Golden Shower Tree

This was taken at Busch Gardens Tampa. The descriptive plaque would lead you to beleive the tree's name is taken from the golden flowers which bloom in Spring.

They lie.

The tree is filled with incontinent howler monkeys and is a trap for unwary park visitors.

Took me twelve trips on the water rides to get the smell out. =/

Monkeys, Butts, and Coconuts

Up Butt Coconut is now mnemonically implanted into your brain. You shall wander about all day singing these words to the querulous looks of co-workers, family members, friends, and passersby. You're welcome!

I wonder if the monkey in the belly tattoo below lost his coconut?

You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry!

I love comics. I love super-heroes.

Hulk is one of my most favorite super-heroes. Sometimes on the side of angels, sometimes not. Always looking out for himself.

Hulk has gone through so many incarnations, so many vastly different looks, it can be difficult to decide which one to do a particular movie on.

Most people know the iconic Lou Ferrigno Hulk from the television series, The Incredible Hulk. I loved the series while growing up, even if Hulk was too skinny, too short, and not green enough. Compared to my beloved Hulk comics, that is.

They got one thing right, however ... the facial features. Savage Hulk is my absolute favorite look for the Emerald Giant. Lou captured the bestial Beast-Within appearance I have always felt Hulk was best suited for.

The 2003 movie, Hulk, used pure CGI to create Hulk's face (and body), though it did seem extrapolated from actor Eric Bana's actual facial features.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but felt Hulk's portrayal was overdone in a few ways. The biggest of which was his growing to huge, tree-sized proportions. It makes sense in a way. He'd need a massive frame to carry and utilize the correspondingly massive musculature. He did keep to the Hulk maxim of growing stronger the angrier he got. His face was very humanized, less bestial which gave him a humanity for the audience to relate to, but detracted from the overall monster-inside-us counter-point director Ang Lee seemed to be trying to make.

The fight scenes, excepting the final battle, were fantastic. Pure super-hero beauty on screen, pure Hulk. I was even excited to see they kept Hulk's leaping miles at time in. The middle of the movie was the best, while he fights the Army and escapes from the underground bunker. I even enjoyed the comic-style transitions between scenes Ang Lee utilized.

Unfortunately, Hulk didn't do as well as hoped, and was panned by many critics, both film and comic buffs alike.

The upshot is a new, Hulk movie is going forward. Not a sequel, but a re-start. A re- imagining of the Verdant Behemoth with new cast, and radically different look for the eponymous title character, The Incredible Hulk. I'm stoked after seeing this clip from Comic-Con!



Edward Norton will be playing Bruce Banner, with Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and William Hurt as Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross. Tim Roth will be playing Emil Blonsky, which means we may actually see some hero vs. villain action in this movie with Hulk going up against the Abomination!

The Incredible Hulk is currently slated for a July 13th, 2008 release.

My Desk

My Computer Desk A Fire Hazard in Waiting No Open Flames, Please

So, a few of the blogs I visit regularly have been showing off their desks recently. I was stuck for a short post today, and decided I would, as well. Try not to look away at the horror. It will just sear itself into your mind anyhow ...
It's one of those corner-style units, and fits perfectly in the bay window of my room.

As you can see, I'm a slob. The bookcases and night stand in the room synergize fluently with the clutter and disorganization of the desk. (Actually, I know exactly where everything is. It's when I clean up that I lose things.) Think of it as Funky Feng Shui for Freaks.

Items of note:

• Clear space on top for cat to laze in the morning sun, tail hanging down atop my monitor.
  
• Cardboard stand-up of Varesh from Guild Wars: Nightfall
  
• Tennis ball (used for boredom relief and tension release)
  
• Stuffed toys (Pikachu and Snorlax from Pokemon; Sully from Monster's Inc; Gamera, a cheap turtle made in China claw game prize that goes on all my trips with me)
  
• An old mirrored compact (strategically set to show me whatever is going on at my bedroom door ... blasted kids!)
  
• My box o'meds (if I keep it anywhere else I forget to take them)
  
• A 20-year-old ceramic statue of Oliver from Disney's Oliver & Co.
  
• Paring knife used to open DVDs (lousy security tape)
  
• Cruzer micro 1.0GB thumb drive (on the monitor base)
  
• Several Dungeons & Dragons reference manuals from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 3.5 editions

Missing, and my most prized possession, is a hand blown glass dragon. It is no longer up there because said cat from item one knocked it down and broke it! Said cat is lucky she is cute and fluffy, or said cat would be in the doghouse. I've had Yazinperindacles (what I named the glass dragon) since I was in my late teens. (Actually, Tek was with me when I got it at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival).

Strangest thing is probably a box of Fiddle Faddle (two weeks old, half eaten, stale, and should be thrown out) laying down in one of the large cubbys.

So there you have it. My home within my home. The place I spend the vast majority of my life.

How Much is Too Much?

The Wall o'Movies Towering Over the Room I Hope It Won't Fall

I own 371 DVD movies and 17 boxed sets of TV shows.

As you can see, it takes up a whole wall of my house. Well, okay, not the whole wall. Not even both bookcases. Media cases, actually. Got 'em at Best Buy for about $75.00 a year or so ago. They hold up to 756 CDs, or 360 DVDs per unit.

Still, that's a lot of DVDs in there. A few CDs with Christmas or Kid's songs on it, some blank VHS tapes for .. a VHS I no longerhave ... Hmmm ... and a plethora of stuffed animals.

