Weekend Rewind

Sunset from the top of the ferris wheel

 Whew! Where has this month gone!?

I had all the intentions in the world to do a friYAY favorites this past week and yet time just got away from me. Last week was not as crazy as I would have thought but it ending up wacky. I had so many ideas for my friYAY favorites by the time I got to Thursday Afternoon, I didn't want to look at my computer at all. 

I had a packed weekend, well a packed Saturday and I thought for something different, a weekend rewind would be fun. 

Here's my weekend:

Friday: I went for a morning run, completing a 5K just to see how I would do. It was hot and humid when I ran so I walked some but I ended up being really happy with my time! My only goal for this 5K coming up is to beat my time of the last 5K I ran. Seeing that I could do that, made me happy. Kyle and I prepared our lunch for our adventure the next day and ended up going out to eat at Houlihan's for dinner.  We got to bed pretty early in preparation for our adventure. 

Saturday: We were up early and ready to go by 7:30 AM. We were heading to Pennsylvania to two theme parks- Knoebels & Dorney Park. We made it to Knoebels in Elysburg, PA around 10:30 even with a pitstop. We somehow misread the hours because we thought it opened at 11; nope, it opened at noon. We had time to walk around and get to plan put what rides we wanted to go on. This park had a really neat aspect that it looks like the Amusement park that time forgot.  I loved the old school feel of it and I was kinda excited to see how the rides were. 

Just before Noon, Kyle hopped on line to purchase our ticket book; Knoebels is definitely unique, its free to enter you just pay per ride. We knew we wanted to ride 6 roller coasters and we planned for it and we were able to split the biggest ticket book plus buying two extra tickets.

As Kyle was waiting on line for the tickets, I jumped on the line for our first coaster of the day, Phoenix. It's a large wooden coaster who's original home was San Antonio, Texas. This was such a fun one to start our day. The look of the wooden  roller coaster is really neat and the fact it was so tall plus it being so old made for a really interesting ride. Kyle and I got on and boy my nerves started! As we chug, chug, chug up the hill, I closed my eyes and grabbed the only thing that was holding us in, a thin lap bar. As we rode down the first hill and then up and over and up and down, I was not only screaming but also smiling. It was such a fun and quick ride.  Kyle was holding on to me because a few times, I got some air and I thought to myself, gosh! Am I going to ever come down. HAHA. 

We moved onto Flying Turns, another popular ride but decided to go to another one first due to the long wait time. We knew we wanted to ride Flying Turns but we decided to gamble to see if the next coaster, Impluse's wait time was shorter. We were on a schedule, of sorts, and we wanted to maximize our time. 

Impulse looked super scary because of the 90 degree vertical fall and so many loops. As I have found out riding roller coasters, I do not like sitting in the front; we were sitting again, in the middle/back. We only had this lap thing that held us in and as we got to the top of this 90 degree vertical structure, I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. It was so quick and I was squeezing Kyle's hand throughout the whole ride. It was quick and scary but so much fun. 

After getting my feet firmly back on the ground, we realized the one kiddie roller coaster we wanted to go on was super close. Kozomo's Kurves looked like it would be a breeze for us especially after Impulse. As we were waiting on line, I quickly realized we were the only two without children. HA HA HA. Then I saw a sign that TWO adults cannot ride together. EEP! I was slightly nervous now, for a kids ride. We boarded this ride, with Kyle and I sitting in our own little cars and we were off. The bunny hills were my favorite and the fact we ran this course three times made it even more fun. By the end of this,  I giggling. 

We made our way to the Twister next, which was the other wooden coaster at Knoebels. Another quick and bumpy but super fun ride. I think this was the one of the only ones where I kept my eyes open for. Most of the rides, as they start, I close my eyes and hang on for dear life. I have started to realize that the bunny hills are my favorite; they might look tiny but they sure make you hang in the air. 

After the Twister, we stumbled upon the Whipper. This looked like an old fashion ride that I was super intrigued by it. From the 1920's this ride whipped you around the curves of an oval using a wheel. I couldn't stop giggling and sliding into Kyle. A simple but fun ride ride was exactly what we needed.

We found out that the Black Diamond ride Knoebels had was actually the one from the Wildwood boardwalk so we just  had to ride this one. This was an indoor coaster that had a mining theme. I was skeptical because it said it was scary for children and there was going to be loud noises and strobing lights. We got in our mine cart and we were off and we were underwhelmed. It was nice to get off of our feet for a few minutes but it definitely was not our favorite of the day.  

Last on our list for the Knoebels was Flying Turns. The line didn't seem too bad but once we got through after giving our tickets, we realized the ride had stopped and they were having some difficulty. We waited on line for the longest time, we waited all day and when the ride finally got going again, we were eager to get on it. This ride was really unique in the way that there was a weight limit on it because it was a toboggan ride, a trackless wooden roller coaster.  We were in the front of the "airplane" and I loved it! I felt like I was on the bobsled team whipping around the curves and  going up on the sides of the "track". Totally worth our wait. 

