hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 6/13/2006 10:39:20 AM
as i write to you, TPCers, i sip at deep ethiopian coffee, brewed by yours truly to the consistency of roofing tar. i listen to the 70s french acid folk of brigitte fontaine. this past weekend i was able to enjoy myself at knoebel's grove amusement park in the company of friends, including TPC powerhouses adriahna and darkridrmd. it was a sublime day of golden sunlight, easy thrills, some chills, a smorgasbord of great band organ music and generous helpings of that always unique and tasty treat, pennsylvania country cuisine.
as is my habit, i left baltimore much later than planned. i was accompanied by my good friend, d. my girlfriend pulled out at the last minute and, while not nearly as attractive or effervescent as my girlfriend, d nevertheless has survived several long duration road trips with me, and he is never a boring accomplice.
on our way north from b-more on i-83, we made a now customary stop at yocumtown, pa, the home of maple donut. this place, which lures weary travelers from the interstate with a towering plaster donut icon, is THE GREATEST donut joint in the world. now consider that hrry NEVER dines on donuts. i make an exception for maple donut. i am always impressed by the half annoyed/half personable personalities of the older female staff and the caramel nut donut i bought was awful damn good tasting. i also ordered coffee, knowing full well that it would not meet my strict standards for bean beverages, but i like the taste of weak "road coffee" sometimes. it reminds me of where i am, "the road."
back on track d and i decided to visit centralia, pa before meeting adriahna, darkridr, and adriahna's hubby, "g" at knoebel's. many of you already know about centralia, but for those who don't, it is the site of one of the most drastic mine fires in our country's history. the town was largely abandoned in the 70s due to the underground fire, which caused many sinkholes, emitted noxious pockets of superheated gases and which has burned now for 35 years and is expected to burn for about 100 more. driving through the town is indeed an eerie experience. there are in fact several "holdouts" who refused to move and fought the state government's attempts to claim imminent domain. these people were out and about their homes, mowing their lawns etc. however the side streets and sidewalks which lead nowhere, and the weed overgrown plots and lonely building foundations reveal the truth about this forsaken place.
d and i parked my car and walked down an abandoned highway, ignoring the sign which warned "danger: ground prone to sudden collapse and harmful gases present." i cannot lie and tell you i was not very nervous to walk down this road. the thought that i was walking on a "dome" over a red hot 35 year old inferno did not leave my mind once. about a half mile down the road, the asphalt began to warp as if it were made of paper. there were several fissures in the road about two feet wide each, and from these were steady emerging wisps of hot earthy smelling steam. it was a very compelling and creepy thing to see. i give all of my respect to the people of appalachia and other coal regions of this world, who work under the harshest conditions and do a dangerous and thankless work.
but onto a far more utopian part of my story, d and i got back into my car and drove the final 18 miles or so to knoebel's. i should tell you right now that i LOVE this place. it is so unlike the kinds of amusement parks i grew up in. it is so refreshing to park for free in the grass like you're going to a motorcross race or something. i love how there is no big gate or entrance to knoebel's. as you leave the parking lot the park just kind of "starts". no security shake downs, no turnstiles. because this saturday was part of the "band organ rally" as soon as we got onto the park grounds the sounds of several band organs hit our ears. with the sun beaming down, the soft cool breeze blowing, and the bright
Message updated 6/13/2006 8:08:48 PM by hrrytraver
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
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Skooter Junkie
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6/13/2006 10:48:44 AM
This is great... definitely at the second rung of great visits I've had to Knoebels - only surpassed by my first. I can't wait to read the rest...
Oh, and yes - LONG LIVE TRUDY!!!
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darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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6/13/2006 7:49:17 PM
Yes. Like Adriahna, waiting in anticipation for the rest of the tale. I get the giggles even now thinking about Fandango spraying the crowd! 
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
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6/13/2006 9:18:49 PM
That was one of the funniest, most twisted things I've seen in a long while. The five of us just standing there, barely believing what we were witnessing... "Oh, MAN!!! It's falling on the crowd!!!"
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/14/2006 1:38:14 AM
I too am waiting, in this case for what I missed. Somehow avoiding the vomit-water suggests that getting stuck working weekends may not be such a bad thing. . . .