The drawer unit in the middle has ... I don't really know, but I'm sure something is in those drawers.

I love to collect DVDs. And, I've even watched most of them. Not all, but most.

Like, my mother has the Thornbird mini-series. Blech. I just recently got her Roots on DVD. She has watched it 5 times. Me? None.

My newest aquisitions were Ghost Rider (saw), Bridge to Teribithia (in Mom's room, haven't seen outside of theater), and a 10-disc, 11-hour Pokemon collection (austenibly for the kids >_>).

I seem to collect, on average, 3-5 new DVDs each month. Sometimes more.

The collection ranges from Saw 1-3 to Fraggle Rock. From Star Wars to Stargate SG-1 (seasons 1-9). From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to several Gamera movies. From Bruce Almighty to Ben Hur. From Spirited Away to Finding Nemo.

I've got comedies, animation, horror, drama, sci-fi, classics, anime, action/adventure, and everything in between.

Disney and Pixar animations make up one long shelf (3 compartments). Super-hero movies make up a little more than one compartment. As do the horror flicks (on the No-Kids shelf). A couple compartments are comprised of movie series ... Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Spy Kids, Tremors, Jurassic Park, Riddick, Matrix, Doctor Doolittle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more.

The TV series include Lost (seasons 1 & 2), Stargate SG-1 (1-9), Little House on the Prairie (1-3), The Greatest American Hero (pilot and season 1), and a few others. I'm going to be adding Heroes and possibly the rest of TGAH fairly soon.

We have a system for the kids to "borrow" the movies ... Each has a laminated 4x6 index card with their name on it. When they take an authorized movie (which most are, excepting one compartment), they remove the DVD from it's slot and insert the name card in its place. This way they know where to put it when they are through with it. We also have a notepad for them to write the date and movie down. (Mainly because they'll conveniently forget they have watched their allotted amount for the day ... 3 on weekends & non-school days, none on school days, 1 on summer camp days).

I pretty much know where I took any I watch from, so I don't have a card. Nor does my mom. She cannot really make out the titles with her poor vision, so i generally retrieve what she wants to see by her vague descriptions of the movie ... "Do we have the one with the gay lawyer who gets AIDS? (Philadelphia)" or "Do we have the one where the guy takes his space helmet off and dies? (Mission to Mars)" My favorite she asks about once every few months is, "Do we have the one with the girl who turns old and ends up in a walking house with a little boy and a talking fireplace? (Howl's Moving Castle) No matter how many times she see it (and it is one of her favorite movies), she just cannot recall the name of it.

I pretty much know what movies we have, and which ones we don't. Though I do sometimes get confused when we are out and decide to get some of the Wal-Mart bargain bin DVDs. We used to have around 300 VHS tapes before we went strictly DVD. (We donated all those to the local Salvation Army.) There's been more than one occasion where I've thought we had it once on VHS, but not on DVD and been wrong. Or, vice versa. I just return the duplicates and get something else. hehe

One day I'll catalog this huge collection. Or seek therapy for it. =/

Busch Gardens - The Animals, Part 2

All Aboard!

The picture train is about to leave the station.

Please keep your arms and legs inside the blog at all times. Do not try to stand up while the blog is moving. Secure loose articles, as this blog cannot be held responsible for lost or damaged property. Flash photography is permitted, but it might enrage the animals who will then maul you, and those seated near you. This blog will not be held liable for that, either. Do not fold, spindle, staple, or mutilate ... anything. Ever.

And, for heaven's sake, don't ever, EVER, remove those tags from your mattress. The Mattress Police will come and blow up your house, cook your pets, send your children to the salt mines, smear you with honey and stake you out over an ant hill in the blazing desert sun until you can state all the US Vice-Presidents in reverse alphabetical order while gargling spoiled milk and fish entrails.

This blog might be held liable for that, so please, for the sake of my family, DON'T DO IT! (Well, except the kids and salt mine thing, you can cause that if you want.)

Now that I've gotten you warmed up for the trip ... we're off!

I forgot to show you the very first pictures I took when we arrived at Busch Gardens. How inconsiderate of me.

Right past the entrance, with it's 738 shops, 327 kiosks, and about 63 eateries, (not to mention the hordes of annoying camera wielding staff who body block your forward progress and demand you hold still for a family picture you can pick up at the end of your visit for only $39.95, the deed to your house, your first born child, an arm, a leg, and whatever loose change you have in the little space between the front seats of your car), is the Morocco section.

A great animal habitat called Myombe Reserve is there. It's basically a primate preserve with chimps, gorillas, and other monkeys that you can get as close as a pane of thick glass to.

We didn't go in there.

I did take a a shot of the kids monkeying around, though.

Right before that entrance is a large habitat for American alligators.

Now, I live in Florida, so seeing these great reptiles is nothing new to me. They are not so prevalent, nor as easily located, as when I was a kid. Or as the popular myth of Florida being overrun with gators makes it seem. But you can find them in almost every pond, lake, or stream, man-made or not.

Floridians know to respect the alligator. Because if you don't, it might eat you. Or, at least your dog.

Anyhow, for those of you who live in more northern climes, here is a closeup of Alligator mississippiensis, the American Alligator. (And, yes, that is the true species name of it).

This bad boy was about 9 or 10 feet long. And, don't let his sun-basking, half-asleep look of calm serenity fool you. This beast is watching you, waiting for you to fall over the railing into his habitat, and wondering if you taste like chicken.