We spent 4 hours at Knoebels. I LOVED this park, there was just something fun and simple and joyful about it. I did not expect to love it this much. After digging out our lunch from the cooler we were back on the road by 3 PM to part TWO of our adventure- Dorney Park. 

Yup, you read it right, we hit two amusement parks in one day. Were we crazy, slightly but it was totally worth it. An hour and a half drive to Dorney Park, we had our after 4 tickets in hand and we were so curious to see how the crowds were going to be. Kyle had never done a half day at an amusement park starting in the evening. 

First stop, Talon, an inverted roller coaster that had lots of twists and turns and ups and downs. It definitely took my breath away but it was a really really cool experience. Being upside down and twisted all around, I have yet to get used to it. 

We jumped on Hydra then Thunderhawk, another wooden coaster. Both of them were quick and loopy and really a lot of fun. Every time as I wait on the lines to get on the coasters, I kept thinking to myself," I was on a taller and faster roller coaster. I was on a taller and faster roller coaster."  I would continue that mantra until we took off. 

The fourth coaster at Dorney we rode was Steel Force. Steel Force is a mega coaster that is the longest steel roller coaster on the East Coast. The first drop was 205 feet tall. TWO HUNDRED and FIVE feet TALL! My oh My! This one was super intimidating and lucky for us, we were sat in the middle, just the way I like it. After the initial drop, and probably the second, Kyle told me to open my eyes and I kept them open, even giggling and smiling until the very end. 

This coaster was a BIG deal for Kyle; it was his 200th Roller Coaster he has ridden. TWO HUNDRED! He keeps great notes on all the coasters he has been on and I thought it was super impressive. After the ride, we ran to see how the photo came out. 

SIDE NOTE: On almost every single coaster we have ridden that takes a photo, I have had either a grimace, my eyes shut and/or my head down in fear OR a combination of all three. Its pretty hilarious and we look at the photos just to see what I looked like. 

We found our photo quickly and I got really excited- my eyes were open, I was smiling and the wind was in my hair. Kyle on the other hand, was completely blocked by the girl's hair and arms in front of him. BUMMER! I guess we will have to ride more coasters to find that perfect photo. 

After Steel Force, we went over to Possessed. Picture this: It was in the shape of a U but one side of the U was twisted. THAT was the track for the coaster. It was a launch coaster and while they are not my favorite, As we ascending up the tall sides of the U, it was a really neat feeling of weightlessness. I even said to Kyle afterwards, WOW! That was actually kind of fun. HA HA HA. 

As we were on our way to the Ferris Wheel, We passed the Whip and we both looked at each other and said we HAVE to ride this again.  When we got on the ride, we chuckled because they had seat belts AND a lap bar on this ride.  (At Knoebels, they only had a lap bar that made the ride slightly more fun! Insurance for Dorney Park, made them put seat belts on EVERYTHING)

After our whip, we scooted over to the Ferris Wheel just in time to catch the sunset. We both thought this was going to be a fun, old school, romantic ride. Welp, it was fun but since they were round baskets and not a normal two person seat, we had to balance the basket and be seat buckled in, ie. We sat across from each other strapped into the ride. HAHAHA. I was impressed how many time we went around, the view from the top was amazing and it was really cool to see Steel Force and Possessed from that height.

Our last stop of the evening was, Woodstock Express in Camp Snoopy. We knew we would have to ride in separate cars and we were curious to see if it was like Kosmo's Kurves at Knoebels. Well, 20 minutes later and many little children in front of us, we finally got on. BOY, that ride was rough, I was jostled around and felt like my brain was scrambled eggs. HA Three times around and I realized that I was not 5 years old anymore. 

We tried twice to go on the Wild Mouse ride but each time the wait was CRAZY. We observed that it was running at a very low capacity and each car only held two people. We were both pretty tired at this point and we both said, let's just hop back on the road. We still had an hour and a half drive back home. 

Kyle drove and I slept (naturally). We had a great day but I also couldn't wait to lay down. We walked about 7 miles (from what my phone counted) and rode 12 roller coasters. It was such a fun and thrilling day. 

Dorney was fun but it definitely was not my favorite. Things seemed kinda disorganized and not conducive for getting the most people on the ride in the shortest amount of time; the bathrooms were not close to the big rides, which was odd and I sometimes felt like I was dashing to them EEK! The rides were great and it made some great laughs for Kyle and I. 

Sunday: We had a lazy morning, recovering from our adventure day and getting ready to go out to lunch with my parents. We ended up meeting them half way between my house and Kyle's so the traffic wouldn't be too terrible. We ate at Red Robin and all really enjoyed our burgers and fries. Kyle and I hit a little traffic on the way home, all the weekenders were heading home early. My parents got back home easily and once we passed 98 on the parkway (iykyk), it was smooth sailing until Kyle's. 

We did a few things around the house, I went for a run (my last Couch to 5K run!) and then had a standing dinner in the kitchen. It was a perfect end to a great weekend. 

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I hope you enjoyed reading my weekend adventures. Have you been to Kneobels and or Dorney Park? Let me know your favorite coaster in the comments!

[[Be proud of how you've handled these past few months. ]]