Goodbye Big Bad Wolf Coaster

The rumors that have been swirling the past several weeks about Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Big Bad Wolf coaster appear to be true and confirmed. The Arrow suspended coaster, one of a handful left on the planet, will be "retired" September 7, 2009, to make way for possible expansion and a rumored new land. Curiously, this also comes on it's 25 year anniversary with the park.

While I, like many others, hate to see this coaster taken down, this move is understandable. You can have an old car you dearly love, but at some point it gets really expensive to keep up. It breaks down more frequently, parts are harder and harder to find for it, and the company that made it is long gone or changed so much that it doesn't make cars or support them very much. Transplant car with coaster and you have my partial take on this situation.

Now, if you put on your park manager hat, this move, combined with the ocassionally used old Drachen Fire area would open up a lot of room for a new land and new coaster. The current rumor is a B&M flyer and Spain for the theme, but my gut says don't count out a possible woodie like Thunderhead.

Additionally, though different perspectives on a suspended coaster, Alpengeist does most of the same things Big Bad Wolf does, plus. Granted Alpengeist is higher octane, but it's a similar situation to Python and Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa a few years ago. Both had cork screws, but Kumba did that, plus. In some ways, this made Python, a tried and true Arrow Corkscrew model, a bit redundant. That coaster was scrapped in 2006 to make way for Jungala and some of the trains went to Williamsburg for parts and to run on Loch Ness Monster.

That said, the yet unnamed, nor confirmed replacement for Big Bad Wolf, will have to be something pretty swanky to justify the removal, especially in fans and enthusiasts minds. Keep in mind, Busch has been in this situation before with Jungala. The general reaction before hand was "You want to replace a coaster with kiddie area? Boooo!" The result? Jungala has been a success and welcome addition for to Busch Gardens Tampa for families. The same could be true for Williamsburg and their long term plan. Ultimately time will tell here, but they have a good chance of repeat success, given the circumstances.

Will I miss the Wolf? Definitely. It was one of the big name coasters I grew up with and it was part of what defined Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Big Bad Wolf was a coaster icon of a grand era.

Blogging Buffet & Nerdly News

A small update made with a small keyboard. :)

* Job hunting goes. Still early stages.
* Tried both Alliance and Horde Mountain Dew Game Fuel this week. Thought Horde was orange and it was really cherry. Both decent and have a short taste. Prefer Alliance of the two.
* Catching up on all the stuff I've been meaning to do around the apartment.
* Got and broke a new ankle bracelet this week. Bummer.
* Connected with several old classmates from DC and Huntsville this week. Delighted to see them all. Get-togethers in the works.
* Taken to writing Haiku poetry and doing push ups each morning. Both help with stress and make me feel accomplished each day.
* Discovered Flair (buttons) on Facebook and have a decent theme park related collection going. The Disney Land and Disney World castles are probably the favorites along with sodas and pizza. Hey, you knew food had to figure in there somewhere.
* I found the Disney quote, in the Announcments section above, rather inspiring and meanigful right now. Good motivation.
* Tried a five cheese pizza with everything at Newk's this yesterday. Very tasty with what appeared to be spinach, feta cheese, sun dried tomatos, and extra virgin olive oil. Similar in idea to something California pizza kitchen would do.
* Been testing out a Light My Fire camping meal kit and Therm-A-Rest pack pillow the last few weeks. Meal kit has been most useful and the pillow is pretty comfy. Still getting used to pillow's firmness compared to my regular pillow. Liking both items.
* The new Chaco Zongs are breaking in some after the acid test at Birmingham Zoo and Vulcan. Think they'll do well and be excellent additions to my Hip Thongs.
* Those Vibram 5-Finger outdoor shoes are interesting. They're like some crossed those rainbow socks with the individual toes and Mary Jane shoes. Tempted to try a pair when finances are better.
* The putting green (with Sponge Bob golf balls) is back out here and my short game is improving. Oh, and some of the Odyssy putters look pretty sweet.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the well wishes and moral support. The good vibes are much appreciated. :)

Point Mallard Water Park

I decided to take an evening this past week and go unwind over at Point Mallard, a water park in Decatur, Alabama. Their half price offer on select days and times, made the jaunt that much more appealing. Oh, who am I kidding? I've been jonesing to ride a bowl slide and this was a golden opportunity!