You can tell this by his toothy smile.

Back on track now.

After the Bird Gardens, Land of the Dragons, Stanelyville (SheiKra, Stanelyville Falls Flume), and a long trek, we found ourselves entering Timbuktu.

Timbuktu is the central area of Busch Gardens. It is done up in African-style wood and stucco buildings, brightly colored awnings, and the traditional African roller coasters, flat rides, and carnival games. No self-respecting African village is ever without those, you know.

The coasters are small ones, and the flat rides range from sedate bi-planes, to an inverted pirate ship, to a whirling Sandstorm. We didn't ride any of those this trip, though Sandstorm and Cheetah Chase are on my to-do list for the next trip. As well as the Pirates 4-D show which is in the old Dolphin show palace.

I used to love the dolphin show, but Busch had to close it down due to high costs, low attendance, and the fact that people kept tossing coins into the dolphin habitats and they got copper poisoning from all the pennies. Okay, the penny thing may be a local urban legend, but there have been documented cases of dolphins in captivity dying from copper and zinc poisoning from coins in their water, as well as chlorine poisoning. Sad, sad, sad. :(

So, while sad about the dolphins, we were still hungry. So we threaded our way through the carnival like atmosphere of Timbuktu and made our way to my new favorite restaurant ... The Desert Grill!

This used to be the Oktoberhaus. A German themed eatery with the best Black Forest cake you will ever eat, live polka bands, and literal dancing in the aisles.

Now, it is more in keeping with the whole African theme ... on the outside, at least. Inside is good, ol' American-style food, live floor shows, and chamber music when the floor shows aren't going on.

Seating is casual at long trestle tables with small benches. You go through a line and pick out the foods you want, almost buffet style, though servers are there to serve the hot foods. Then you pay for it, and tote it back to your table on a tray.

The food ... mmmm-mmmm ... the food. I had Grilled Chicken with Fettuccine Alfredo. It ran me about eight bucks, but it was a heaping plate full. And, the chicken wasn't some scraggly, thin piece of poultry. It was a thick, full breast of chicken grilled to juicy perfection. I also got a pickle. Not some dark green anemic from-a-jar pickle. Oh, no. This was a huge, almost 6 inch long (pre-sliced), near two inch thick delight of green dilliness. *slurp slurp*

But the best part, oddly enough, was the breadsticks. Best. Breadsticks. Ever.

I could have made a meal just out of those breadsticks. They were baked to perfection; golden brown, lightly buttered, a hint of garlic, paprika, and other spices. Soft, warm, and slightly chewy, I literally have had dreams about those breadsticks since then. Talking about them has made me hungry.

Yes. They were THAT good. Breadsticks.

Tyler got the same thing I did, though he said the chicken was bland. This is because if chicken has no breading or honey mustard on it, he doesn't believe it's real chicken. Tim got spaghetti, and he ate the whole portion of it. Quite a feat for him. Mom got a meatball sandwich, and she claimed it was the best meatball sandwich she has eaten in a long, long while.

There are other foods there; salads that looked so tasty you could feel the the lettuce crunching in your mouth by looking at it, other sandwiches piled with meat so high you need a skewer to hold them together as a mere toothpick would not suffice, and desserts so decadent you teeth began to rot just by ogling them.

If it were not for the lousy $9 parking fee, and the fact my mom cannot walk that far thus requiring a mobile scooter, I'd eat there quite often.

Enough about food. No snack carts on this picture train, and I don't want you falling off raving in hunger.

I showed you ride shots of Rhino Rally, but I didn't show you any animals from that adventurous, epic journey.

Unfortunately, you won't see many either. =/

The truck ride was so bouncy, so jouncy, that taking a clear shot was about as easy as picking your nose with a spoon. You can dig and dig, and you might strike gold, but it'll be a mess and probably painful.

Okay, that was gross, and there was no pain involved taking photos on Rhino Rally (except my poor knee that kept hitting the door hinge on every jolt). But, they were fairly blurry, and only a few came out mostly unscathed.

The first was an African elephant. Several shots were taken of him, but only one came out well.

This will be an ongoing theme with my animal shots from here forward. I think the animals were trying to tell me something. =/

There also was a Black Rhino habitat we drove through, but we only saw one, just as we were leaving the enclosure. The bugger was lazing in the shade of a small bluff, languidly watching us as we jostled by. I got lucky in that I only took one shot of him (and it came out well), and that he wasn't mooning me. Though it -was- a rearward profile.

You may have to look close to see him. Even though he is a Black Rhino, he is very dusty from rolling on the ground to cool off, and he almost blends in with the orangey-brown rocks behind him.

Shortly after, we drove through a crocodile enclosure. Right through the water! Of course, there was a very visible fence angling out towards where they presumably were. I didn't see any. I was on the opposite side of the truck from where they were supposed to be, but even far out in their lake, I saw nothing.

There was a freakin' huge one in a glass enclosure near Rhino Rally that I snapped a pic of after we left the area however. He's hard to see well, as the glass and water distorted his profile, but you can still see how huge he was.

There were two more animals I got clear shots of while on Rhino Rally.

One is some striped deer-like animal I cannot recall the name of. Impala? Antelope? I'm leaning towards antelope. It might some sort of small buffalo. I really cannot recall.