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/14/2006 10:21:36 AM
OK, moving right along. once again i'm armed with a deep dark demitasse of gorgeous ethiopian coffee. hopefully this time i will be able to type through this tale before my vocation chops down on my fun and forces me to wisk away to west baltimore to serve the needs of our society's mentally ill population...
_________________________________
indeed the empty fandango pendulum spritzing vomit water on paying customers was humorous. adriahna, darkridr, g, d, and myself were actually a bit off from sprinkle ground zero so it was easier to see the humor in it. also amusing was when d said "thank you" to the guy who heroically did the clean up. he barely registered eye contact with d to repay the gratitude.
next up came the haunted mansion. i missed out on this my last visit, due i guess to my unswerving fixation on the flyer and the phoenix. i can get very "monochromatic" at amusement parks. when i visited cedar point all i did was ride mf and magnum over and over again. one ride each on gemini, raptor, mantis and iron dragon and that was it! see, i need to open up more at parks.
well the influence of adriahna and darkridr was very positive for me, becuase they got me on fandango AND the haunted mansion, things i would miss out on due to my obsession with catching mad air on flyer and phoenix. i am very glad i did the HM, because it was awesome and tripped out. i love loud, discordant and goofy things as much as life itself...how could i ever miss out on a great pleasure like the haunted mansion? see my review on this site for more details and theoretical discourse.
i'd like to discuss for a moment the interaction we had with an older amusment park zealot who was "haunting" the entrance to the HM. his "in" to having a conversation with us was his curiosity about adriahna's numerous coney island and knoebel's patches attached to her napsack. he was enormously personable though, and of course a pretty strange guy, with an awkward demeanor, crooked teeth and odd fast paced eye contact. i have met various charactors like this over the years, and i'm always impressed at how they consistently strike me as eccentric outcasts. i have known all along that i was not compatible with society at large, but meeting charactors like this reminds me that 20 more years of eccentric "self-pruning" will really shape me into a curious "bonsai" of a person much like this guy at the haunted mansion. it is a fate i embrace whole-heartedly.
i suggested to adriahna that she start early, "pruning" the younger upstart amusement park wierdos by attaching one or two fake gold teeth, wearing mismatched colored contact lenses and going to parks and chatting young fanboys up about obscure carousel organs, just to give them a glimpse of the perspective of a die-hard amusment freek seasoned by years of rarified hobbies.
adriahna's husband, g, is not one for amusment devices which quickly and intrusively stimulate the motion sensing organs of the inner ear. throughout the day g would appear and disappear, briefly turning our quartet to a quintet and then back again. thrill rides are simply not on his itinerary, yet he is there to support his wife and encourage her thrill seeking habits. now THAT is love revealing it's inner mechanics.
i have lots of time these days to ponder the nature of love, and while i can't claim to comprehend it's mysteries, i can attest to the fact that i am comfortable with it's strange magic. g and adriahna are clearly like two puzzle pieces. it doesn't occur to a person seeing the two pieces seperate that they would fit together, but indeed they do, and they fit together quite well. i ask you: does your partner need to share your passions in order for the relationship to work? no, i'd say. they only need to be passionate about the fact that you have unique passions.
back to knoebel's, we next took a circuit on the twister. this is a cool coaster, but i know when i ride it that my heart re
Message updated 6/14/2006 12:33:46 PM by hrrytraver
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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6/14/2006 12:19:47 PM
Great reading, hrrytraver. I'm looking forward to the next installment. This is what it's all about, no?
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darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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6/14/2006 10:00:02 PM
I wait in breathless anticipation for the next chapter. What will befall our intrepid heroes(and heroine)?
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
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6/14/2006 11:09:54 PM
I love this... more! MORE!!!
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/15/2006 10:49:52 AM
once again my back side snuggles into the computer chair and the complex twang of coffee grown in the ethiopian highlands reclines on my palette. let's try to finish this saga today...
