It's true...I really do update

well i haven't updated in awhile, so I guess I should bring everyone up to speed...

okay, so last monday, we headed for Tampa. The plan was to meet Trevor and company, ride some coasters, and see a Red Sox game. We drove all day, ending up at Marcie's in Atlanta for the night.

Tuesday rolled around, and we were on the road up and early at 6am. Now Tuesday was a highly historical day, as the space shuttle returned to flight after more than 2.5 years. Mal was thoughtful enough to suggest stopping at a hotel down the road so we could watch it. She was even able to capture the tension of the moment with her camera...

We continued on after the launch, landing in Tampa around 2:30. The hotel room wasn't ready, so we all went out to eat. It was the first time Mal and Amber met, as well as the Acy parents meeting Mal. A good time was had by all.

After dinner, still no luck with the room. Mal and I decided to take things into our own hands, offering to go pick up the tickets to the game while everyone moved into the room when it was ready. If we had waited on the room before heading down to Tropicana Field, we may not have gotten good seats. Trevor and Amber tagged along, and despite some erratic driving on my part, we made it to Tropicana field in plenty of time to buy what I believe to be the best seats I have ever had at a baseball game(yes, better than the ones I have been to at Fenway). I'll let some of the pictures describe the eventful evening...

Trevor and I were stunned by a 30 ft. tall Manny Ramirez on the Jumbotron

The view of the action from our seats...

Matt Clement got hit hard with a line drive midway through the game. It was a very scary sight...
So scary I couldn't bear to watch.

But the game continued...Mal and I regained our composure and focus.

We were down a few runs in the latter innings, which meant only one thing: rally cap time.
Thanks to 9th and 10th inning heroics by Damon, the Sox gained the lead. Schiller came in to close it out.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, took a dip in the pool, and got some rest. A long day awaited us on Wednesday...

Busch Gardens. Home of 2 of the top 25 steel coasters in the world, according to coasterfanatics.com. Talk about exciting. We got to the park before it opened, getting a jump start on the rest of the crowd. The gates opened, and we headed to Sheikra, Busch Gardens' newest attraction. Head over to the roller coaster database to learn more about it. Not the tallest or fastest coaster I have ever ridden, but it was quite a thrill. Why? The 90 degree drop at the beginning is quite breathtaking. Needless to say, with the crowd being so small at the outset of the day, we rode Sheikra TWICE.

Trevor and I are amused by the clever park map.

Next came Montu, quite possibly the BEST inverted coaster I have ever experienced. Again, the rcdb has all the info about it. I mean, an upside-down cobra roll on an inverted coaster!?! Are you kidding me?! We rode the front, and I can understand why it is in the top 25.

We did find that Mal has Egyptian ancestry...

Then came Kumba. Excellent steel coaster. Read all about it here.

On to Gwazi we went. It was a "dueling" wooden coaster, but due to the lack of either a) mediocrity or b) stupidity in design, the dueling aspect was never fully realized. Still, an excellent wooden coaster it was.

Besides riding the coasters that day, we also ate, played some arcade games, and the usual batch of carnival-style games. I vowed that I'd win a prize for Mal, but I soon found out that was easier said than done. Here I attempted the dreaded ring-around-bottle throw.

Oh I got close.....VERY close to winning.

I even resorted to trying "The Claw" game. Same result: FAILURE.

Around 4, we left the park to clean up a bit and eat a sit-down dinner. The park is open until 10 during July, and during this time they lower the lights, turn up the ambiet noise, and have bands playing all around the park. We returned to ride Montu amidst twilight. It was breathtaking.

We rode another coaster, the Python, but due to it's kiddie-like design and short length, I'd prefer not to mention it any further, haha.

We returned to the hotel for the night.

Every roller coaster/theme park has a sister water park, and Busch Gardens was no different. The water park, Adventure Island, was included in our two-day passes. We went around 1pm to experience the water at the hottest part of the day. There were TONS of people there, which slowed the lines somewhat, but after a short thunderstorm, the crowd decreased by about half. We rode the slides, the raft slides, and other rides. Not a particular noteable water park, but fun nonetheless. We also made time for goofy pictures and action shots, but since we were using a disposable underwater camera, we're still waiting on them to develop.

Mal and I left early early Friday morning. We bid adieu to Trevor and Amber, and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta around 2:30, but since we were coming from the opposite direction and there was no exit for our turnoff from the South, we had to navigate the mean streets of Atlanta for a few hours. We got to Marcie's around 4:30, and we took a nap for an hour and a half. We went to pick up our tickets when we woke, the drove back to Marcie's. We changed into our ballgame attire, then walked to the game. We were less than 1.5 miles from Turner Field, so there was no need to drive.

The game was great. Mal got some awesome seats right in the middle of left field home run territory. We had a spectacular view of the game:

You wouldn't wanna make these two angry...

In an attempt to blend in, disappear, I joined the crowd with the Tomahawk chant.

Who knew Johnny Bravo was a Braves fan?

As you can tell, Mal and I completely hate each other's company.

We got to bed around midnight, only to wake up and leave by 5am. Mal had to be back in Paris for a wedding, so we made sure we had enough of a time cushion. Let me tell you, THAT was some tough driving. Never again do I want to get 5 hours sleep and drive....EVER. We returned to Paris in plenty of time for Mal to make the wedding.

All in all, the trip was great. Fast coasters, great weather, a Red Sox win...it just doesn't get much better than that.

Since we have returned, I have just been chillin, as you'd expect. Lately, however, Travis and I have been in the volleyball mood. We have gone up to the city pool to play the past few days. Our combined powers make for an unstoppable force. We only dropped 2 sets all day today. We got some great pics of all of us playing today, so I'll be sure to post them once I have them.

Until next time...

-H