Either way, it's another butt shot. A blurry butt shot. It gives you an idea of what the other, blurrier pics must look like. =/

I swear the animals all had an early morning meeting before the park opened and decided that day was Ass Day, or something. *sigh*

The final animal I got a good shot of while on Rhino Rally was the elusive brown-maned, female Boogerdigger.

Aaaahhh, now my previous nose picking comment makes much more sense, doesn't it. ~.^

Now, to be honest, she may not have been actually digging in her nose. She may merely have been scratching it. Inside. with her finger nail. Repeatedly.

In her defense, it was hot and dusty in the area, and I had swiped my own knuckles across my nose in an attempt to quell the rising itchiness crawling around my nostrils. She just took it a step further and dug down to the root of the problem. >_>

And with that lovely image rattling around in your minds, I'll leave off this post. Tomorrow (or maybe Friday), I'll finish up with the pics of animals from my sojourn on the Serengeti Railway. There are thrills, spills, and even a few moments of unabashed "Aaaaaaaawww" to be had.

Until tomorrow.

And remember to take any belongings with you. This blog is not responsible for anything you leave behind. Because if you do, I'll sell it to pay for parking and go eat at the Desert Grill! Yum!

---

Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 150 days is:

$14,272,
476,927,059,598,810,582,859,694,494,863,402,897,244.15

Busch Gardens - The Animals, Part 1

The wait is over!

Finally you get to see pictures of animals from Busch Gardens.

Like the Serengeti Railway, this'll be a long ride, with a few stops along the way. And, not everything you see will be animals.

Hop aboard, find your seat, break out the Big Gulp cup, and settle in. Here we go!

The first place we ventured through, other than Gwazi, were the Bird Gardens. The Bird Gardens is a lush oasis of greenery, water, and, of course, birds.

We didn't visit everything. In fact, we didn't visit much, and there is a lot to see there. There are several animals habitats, an aviary walk-thru, several stages (where no shows were playing *sniff*), and the requisite gift shops and eateries.

One of the first habitats you come across are some brightly colored parrots lounging about on a gnarled, old tree. We watched them preen and squawk for several minutes. Magnificent birds. You could see intelligence in their eyes, and I swear they were as amused by the brightly hued biped mammals watching them as we were of them.

A short distance away is the flamingo habitat. Flamingos are a very recognizable icon of Florida. Hundreds of the elegant birds flocked around, and in, a small lagoon called Flamingo Island.

These birds are not naturally pink. Their plumage gains this color from their diet of small crustaceans, usually brine shrimp. Well fed ones are bright pink, while an unhealthy flamingo might be pale pink to white, which is their natural color. These wading birds also stand on one leg for reasons unknown, though it is speculated it conserves body heat. I say they don't like getting their feet wet and dirty. ~.^

Most of them had both feet firmly on the ground the day I visited. The ones who didn't seemed to be in the water, or sleeping.

Across from Flamingo Island are two butterfly topiaries that I thought looked pretty. So I took a picture of them. The image doesn't do them justice. They were much more brightly colored in person. There were other flower topiaries, but people kept rudely interposing themselves between me and my intended shot. Most of them so they could take their own photos. I'm lucky I got this one, as some obvious foreign tourists blithely walked in front of me just as I took this shot. Fortunately, I could crop them out.

The Hospitality House is located in the bird Gardens, too. You can buy a fresh brewed Anheuser-Busch beer here, and get some fresh baked pizza. Expensive pizza, and not very big.

When I was little, you used to be able to get free samples of the beer. Assuming you were of legal age, of course. My first taste of beer was here. My Grandfather made me drink some of his. I thought it was horrible stuff. Yuck!

We used to get some beverages (beer for adults, soda for kids), grab a snack from the snack bar, and relax on the huge wooden patio overlooking Koi ponds and the Flamingos. No longer, though. The wooden patio is gone, the koi ponds are now remote controlled boat paddocks, and the flamingos .. well you can still sort of see them. *sigh*

It is still a very beautiful and relaxing location, with plenty of shade and seating. I just pine for the days of yore, I suppose. I also miss the old Brewery Tour you could take before they closed that down. Except the stairs. I don't miss climbing those long, long stairs to get to it.

While wandering through the Bird Gardens, we came across a small water habitat filled with turtles. A keeper was cleaning their habitat, and using a broom to sweep green and black sludge fro the bottom of their mostly emptied pond. The turtles were all bunched up, except for one brave terrapin who was trying to make good an escape.

I think he saw too many Spider-Man movies.

Close by, just before entering the Land of Dragons, is the Living Dragons habitat. All sorts of large reptiles were in this habitat. Even a very big Komodo Dragon. He was very close to the glass of his enclosure, and you really get a sense of the sheer massiveness of the beasts. His head was about the size of a small dog. He could probably eat a small dog in a few bites.

I even got him to say "Cheese!"

The kids even got to ride a Komodo!

Okay, so it was a statue of a Komodo, but it was about the size of the one in the habitat. Those suckers are huge! Err, Komodos, not the kids. ^.^;;

I don't want to bore you to death with more pictures today, so we'll pull into the station here. The train leaves again tomorrow around this same time. See you then!

---

Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 149 days is:

$7,136,
238,463,529,799,405,291,429,847,247,431,701,448,622.07

Busch Gardens - The Rides, Part 2

Got your beverage of choice? Hit the bathroom before you settled down to read this long, long post? Informed your friends and relatives where you will be in case they think you've gone missing?

Good.

When last we left, we were heading towards the Desert Grill Restaurant and Theater for lunch.

