putting regulated and safety-tested rides that are supposed to drop in perspective.
After the Tower Drop, we went to the other side of the park to ride The Beast. This is a wooden roller coaster with a number of tunnels, and is older than I am. The Beast is one of King's Island's classic rides. I had never been on it before, though that's hardly believable for someone from Cincinnati. The ride is freaking awesome. It's the perfect level of scary and thrilling, to maximize the fun without getting to the "Oh dear God we're going to die, get me out of here" stage. Andy's experience was slightly more terrifying, as tunnels make him fear for his life, as he's 6'1". But the ride was fantastic, and I was so excited to actually be riding a legit roller coaster, despite my back. Andy loved it so much, and got such an adrenaline high from it, that he decided he wanted to go on the Diamondback. About the time we got off The Beast, I hit my wall. 5 hours of rides and crowds and walking and humidity were taking their toll. I looked at him and said, "No! You had hours to go on this ride, and you gave me a solid no, and I'm done." He admitted this was the case, and we started to leave. On our way out, he said, "I'm going to tell everyone I wanted to ride the Diamondback and you didn't want to." Which got a smack and a tongue lashing from me, which only made him laugh. Men.
Our day at King's Island was tons of fun, and we ended it by having dinner with my friends Kevin and Joe. Other than the fact that Kevin and Andy kept riffing puns back and forth all night, it was mostly fun. After dinner, we went back to Kevin's to watch the extended version of Batman vs. Superman (omg, so much better than the original cut), and ate UDF ice cream. It was again after midnight before we got home, but we definitely slept well, since we were absolutely exhausted. We had more going on the next day, but that story will come in part 2.
The next morning, we got up and headed out to King's Island, which I hadn't visited in 19 years, since the summer I turned 14. I brought my back brace with me, so I could ride some roller coasters. Yes, I have a loose piece of bone in my spine, and yes, I have chronic spasms as a result. Yes, the piece of bone can dislodge and make my spasms worse. It can also, potentially (though unlikely), hit my spine in such a way as to paralyze me. Should I go on roller coasters? Probably not. But here's the thing. If I didn't do everything I wasn't supposed to do, my life would suck. So I weigh the risks with the benefits, and make my decision. I happen to have a back brace that is extremely effective, and cinches up so tightly, it makes it hard to breathe. If I'm having issues breathing because of how tight my brace is, ain't nothin' movin' in there.
We got to King's Island around 11, and while the heat wasn't oppressive, the humidity was. I was amused by the fact that I was sweating like crazy, but I could also breathe. In Colorado, I have moderate to severe asthma, depending on the day. But in the Midwest, where oxygen is abundant, I can breathe like a champ. I found myself taking unnecessarily deep breaths all weekend, just because I could. I was walking and running all over King's Island, and not once did I have to stop, double over, and break out my inhaler. It was amazing.
The first thing we did, was take the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which is a 1/3 scale model of the actual tower, and looked out over the park and over Mason. The roller coasters looked little from way up there! After heading back down, we started on the rides: the Viking swing, the Spider, the Scrambler, etc. I'm sorry, no matter how old I get, giant swings, and spinning rides will always just be FUN. We kept looking at the roller coasters, trying to decide which ones we wanted to go on, and which ones I thought might not ruin my back, and the one I kept wanting to go on was The Diamondback. This one has been around King's Island for most of my life, and looking at it, and its extreme ups and downs, I kept trying to convince Andy to go on it with me. He kept hedging, but after a while, he finally said a solid, "HELL no."
Instead, we went on the Tower Drop. In case you don't know, this is a ride that takes you straight up about 26 stories, and then just...DROPS. We got on, and as it went up, I asked Andy if I had ever told him I'm scared of heights, which made him laugh. I actually am terrified of heights. But I have also decided not to let that fear dictate anything I do in life. So I deal. We got up to the top, and the waiting began. The thing about this ride is not the drop. It's the waiting. We have no idea when it's actually going to drop, and that's more terrifying than anything else. I'm sure the wait was only about 60 seconds, but it felt like several minutes. After a few seconds, I suddenly realized I had made a horrible mistake. Oops. I wanted nothing more than to get out of that ride. NOTHING. In all seriousness, I wanted to DIE. I actually wanted to die right then, right there. Because the only way I was going to get out of that ride, was to actually drop dead. Suddenly, the ride dropped, and then stopped, and I went, "Huh. That was like...nothing." I realized two things: 1. The game was more of a cruel psychological joke than anything else (followed by an awesome thrill!). The real terror is not the drop, it's the anticipation (there's actually some really deep philosophical stuff to delve into there, but maybe another time). 2. I have actually been through worse in life. We all have been on our share of sketchy elevators in our lives (especially if you've spent any time at ATI's Indianapolis Training Center). But I have never been afraid of any issue on any elevator after surviving the elevators of the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow. While there in 1998 with about 400 other Americans on a mission trip, my mom and I were staying on about the 24th floor, along with a bunch of others in our group. We got on the elevator one afternoon, to go up to our floor. We got to between the 23rd and 24th floors, and our elevator got stuck. Not only did it get stuck, but it suddenly began shaking violently. Then suddenly, it dropped. Several floors. Then suddenly stopped again. Well, we just wanted out at that point. But after a few minutes, it started shaking again, and then, again, free fell. I was pretty sure I was going to die at 14. Well, we finally made it to the lobby in one piece, and we couldn't get out of that elevator fast enough. None of us went near that elevator the rest of our time in Moscow. Going through that very unplanned freefall has a way of putting regulated and safety-tested rides that are supposed to drop in perspective.
After the Tower Drop, we went to the other side of the park to ride The Beast. This is a wooden roller coaster with a number of tunnels, and is older than I am. The Beast is one of King's Island's classic rides. I had never been on it before, though that's hardly believable for someone from Cincinnati. The ride is freaking awesome. It's the perfect level of scary and thrilling, to maximize the fun without getting to the "Oh dear God we're going to die, get me out of here" stage. Andy's experience was slightly more terrifying, as tunnels make him fear for his life, as he's 6'1". But the ride was fantastic, and I was so excited to actually be riding a legit roller coaster, despite my back. Andy loved it so much, and got such an adrenaline high from it, that he decided he wanted to go on the Diamondback. About the time we got off The Beast, I hit my wall. 5 hours of rides and crowds and walking and humidity were taking their toll. I looked at him and said, "No! You had hours to go on this ride, and you gave me a solid no, and I'm done." He admitted this was the case, and we started to leave. On our way out, he said, "I'm going to tell everyone I wanted to ride the Diamondback and you didn't want to." Which got a smack and a tongue lashing from me, which only made him laugh. Men.
Our day at King's Island was tons of fun, and we ended it by having dinner with my friends Kevin and Joe. Other than the fact that Kevin and Andy kept riffing puns back and forth all night, it was mostly fun. After dinner, we went back to Kevin's to watch the extended version of Batman vs. Superman (omg, so much better than the original cut), and ate UDF ice cream. It was again after midnight before we got home, but we definitely slept well, since we were absolutely exhausted. We had more going on the next day, but that story will come in part 2.
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