For those interested, you can see more pictures from my trip HERE.

It's been about 17 years (1992) since my last visit and I vaguely remember the water slides, Olympic pool, and wave pool. Well, a few things have changed since. They've added a ProBowl slide, Squirt Factory (mini water fort for little kids), and Skypond (family raft slide). Other improvements include Papa John's Pizza on site (as well as the resident snack shop), colorful signs and a clever park map shaped like a scuba mask. The park is well landscaped, well manicured, well maintained, and very clean. Between the wave pool side and the slide side (aka the West Entrance) there are some scenic picnic areas near the river inlet and in amongst the shady trees. Don't forget the sand beach, volley ball court, and boat dock for your favorite watercraft.

So how WAS the first ride on the bowl slide? Fun and freaky. When you come out of the tube, you're high up on the wall and you wonder partially what's keeping you up. As you slow down, and drift to center, it's a little unnerving. Then, sploosh! You drop down into the eight foot deep catch pool and you have no clue what direction you're facing. Once you get your bearings, exit quickly, then you realize, "Hey, that was fun!"

Adjacent to the bowl were older (but still fun) tube slides that offered tunnels and much twisting. They had some good speed to them and almost flipped me over going through the S curves. Got several good runs on all before a pizza dinner.

Overall, I had a fun time and would definitely recommend the half price days (Monday and Wednesday 10am-6pm, Tuesday and Thursday 5pm-8pm). Normal admission is $16, so $8 is truly a bargain.

Thanks to Point Mallard for their hospitality.

For more information check out http://www.pointmallardpark.com/waterpark/index.shtml.

Career Changes and Futures

Today friends, I joined the ranks of my fellow Americans let go due to funding cuts. Yep, I'm unemployed and job hunting.

Before we go further, I'm not going to bad mouth my previous employer. That's NOT how I handle things, and future employers will likely read this.

While dissappoint, I'm mixed with an eerie calm and, frankly, relieved. It's a shock, but my gut says this event clears the way for better things in the grand plan, that is if you believe in that sort of thing.

Yep, I sit here at Southern Adventures FEC, eating hot dogs and punching out this entry on my trusty Blackberry, contemplating next steps.

Really, I've been longing for the Orlando Florida area for some time. Everywhere I turn, there are Florida license tags, calling. I need to be there, and more importantly with Kimberly, my girlfriend. To have us both in the same city and a fresh start at life would be so wonderful.

Driving around Huntsville, I felt so detached. Lived here eight years and just need new soil to grow. Huntsville is a good city with lots to offer, but my roots reach further than it's pot will allow.

Thank you to my co-workers. I've enjoyed the time with you all and have a much deeper appreciation for GOOD Southern food. You guys turned me on to the awesomeness of buffalo wings, and I'll always be greatful. Will gladly keep in touch.

So what does the future hold? No clue. Hopefully better things. Keep good thoughts. :)

Tales From a Goth Librarian

Kimberly's book signing at Davis Kidd went very well Saturday and was it ever busy! She had about 30 people come out and she sold about 23 books during the event. Kimberly also had the highest turnout for a local author at Davis Kidd this year AND they asked her to autograph 4 more copies, just to have on hand.

For those interested, you can see more photos of the book signing HERE.

Very proud of Kimberly and very happy for her during this special weekend. :)

Great to meet more family and friends from the Memphis area! Grandma, Gwen (who risked life and limb to make some WONDERFUL shrimp creole), Candis, Corrie, David, the Nocturnal gang, etc., thank you all for making a really fun weekend.

Check out "Tales From a Goth Librarian", a collection of short stories and poetry, on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tales+from+a+goth+librarian&sprefix=Tales+from+a+goth) and BarnesandNoble.com (http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=Tales+from+a+goth+librarian&box=Tales%20from%20a%20goth%20librarian&pos=-1) if you're so inclined.

Birmingham Zoo and Vulcan

July 4th weekend, Kimberly and I headed down to Birmingham, Alabama to visit the Birmingham Zoo (http://www.birminghamzoo.com/) and Vulcan (http://www.visitvulcan.com/). For those who are unfamiliar, a zoo is a collection....I kid, I kid. You're more than likely familiar with what a zoo is, although Vulcan may be another story. More on Vulcan in a while, right now, it's zoo time.