It was a lengthy walk with little to see but an overhead skyride and a wall where a future attraction was going in. I've no clue what it is yet. Peeks through the slatted fence and underbrush showed only a cleared, sandy field and piles of unidentifiable construction materials.

Oh, and one hard-hatted fellow scratching his behind.

Little did I know that small visual would signify a trend in many of my animal shots ... coming soon in another post!

I'll also talk about the Desert Grill in detail in a different post, but for now, it has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants. You can see a show, listen to music, and eat great food at a reasonable price. Sure beats fried junk on a stick from the various kiosks, or the more expensive Crown Colony House Restaurant.

Anyhow ... after eating, relaxing, cooling off, and drying out, we once again went in search of the elusive train ride for my mother. This time, the closest station was the Nairobi station. Not too far away, but between us and it was Rhino Rally.

Rhino Rally is a part safari, part adventure, part water ride. I'd never been on it, and it was one of two things I absolutely wanted to do while at Busch Gardens. (The other was Katonga, which we missed ... because of the train, but I'll talk about that later. If I remember. hehe)

The line for Rhino Rally was very short, and Mom decided to give it try. How bad could a ride in a truck be, after all?

Before we threaded our way through the turnstiles, a congenial staff member intercepted us and very politely, very tactfully, and very trepiditiously informed us that "large sized" park patrons often had trouble fitting in the smallish seat or using the seat belts. He offered to allow us a private "seat fitting" on a recently returned vehicle that had unloaded. This way no one but we and staff would see if there was a size-fit problem, thus sparing us any embarrassment in front of other park goers. Plus, I think it also helped them as we would not hold up the loading line trying to wriggle into the cramped seating.

The poor guy was nervous (and was as big as us), but we laughed and said sure. His relief was palpable, and we followed, cracking size jokes and laughing, as he led us to our fateful butt test.

The seats were pretty small. I expected bench seats with seat belts, like the Safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom has. But while the seat was technically a bench seat, it was broken into 4 separate seats by a 2 inch wide, foot or so tall, barrier. The actual seating areas were maybe 16 inches wide. Likely less.

The first and third row, left side seats next to the entry doors, were equipped with extendable seat belts. So we tried those. I had a harder time squeezing into the truck and seat due to the confinement of the roof and cramped leg area more than my blubber butt squishing down into the seat. The seat belt also was a non-issue.

They had us get out and led us to the front of the line, where we caught the next truck and had to redo the contortion act to squish in again. Then we were off!

The truck was an actual gas vehicle, with a live driver; not on a track. The road was bumpy, jarring, and made taking good pictures difficult. Even at the stately 7 miles per hour we were traveling. Had I not been on an end seat, I don't think I'd have gotten shots of any use. As it was, out of the 20 or so I took, very few were usable.

We first rumbled through the elephant and rhino enclosures. I'm sure there were safety features in place other than the thin wooden fences, but I couldn't see them. The ride designers did a great job at hiding and obscuring them from view. Err, the safety stuff, not the animals. Though most of them were hiding in the shade and difficult to see.

The crocodile enclosure was a little more obvious in its safety features. The truck drove through a few feet of water with the crocs only a yard or so away (presumably, I saw none from my side of the truck), a steel mesh fence, angled away from the vehicle, kept the scaly predators from deciding the fleshy meat bags in the metal tin were tasty treats.

Shortly after, disaster struck.

We were crossing a pontoon bridge when a flash flood rampaged down the small river and ripped the bridge apart. Our poor truck was stuck on a small span of the pontoons as we swirled away down the river!

Of course it was a carefully designed scenario, and not very exciting as it occurred. I think a glitch happened and the water that was supposed to rush out at us never did. We sort of sat there on the bridge as the previously glib driver-guide faltered through the spiel about the raging river, flash floods, and the previously lost Rally truck before us.

Eventually our little raft separated from the bridge and we gently floated away. We did swirl, however, as this part of the ride was on a track, but the effect was diminished by the rather placid waters.

We floated along, listening to the patter of the driver, watching the peaceful foliage and artfully designed rock gorges, spinning gently along the semi-hidden track.

At one point, a small waterfall loomed in our path. It seemed certain we would be inundated by the quickly falling stream. But, at the last moment, the raft spun and we slipped around behind the miniature torrent, sparing us from the once certain deluge.

Well, sparing all but those in the rear right of the truck. They do get wet. Muahahahaha!

Past the waterfall, we spied several indications of damage from our phantom flash flood; broken boats, shattered bridges, and floating wreckage. We even spied the rescue truck sent out to find us. But who was going to save them?

Eventually we fetched up against another shattered bridge, and with a little effort, crawled up the nearby embankment and returned to base camp; safe, sound, and with a new respect for the unpredictable rivers of Africa ... even the invisibly unpredictable rivers.

Back out front of the ride, the kids decided to try their hand at driving one of the Rally trucks.

As you can plainly see, they quickly became mired in some quicksand after narrowly missing the park guests on their left. They leaped to safety before the car sank any further and we dashed away to avoid park security!

At least they didn't kill anyone. ~.^

Finally, we headed toward the train station, and as luck would have it, the Serengeti Railway was rounding the corner and coming into view.

We hurried to the station gates. Or, we tried to.