________________________________________
many of you TPCrs may wonder what various regular members of this site are like in the flesh. i will attempt to paint a picture for you of adriahna and darkridrmd, not to spoil the fun but rather to add fuel to furnace of the imagination. perhaps the time will come when you can meet these fine folks yourself and then you can compare hrry's impressions with your own.
at 3900 posts on the site it is an understatment to say that adriahna is a cornerstone of the site. many readers, whom unfortunately by some strangely engineered default are mostly male, wonder who is this friendly and intelligent women who has such knowledge and charactor yet displays no ego or acidity? lonely coasterdudes from coast to coast have no doubt imagined adriahna to be of a near goddess likeness, with carribean blue eyes and garnet heart-shaped lips. surely such a cool and "down" chick must also be hot stuff, right? well, if this is the case you won't be dissappointed. not a women in the raquel welsh design per se, but rather more of the sexy librarian type, with long red hair and decked out in some hip outfits. my upringing doesn't allow me to reveal the age of a woman to anyone unless approved by the woman herself, but suffice it to say, adriahna hides a few years and appears before you as a young 100watt bulb of warm soothing energy. g is a lucky man! adriahna gets the .
darkridrmd is a less ubiquitous site member, though his interest in classic dark rides has always impressed me. standing before you, he is a tall clean cut bearded man with soft eyes and gentle intensity. darkridr, like adriahna, is in fact a few years older than one would think. he is actually soon approaching one of those age "demarcation" points that can unjustly pressure an individual to become nervous about themselves, but darkridr seems non-plussed by it and actually seems to fly in it's face by gleefully doing such things as riding rollercoasters and fandangos. i don't know the man deeply, so i can't say that he isn't a nervous wreck on the inside, but my instinct tells me that he is simply a cool guy who knows when to be an adult male who is nearing a "demarcation point", and he also knows when to be an adolescent and get in his car and go to the nearest roller coaster for a nervous system upgrade.
with this exercise behind me, i now return to the ground at knoebel's, where d, g, darkridr, adriahna and myself have just discussed the twister and it's properties, when compared to the hard to beat phoenix.
seeing as d and i reached the park somewhat late in the day, the time was running out for darkridr, who had a long drive back to that exotic and strange place, delaware. we saw him off with an unusual and thick looking "fudge slushy" of some sort and made tentative plans to meet at trimper's rides in OC, MD later in the season. the sun was slowly moving earthward and i imagine darkridr had a peaceful and contemplative drive that evening, accompanied by a cold fudge beverage and hopefully cool music. maybe darkridr can share with us what his musical selections were on the ride home?
adriahna decided to opt out on a flyer circuit. TPC regulars will be shocked to hear this, but she said that she had had a subtle headache since earlier in the day, which had been shaken laterally by the twister, vertically by the phoenix, and gyroscopically by the fandango, creating something inside of her skull probably not unlike the fudge beverage darkridr drank in his car that night.
so d and i had i nice ride on the flyer. i was nervous in the line, because it seemed like the operator was not a fan of saucy snappy riders and in fact most of the riders were being very conservative with snapping. the thought crossed my mind t
Message updated 6/15/2006 12:22:32 PM by hrrytraver
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
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Skooter Junkie
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6/15/2006 11:29:30 AM
The better I get to know hrry, the more I like him...
Anyhow, just to put it out there, we plugged the iPod into the car stereo, and spent about 2.5 hours listening to:
1) Band Organ tunes (I tortured my poor husband by listening to "Among My Souvenirs", played impeccably on a Wurlitzer 165, three times in a row since I love it so much)
2) Ambrose & His Orchestra (highly good stuff from the 1930's - hrry, I will make you a cd with "Message From Mars" on it, if I haven't already)
3) Charles Trenet (a French singer - we mostly listened to his work from the late 1930's)
Anyhow, yes, hrry was witness to just a touch of my Flyer skills... I was hesitant to let loose on the ride, after the dirty look and ride slowdown I got from one of the ops last season, so I played it safe. I couldn't believe it when, as we were getting off the ride, this op said, "Oh, you had 'er going a little bit - better luck next time!" I got antsy as all get out, wanting to ride it again... this guy was actually egging us on to let 'er rip. But it was way time to get home, and I had to get in one last listen to Trudy...
... Yeah, that Trudy...
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/15/2006 8:44:58 PM
As I woman I have no room to quibble with hrry's depiction of the goddess who is adriahna, but I must beg to differ slightly on another issue:
Quote:
hrrytraver said:
he also knows when to be an adolescent and he also knows when to be an adolescent and and get in his car and go to the nearest roller coaster for a nervous system upgrade.
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It is necessary to edit that into "he also knows when to be an adolescent and BLOW OFF WORK to get in his car and go to the nearest roller coaster for a nervous system upgrade." Just a minor point.
For those of us who missed out, who is going to write the description of hrry & d to complete the picture?