For those interested in the visuals, you can see them HERE.

After visiting (and being spoiled by) the Memphis Zoo, I wasn't sure what to expect from Birmingham's. Well, I was pleasantly surprised at the large amount of natural landscaping. It really is a pretty place to walk around. One unique feature is a woven wood/vine trellis near the Predator exhibit. It offers great shade and it's just really neat to look at. Speaking of shade, the zoo made a good choice with another mesh trellis over in the children's area, along with the carousel shaded under a rather unique tent. Who needs a round building when you can have an artsy and unique tent? I liked this feature and you might even say they have one really intents carousel.

Kimberly's high point of the day was a Camel ride while mine was a ride on the Birmingham Zoo Express. Thankfully got video of both occasions before Fail Cam once again lived up to it's name (and cemented it's ultimate replacement). The train ride was fun as always and I've really come to enjoy these C.P. Huntington mini's that are fairly common to zoos and parks. I liked the Birmingham Zoo Express in particular for it's African themeing. It's the third C.P. I've ridden this year.

Also, as per tradition, I wore my Kavu Chillba sun hat. If you've never seen one, it looks like the modern equivalent to the Chinese Coolie hat. It also draws some interesting looks. Got more compliments and "where can I get its" from folks, just like other trips this year. Hey, the kind words are always appreciated when it comes to my "funny hat", that was so named by a cute kid at the Memphis Zoo earlier this year.

After 4 hours, Kimberly and I bid the zoo farewell, with magnets, lanyards, and toy camel in hand. Our next stop was Vulcan. Vulcan is a large statue on a hillside over-looking "The Magic City". Vulcan and the accompanying museum celebrate Birmingham's industrial heritage and offer an impressive view of downtown. It also has a colossal metal arse, you're just hypnotically drawn to.

The park grounds around Vulcan's base offer nice places for picnics, including a rather unique ledge off the main pathway that has picnic tables. At the top is the museum with a large map, set in stone, at the front entrance. Inside is a floor to ceiling metal collage of everything from gears to machine parts. Very artsy.

A quick spin through the museum yielded the statue's history and renovations. Fascinating reads, especially for the structurally inclined. The gift shop had one of the strangest souvenirs I've ever seen. While a bobble head is nothing new, a bobble butt is another story. Yes, you read that right. You can buy a mini statue of Vulcan where the head and arse both jiggle. There are also magnets available with a clear shot of the statue's backside. Cool points for cleverly capitalizing on the humor folks.

Time to go up to the observation deck just under the statue. Naturally, my fear of heights kicked in, so I opted to take the stairs...all 161 ofthem (13 flights) to the top. After 4 hours of zoo walking this was not the smartest idea, despite it making me feel safer going up. Unfortunately, anxiety got the better of me when I discovered the observation platform was about a 3 foot grated catwalk. Looking down made things worse. The clincher was feeling the whole tower sway. My knees buckled and that was it. Time to go. Snapped a quick pic of the downtown view and dashed back inside the tower where I felt safer. Felt much safer at the bottom and that picture is definitely worth a thousand words...more than half of which would be anxiety spawned cussing.

After a good time (nevertheless) at Vulcan, we headed over to Riverchase Galleria (Galeeria according to Muldoon, our Aussie voiced GPS). Cheers for metropolitan malls and all the goodies they offer...including air conditioning. Had a fun time looking at the shops and met up with mybuddy Raymond for dinner at Cajun Steamers. Glad to see him and his wife, Paris, since their wedding last May (2008). They were also kind enough to let Kimberly and I stay overnight and make a late night run to Whataburger so I could try it for the first time. Good times and happyto catch up with them. Looking forward to seeing them again soon.

The next morning we all met at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then parted ways. All in all, another good trip made even better by an enthusiastic travel partner (and girlfriend!) and dear friends. Truly, a great way to spend 4th of July weekend.

Happy July 4th!

With a busy weekend ahead, I wanted to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th. Hope it's filled with good times among family and friends. Best to all!