People are so oblivious to others, I had to literally body check some of them out of the way so my Mom could ride through the little gate on her mobility cart. Excuse us didn't work. Gently trying to press by didn't work. Even the sad, squeaky little horn on the motorized buggy she rode didn't work. But when someone with fat hips and the will to violently swing them slams into you, you move. *snicker*

The train was just pulling in as mom rolled through the gate.

The train is pretty standard, as theme park trains go. A small, faux steam engine pulls a line of cars made up of rows of long bench seats, open on either side. But Busch goes the little bit extra for their disabled guests.

The last car has ramps which fold down and lower to the station deck, allowing disabled persons with wheelchairs, or power chairs, to ride onto it and be lifted into the car. A forward and rearward facing bench allow the disabled's companions to ride along with them. The front half of the car has regular seating, as well.

There are three stops on the Serengeti Railway; Nairobi, Congo, and Stanleyville stations. The best route is Nairobi to Congo, as you travel through the Serengeti plains and can view many animals you'd otherwise only see from the skyride, or an extra charge safari ride in large, open bed truck. I shot many pictures of animals, but you'll have to wait to see those in another post! (I'm so mean)

A round trip on the train takes about 35 minutes. The Serengeti portion, as I said, is the most worthwhile. The Congo to Stanleyville, and Stanleyvill to Nairobi allow you to see some rides and other areas of the park, but mostly you wend your way through small spaces of fences and shrubbery that block most of the views of anything. You can catch glimpses of some rides as they tower over you, and you do trundle under a portion of SheiKra. But mostly I contented myself by looking past the bushes and razor wire fences out to the streets of civilization only a score of feet away.

It is pretty amazing how close the park is to apartment buildings, businesses, restaurants, and such. Unless you are on the train, or at the top of one of the rides, you really don't notice it and feel as if you are truly removed from normal life. Busch packs a huge amount of entertainment and attractions in a relatively small, limited space.

While on the Serengeti Railway, I got great shots of two of the parks coasters: ShieKra and Montu.

SheiKra you read about yesterday, but I offered only small glimpses of its total look. Here you can really appreciate the loops and dives, as well as it's towering height. And, you get an added bonus of some giraffes loping around in the foreground! This is one of my favorite shots of the day. (I will admit to adding the blue, cloudy sky into the shot as I cropped and cleaned it up. The greyish white sky it originally had was very boring looking. hehe)

Montu is in the Egypt section of Busch Gardens, and is one of my favorite coasters ever. And I've ridden many in my younger days. Montu is an inverted roller coaster. It was once the world's tallest and fastest inverted coaster, but not any longer. The coaster wars can be brutal. Montu still holds the record of the most inversions (loops) on an inverted coaster with seven.

I miss riding it.

Yeah, I added sky in this one too. You couldn't really see the coaster as well against the greyish sky that was rapidly rolling in over Tampa that day. I wanted to go the Egypt section where Montu is located, but by Mom was wearing out, and we were trying to make it back to the Nairobi station ni time to get to the last showing of Katonga. We didn't make it. *sigh*

Another day, then.

I also wanted to do a skyride trip, but I had to settle for taking a shot of one of the turning points as we rode the train. *double sigh*

You can see how grey the sky looks in this shot, and why I slipped a prettier blue one in the others. ~.^

Thus ends my pictorial safari through the Rides of Busch Gardens.

Tomorrow or this weekend, I'll do up a post with pics of all the great animals and other sights. Some pretty cool stuff to see awaits you!

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Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 144 days is:

$223,
007,451,985,306,231,415,357,182,726,482,240,670,269.43

Busch Gardens - The Rides, Part 1

I got all Busch Gardens photos resized, cropped, and cleaned up.I also added borders to all of them and shrank them to fit on my blog at 400px width. I think most of them came out fantastic!

All images were taken with a Kodak DC240 iZOOM Digital Camera. It's an old camera; 4 years old at least. It is only a 1.3 Megapixel, too. That explains the blurriness of many shots I took.

Well, I'm not gonna blame my shaky hand, am I?

Onto the ride pics! Each pic will have a description note if you mouse hover over it.

It'll be a long post, so grab a cup of coffee ... or an empty Big Gulp cup. ~.^

The first ride we hit was Gwazi, a wooden, dueling roller-coaster. That means it has two tracks where the coasters "race" and come with mere inches of each other at spots. No loops on this one, but a ton of banks and hills. Plus that awesome clackety-clickyness you get only with a wooden coaster.

I didn't ride it. The attendants were non-English speakers, and predominantly Asian. I don't understand why there wouldn't be clear English speaking attendants, but ... *shrug*

They didn't listen to me when I said I wanted to ride with my youngest on his very first roller-coaster ride. (He turned 10 last Sunday). He had already been seated by them while I walked to the rear where the bigger seats (for my bigger butt) were located. they just stared blankly at me and jabbered in half Asian, half pidgin English. I got frustrated and stood on the off-loading platform until the train came back around.

Tim rode with his older brother, at least. And he said he liked it, even though he was scared. They rode the Lion track. Next time they'll ride the Tiger track, and hopefully I can ride, too.

Wandering a bit, looking at the animals in the Bird Gardens and other sights (coming soon to a post near you!), we found ourselves in the Land of Dragons. A whimsical place geared for the younger kids. Gentle rides, a mini-mini-roller coaster, and a huge play fort several stories high tempted little kids to enjoy themselves. Mine asked to go play on the fort. Truth be told, I would have been tempted as well, were i not physically incapable of squeezing through most it! Maybe next time I'll let them romp through it.