Message updated 6/15/2006 9:35:45 PM by erinys
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darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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6/16/2006 8:10:13 PM
Erinys neglects to mention just who "blew off work" to accompany me! HT- I'm afraid my music selection wasn't nearly as eclectic or interesting as yours. I listened to a mix I put together of 60's acid rock/protest rock type songs, then spent most of the trip from Harrisburg back to Delaware listening to XM comedy.
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
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6/17/2006 11:52:34 PM
Yeeah...
hrry... where do I begin? First of all, hrry looks exactly, seriously, what I expected him to look like, based upon his self-effacing descriptions of his interests, qualms, profession, and appearance. He's slim, probably not quite as tall as I tend to think of him as being, one heck of a snappy dresser (his appearance for dinner at the Alamo strongly impressed me - he'd thrown on a grey, double-breasted jacket over his shirt - the best part of this, however, were the two pink thriftshop price tags, stapled on his lapel and, of all places, rear hem... this is highly tasteful in my book), and has an overall aura of a powerful intellect. I recall, before first meeting him at Coney in the wintertime, his description of what I should be keeping my eye out for so as to get together - it basically read as follows:
"I look like a Chechnyan terrorist - will be checking out the Cyclone."
Yeah. There you have it. He's a coool dude.
I'll leave it to hrry to describe his buddy d - I only know a tiny bit of him, but was impressed nonetheless. He gave me a very cool little token of friendship, focused around a shared love of mechanical music... hrry can tell him that I still wear it on a daily basis...
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/18/2006 7:27:47 PM
i'm 5'11".
"d" i will describe as a singularity. unlike anyone i can think of. often speaks in a strange arabesque of colorful non-sequiturs which often suddenly appear logical several minutes after the fact. he is a relentlessly creative musician and artist. like myself and seemingly every white male musician i know, he is thin verging on emaciation.
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*FreeBird*
Posts: 8264
Registered: 8/29/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/18/2006 7:36:07 PM
Great review. Btw, what does the Flying Turns construction area look like? I saw some of the pictures from their site but its hard to tell how big it is.
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/18/2006 9:09:29 PM
Hmmmm, a Chechnyan terrorist in thrift shop wear, an emaciated musician, a Goddess librarian, and an intense, bearded guy approaching some significant age . . . must have been an interesting picture, not the typical fodder of people reading. This will take some pondering prior to OC - how best to compliment this collection of what I suspect are each strong, self-assured personalities?
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/18/2006 11:38:45 PM
Quote:
*FreeBird* said:
Great review. Btw, what does the Flying Turns construction area look like? I saw some of the pictures from their site but its hard to tell how big it is. |
thanks for reading, freebird. good question regarding the f-turns. it looks really really cool. it is very small actually. i predict it will be intense. going through such small, tight turns in those claustrophobic narrow troughs at the projected 25mph will probably be sick. the the wood work looks gorgeous.
Quote:
erinys:
Hmmmm, a Chechnyan terrorist in thrift shop wear, an emaciated musician, a Goddess librarian, and an intense, bearded guy approaching some significant age . . . must have been an interesting picture, not the typical fodder of people reading. This will take some pondering prior to OC - how best to compliment this collection of what I suspect are each strong, self-assured personalities? |
well my girlfriend is one half egyptian/one half central american and looks like a petite big-eyed cappacino colored woodland fairy so there is another rare persona you will need to distinguish yourself by. you may be faced with no choice but to wear your shirt that flies up to your chin on rides (readers, see el toro thread) in order to make your mark.
Message updated 6/18/2006 11:47:30 PM by hrrytraver
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
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6/18/2006 11:47:28 PM
Oh, I think erin will make her mark - she's got personality, herself...
And yes - the Flying Turns is looking GOOD. As hrry said, the craftsmanship that's going into that coaster is a glory to behold... it's very difficult to explain the appearance of the troughs, both those finished and in place, as well as those under construction. I'll just put it this way - the artistry that's going into this ride is PURE Knoebels.
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/19/2006 12:04:24 AM
Quote:
adriahna said:
erin will make her mark - she's got personality, herself...
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i see every indication that you are correct in that.
Message updated 6/19/2006 12:20:56 AM by hrrytraver
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*FreeBird*
Posts: 8264
Registered: 8/29/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/19/2006 7:06:31 PM
I'm going to Knoebels tommorow!!!!  I'm going to take a lot of pictures, its going to be soooo fun!!!!!
