KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE (CHOCOLATE) BAR AT ALL TIMES

I know this blog (and 97% of all blogs in the known universe) is really devoted to hate. But I'm going to use this post to spread some love.

I love rollercoasters. My entire family does as well, and after recently completing a trip to Hersheypark where I rode on every single one they had to offer, my love has been restored. I haven't been to an amusement park in about a decade, and I'm amazed at the rides that have been dreamed up (by some crazy Germans, as my dad put it) since that time.

My love affair started with the SooperDooperLooper(1977), the first metal looping coaster on the East Coast, and The Comet (1946), a classic old wooden rollercoaster, both of which I first experienced in the early 80s. Since then, the park has added numerous rollercoasters: Great Bear (1998), a fantastic inverted coaster; Lightning Racers (2000), the world's first racing, wooden coaster featuring two trains ("Lightning" and "Thunder") that race each other to the finish line; the unique suspended water coaster, the Roller Soaker (2002); Storm Runner (2003), a fantastic rocket coaster that takes off from 0 to 72 MPH in 2 seconds and sends you into a dazzling array of loops, barrel rolls and a near-vertical 180' drop.

The latest addition for 2008 is Fahrenheit, a metal coaster that takes you up the initial 121' high hill at a 90° angle, and then promptly plunges you down it at 97°. That's right: if you take out your protractor, you'll see that's 7 degrees beyond straight down. This currently matches the largest angle of descent of any coaster on the planet. It's pretty amazing and exhilarating. Thankfully, there are crazy people out there who are willing to capture this on video, while the rest of us are keeping our hands on the bars and our heads back at all times.



Of the 3 times I went on it, I was lucky enough to experience this from the front row once. This was great to ride at night, as when you look behind you as you're going up the hill you can see the entire park lit up--upside down. It's a little disconcerting to say the least.

While we're spreading the love, I also happen to love chocolate. I won't elaborate on that, but let's just say that they could encase a carburetor in chocolate and I'd eat it. Basically, I can't think of a better place to spend a few days than Hershey, Pennsylvania (but only a few days).