Boomers Pictures
Mar 25, 2004You didn’t really think we were gone did you? Of course not! Just that big server change I was wonking about at the beginning of the year. I didn’t handle it as well as I should have and it resulted in the site going offline for a couple of days. But we’re back with a faster server and 10 times the space as the old one. That just means we can load up on the good stuff without worry.
And what better way to come back than with new photos? Boomers Pictures are now online and it brings the site total to over 2600 photos from 45 different locations!
Short and sweet this time, I still have some technical crap to attend to with setting the site up on the new server. Expect more new photos in about a week. The usual thanks to everyone for the continued support - I appreciate it!
Back From Florida
Mar 22, 2004Well, I’m back. My family is probably the only family on Earth eager to leave the 80 degree Florida beaches for the 28 degree airport in Pittsburgh - and then raving about how good it felt. We’re not right…
Good fun in Florida. The wedding was nice. The coasters were nicer. The rental car was a Mitsubishi Lancer - so I did indeed look like a schlub driving around a lame rental car (see previous update entry). Uncle Bernie’s was an…uh, experience. The Florida Swap Shop (home to Uncle Bernie’s) draws quite a crowd on a warm Sunday afternoon. And we’ll just leave it at that.
Boomers was less crowded, but other than the Dania Beach Hurricane, really offers little unless you’re some weird mini-golf junkie. However, the DBH is a really great woodie that would probably get much more recognition if it were located somewhere more accessible than a South Florida entertainment center. One of the things that always bugged me was the lack of good pics of this ride. If you check all the usual sites for pics, you’ll find some on-ride stuff that’s ok, but offride stuff seemed to be lacking. After seeing the location in person I finally realized why. It’s a tough one to photograph! For that very reason, I didn’t get video - but I did go WAY too far out of my way to get some good offride photos and once they’re online, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Truly some looks at the coaster that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Expect that gallery later this week, with Uncle Bernie’s not far behind. You’ll check back, right? Ok, how about 2 preview shots of the DBH to hold you over?
Dania Beach Hurricane Preview 1 - Dania Beach Hurricane Preview 2 (note: links removed in site redesign - March 2005)
The entire Boomers Gallery will be up later this week.
Off To Florida
Mar 18, 2004We leave later today for Florida. Friday and Saturday we have wedding things to attend to, but Sunday is coaster day. We’ll be back Monday night, so expect updates in the following days. I’ll have my laptop so if anything exceptionally exciting happens, I can do updates on the spot.
For future reference, if you’re a friend or family of mine - don’t get married in South Florida during the peak of Spring Break. Plane tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars - all jacked up prices. Next time I’m not showing up (I’ll be getting all the coaster credits this time anyway - nah!) Plus, in the course of negotiation with my wife over where to cut costs, it was decided that I didn’t need to get a convertible, but we did need to stay at the Delray Beach Marriott. Little did I realize how silly my suggestion of getting the convertible and staying at a slightly cheaper hotel was until I actually said it. I also realized at that moment that this wasn’t much of a negotiation. My key mistake was starting negotiations with the convertible. I should’ve started with the Jaguar and then “settled” for the convertible. Instead I’ll be driving some mid-sized car looking like a schlub driving a mid-sized rental car…but I’ll have a nice room. Sigh…
At any rate, I hope to be able to throw together a Dania Beach Hurricane video and of course I’ll get pictures at Boomers and Uncle Bernie’s. So there’s a couple of updates - then it looks like it’s off to Dollywood and the new Thunderhead coaster in April.
Souvenir Cups, Travel Plans
Mar 9, 2004Quick little update this time. I added the rest of the 2003 season cups to the Souvenir Cups special feature. I think that officially kills off all the old backlog I had. Good thing we’re only 9 days away from taking off for Florida and some new pics (and video!), huh? As for the west coast trip - well, it’s on life support. It’s not totally dead yet, but it is not looking very good. There are a ton of factors determining whether we go or not and they all still haven’t played out. As soon as I know, I’ll pass the word along on what to expect. For now, I’ll flip-flop and say expect Dollywood in April. We really do wait until the last minute on a lot of our trip decisions and this one is no exception.
Fun Fore All Pictures
Mar 1, 2004Just when you think I have nothing - I give you something. I’ve been going on and on about being in “cruise control” with the site and not having any big updates coming for a month or so and what do I do? I give you an all new gallery. Nothing major, mind you, but it’s new pics and they’re less than 24 hours old! Yesterday was a resonably warm day in Western PA, so we took the quick drive up I-79 and hit a little “family entertainment center” called Fun Fore All. Late last summer they added a small package of Zamperla kiddie rides and we figured it’d be a fun way to enjoy the tease of spring weather and kick of the 2004 season with a small pop rather than a big bang. And we dug the novelty that we won’t be able to ride a coaster on February 29th again until 2008 at the soonest. My son got his first coaster credit and his first real rides on anything. We ended last summer with him being a total wuss and started this season with him begging to ride. 2004 is already looking fun. So now I have a 6 year old with 83 coasters under her belt and a 2 year old with his first. We have issues…
I’ll know in two days whether or not I’ll be heading to the west coast right after Florida. The trade off is that if I don’t, then Dollywood in April is a 90% lock. If I do head west, then Dollywood might not happen this year - or much later in the season at the very least. I’d rather head west, but I’ll take Dollywood and their new Thunderhead coaster too. It’s all good. Speaking of which, we’re 17 days away from Florida so new pics aren’t far behind. I’ll probably take the laptop and do some “on the road” updates like I started to do towards the end of last season…maybe. I might just sit on the beach sipping oddly colored drinks with umbrellas in them. Either way I win! Enjoy the new pics everyone.