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003
Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
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6/19/2006 7:53:00 PM
Enjoy, Freebird!!! The park is looking better than ever. And share the pics if you get the chance!
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/19/2006 8:03:31 PM
I must clarify that my shirt flew up to my cervical vertebrae, not my chin. You really don't want the shirts of women past certain demarcation points flying up to their chins.
Oh, adriahna . . . let's talk bathrooms. That intense man keeps sending messages like ". . .must. . .lose. . .Knoebels. . .virginity. . . ." and I think the goal is July 1. I've heard horror stories about the men's restrooms there. What about the women's? Do I need my seat covers? My portable roll of tp? Hand sanitizer? A can of lysol? A funnel? If it's as nasty as the bathrooms by Funland in Rehoboth, I may choose to remain (kinda) intact.
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
Registered: 7/16/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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6/19/2006 9:05:24 PM
Quote:
erinys said:
You really don't want the shirts of women past certain demarcation points flying up to their chins.
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not true. i relish every little peek i get, regardless of age, shape, size, color or creed.
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
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6/19/2006 10:13:05 PM
Wow, hrry... will keep that little truth in mind.
erin, on to wc matters... well, I tend to be a "hoverer", when it comes to public bathrooms - dunno about you. With this in mind, I'm really not grossed out at all by Knoebels rather rustic bathrooms - but then, what with all of the picnics I've sold at as a greyhound event vendor, I've certainly seen my share of port-a-potties and nasty park toilets. When these are taken into comparison, Knoebels' are downright nice. However, if you are not a "hoverer", keep in mind that the toilets don't have seats - rather, they are just rimmed. Don't know if I'd put my butt on them... but anyhow. No need for hand sanitizer or tp - the paper holders are always well-stocked, and sinks are right there for you. Maybe the mens' restrooms are nasty there, but as far as I'm concerned, Knoebels doesn't do wrong by the ladies.
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/19/2006 10:27:39 PM
I was just wondering if someone failed to mention that hrry is 17. At heart, perhaps? Maybe that's the essential male nature without brainwashing and indoctrination into the currently accepted societal ideals.
Thanks, a. - hovering it is. Sounds mandatory there. But running water is reassuring.
Message updated 6/19/2006 11:19:34 PM by erinys
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hrrytraver
Posts: 1270
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6/20/2006 10:01:39 AM
^i fancy myself non-brainwashed/non-indoctrinated. i like to keep it candid and casual, but in defense of my occasional forays into "tact" and "assimilation" my aunts and uncles have noted at family functions etc that i can "clean up nice" if the situation requires it.
Message updated 6/20/2006 10:17:52 AM by hrrytraver
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erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005
Rank: Bronze Critic
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6/20/2006 11:13:35 AM
I pictured you non-brainwashed and non-indoctrinated, but how nice to hear you clean up well!
I emailed a. to see if she has more info on her trip to the Shore. It would be nice if my hubby A (who may sometimes resemble a Basque terrorist, but not usually) could make the Trimper's trip too, but since that week is also our first trip to Coney Island, he may be amusement park-ed out.
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*FreeBird*
Posts: 8264
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6/20/2006 9:49:35 PM
Sorry guys, no pictures. My digital camera must have some kind of short circuit because I put in two pairs of new batteries in it and it just shuts off. 
Anyways it was beautiful out today, perfect amusement park weather. Phoenix was running well, especially in the back, it was wild. Same with Twister, somebody on this site said it was slowing down, but I didn't notice it. Flyers were excellent, but I really think they need to trim some of those trees nearby, I was getting extremely close to hitting some of the branches. We also tried out the new XD Theater. It was actually pretty fun, the 3d glasses worked well, and the chair movements and vibrations were on key. That said, I don't think it was worth $3. And I think Knoebels may soon realize this since me and my friend were the only people in there. Also, some wind effects would add a lot to the experience. The ride itself needs more attention since it said its in the Roaring Creek Saloon, but once you got in there it was like "Where is it?". So yeah, I was realy daring today, risking much embarrisment to ride the Sky Slide. I just wanted to go on it so bad, it brings back such great memories. Overall it was a great day, despite having to leave at 6:30.
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adriahna
Posts: 4692
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6/21/2006 7:32:54 PM
Glad you had a good time, Freebird - but then, it's darned hard NOT to have a good time at Knoebels...
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