We did stop to take a few shots at a cute photo-op station.

Our intended goal, after leaving the Land of Dragons, was to catch a ride on the Serengeti Railway. The Stanelyville Train Station was directly across, almost nestled within, SheiKra, North America's only true dive coaster. Throngs of those school-trip hellions were blocking easy travel, so we ended up missing the train. The next wasn't due for 20 minutes, so we debated on riding SheiKra instead.

Tim didn't want to test his courage on the rather intimidating steel coaster. His brother Tyler, who had ridden it the previous year on a summer camp trip, claimed he didn't want to ride it alone. Mom was a definite no-brainer; if she could manage to get onto the ride (HA!) the force stresses would probably kill her. As for me, there was no way my rear end was going to fit into the ride's seats.

A demo version of the upcoming floorless ride car was on display, so I got a very clear look at the seats. Twiggy (or Kate Moss for you children of the 90's) would have been hard pressed to fit her butt into the plastic torture devices they called seats.

I would have ridden it if I could have, though. *sigh*

Instead, tired of walking, we decided ot watch SheiKra for a little bit, while Mom rested in the shade of the Stanelyville station. I walked around getting a few shots of the ride.

SheiKra has two vertical drops, the biggest being a 200 foot high, 90 degree straight drop down. There is a Himmelman loop, and some great banked curves, as well as a splash down section where passersby could get soaked. The soak area was pretty well demarked by pools of water and hordes of sopping wet, screaming teenagers.



I wanted to get a shot of SheiKra's splash down. So I angled myself where it was only slightly damp on the ground and got the camera ready to take a shot of the ride car splashing down, and it's attendant plume of water. My kids kept edging closer, despite my warnings that they'd get soaked. Typically, they ignored my admonishments, and sidled even deeper into the wet zone. I smiled to myself and let them go. They'd learn soon enough.

Shortly a car caromed around the embankment and dove into the splash down, sending up a gigantic spray of water and inundating the area my kids thought was safe. HaHa! I was safely back, with only a gentle cooling mist of water drifting down over me as I took my shot.

After I stopped laughing at Tim and Tyler's shocked expressions, we gathered up a chortling Mom and headed towards one of the oldest attractions in Busch Gardens ... Stanleyville Falls.

Stanleyville Falls is an old-time log flume ride. Lots of splashes, several drops, and a long, long line. This was the longest line we saw all day. A true testament to the staying power of this venerable water ride.

I did ride this one as it was one of my favorite rides dating back to when I was little (25+ years ago). It was a little tricky for me to get in, and out, but it was not uncomfortable. Plus my butt could fit in the seats^.^;;

It's amazing how fast you go on the last, big drop. The splash was pretty big, but I only got my left sock wet. My shorts got wet on the right leg, but that was from an errant side splash as we sped through the twists and turns of the rapids section.

Each drop has a little employee station, and at the first drop the attendant was apparently sleeping. I yelled "Sweet Dreams" as we rode by and she snapped upright with wide eyes, knocking over her huge, plastic souvenir cup of whatever liquid it was. Serves her right.

It was approaching noontime by now, and we left Stanelyville and headed towards Timbuktu and our lunch destination.

But that part of the story is for tomorrow. This is pretty long now as it is, and I don't want to lose all my work again. ^.^;; (I wrote in notepad this time and copied over to Blogger ... I learned my lesson!)

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Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 143 days is:

$111,
503,725,992,653,115,707,678,591,363,241,120,335,134.71

Tattooed Fruit

Ever seen an apple riding a Hawg? How about a cucumber rocking out on stage? An avocado eXtreme snowboarding?

Well, you won't see your fruits and veges doing any of that, but you may see them sporting tattoos. No, not pics of flaming skulls, tribal bands, or hearts with Mom in the middle.

If the FDA approves it, we may soon start seeing our once benign food sporting laser imprinted tattoos with expiration, point of origin, brand names, or any sort information on them. This could mean the end of those annoying little polyvinyl stickers no one can peel off without gouging a divot from your fruit. [cite]

The laser only penetrates the very top layer of skin, removing pigmentation, and leaving a legible imprint visible.

It does not damage the product or reduce shelf life, some claim. Others state decay first occurs at the lasered site, and that it gives easier access to germs to infiltrate the produce. Either way, it is edible, as no inks or polyvinyl is used, just a slight bit less skin on the tattooed parts.

I'm all for it.

I cannot stand those little stickers. If I'm not ripping holes in my tomato trying to get them off, I'm forgetting about it and choking it down with a bite off my apple.

Too, it is hoped that the indelible tattoos will help provide a more fool-proof alternative to product tracing than stickers, which can be peeled off. The hope is to more quickly track down where contaminated produce came from.

Some produce won't be able to use the laser etching; potatoes, cantaloupe, and other rough skinned produce. So, some stickers will still be around.

If this gets approved by the FDA, I foresee actual advertising on the produce within a few short years.

Nike swooshes on your peaches, anyone?

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Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 141 days is:

$27,
875,931,498,163,278,926,919,647,840,810,280,083,783.67

Weekend in Review

I took the weekend off from blogging, as you may have noticed. In part because it was Mother's Day weekend, in part because I needed another break, in part because I was sick from the smoke in the area and chemical fumes at a skating rink.

This post is making up for lost time. It's long. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in. You may want to go pee before you start reading, too. The next rest stop is a few hundred words away, and I'm not pulling over. And no, you can't use the empty Big Gulp cup. That's just gross.

Buckled in? Good. Here we go.

One of the nice things that came about this weekend (aside from my best friend, Tek, getting out of the hospital!) was the arrival of my Busch Gardens Fun Cards!

Basically, you purchase a single-day admission and get a card which allows you to go back all year for free!

It wasn't cheap. A single day admission is $61.95, plus tax. For the four of us it totalled $270.11. Steep, when funds are limited.

But, since we live in Tampa, and can be at Busch Gardens at any time, any day, for the next year, within 15 minutes of leaving the house, it was a deal we couldn't pass up.

We get bored, have nothing to do, pop on down to the theme park, and ride a few rides, or watch one of the many shows. The kid's summer camp (another hefty expense) also makes a trip to Busch Gardens, and we won't have to pay extra since they can take their Fun Cards. Their schools, too, sometimes have trips out there, and with the Fun Cards, we'll only have to pay for the bus ride for them.

In the end, we'll save money. Okay, we'll break even with the normal costs we would have paid, but we'll be visiting more often.

Matter of fact, depending on the smoke situation, my youngest's birthday is Sunday and we will be breaking in the Fun Cards on a trip out to Busch Gardens for the day. Or as much of the day as my Mother can handle. (She's disabled, plus heat and humidity wipe her out. We'll be renting a go-buggy for her, though ... $35! Yipes!)

It'll be fun, and I'll try to take some digital shots to post.

The other great thing this weekend was Mother's Day. The kids and I got my mom three round puzzles. She loves doing puzzles and shaped ones, especially round ones, are her favorite.

I got them through Amazon, and they came last week, so we gave them to her early. Technically she had them finished before yesterday, but she loved them anyhow.

I also ordered her the Roots DVD set coming out May 22nd. She's been wanting this movie for a long time. It's one of her favorites. And, she'll likely watch it all in one sitting some lazy weekend. She does that with The Thornbirds, too.

We also went to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. (We call it dinner, because we eat the big meal in the middle of the day on weekends). Other than it being very hot and stuffy inside, the meal was fantastic! And not a little expensive, too.

Most restaurants (and grocery stores) try to keep the temperature cool. Cool, or cold, air triggers a subconscious need to eat, or supply yourself with, more food. Thus when a store or restaurant is nice and chilly, you may buy more groceries, or order more food. Like those impulse purchases at the checkout, or those high-calorie, over-priced desserts. (Mmmmm ... Chocolate Thunder Down Under. Of course, after I eat that, I experience the namesake later. ~.^)

Anyhow, I think they left it warm inside so that people who were coming would eat faster, and get out, thus freeing tables for more customers. Volume of total customers over quantity per seems to have been the goal. Because any other time I've been in there, it was nice and cool.

Psychological warfare by the restaurant. I feel so used.

The third fun thing this weekend happened later on Mother's Day.

We had mini-pizzas for dinner (supper) and watched one of the best movies ever, and one of my favorites ... the original Flight of the Phoenix.

I'm a sucker for three types of movies: superhero, zombie, and survival. Zombie and survival movies often are the same thing, but you know what I mean.

I got "Phoenix" a week or so ago from the Cube-O'-DVDs at Wal-Mart. You've seen it. The huge 5'x5'x5' black cube near the electronics department. Filled with low-priced DVDs on all the vertical sides, likely covered in boxes of candy as if a movie theater concession threw up on top of it. I love the Cube-o'-DVDs because lots of movies I like end up in there for around $5 each.

Anyhow, don't waste your time on the 2004 remake of this movie, even if it does have Dennis Quaid in it. (Actually, it is a fun movie, too, but the original is vastly superior).

I mean, how can you go wrong with James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, and Peter Finch? Drop them in a plane wreck in the middle of the Sahara Desert and you struck gold. Or, oil might be more appropriate.

I love the tension and drama in this film. The acting is great. You feel as if the desert is leaching your sanity away right along with the characters'. And, I love how you can visibly see them weaken, their skin dry and crack, their clothes weather as the long, hot days and freezing nights slowly roll by taking their devastating toll on the survivors.

It was the first time my kids had seen either version, and they liked it. Nothing blew up. No sexual innuendo involved. Very little cursing, and that was the 1965 kind of movie cursing. You get worse on Family-style comedy shows now-a-days. there are a few semi-graphic scenes ... blood dripping into a pool after one guy commits suicide, the slit throats of two characters after a failed attempt to deal with Arab raiders ... but even then you only see the aftermath, not the act.

All in all, a nice way to spend the day with the family.

Yet, I still found time to level my Shaman, Roflmoo, four levels in WoW! heh

Okay, here's the rest stop. You can get out, stretch your legs, take care of business, whatever.

Oh, and you're emptying that Big Gulp cup. I warned you.

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Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 134 days is:

$217,780,714,829,400,616,616,559,748,756,330,313,154.55

Funny Church Signs (Sorta)

How many times have you been driving down the road when you suddenly spy a church billboard sign with some witty (or otherwise) saying? There are entire websites devoted to showcasing the more humorous, oddball, or shocking signs encountered across America. Or Google "funny church signs" on Google Image search for a large selection.

Today, I bring you four never-before-seen church sign sayings.

And my most favorite of all:

Okay, none of these are real signs. Well, the signs are real, but the text on them was done using a generator from this website. It's amazing how many blogs and websites post these generated images as being real. The people who created the generator did a great job with it.

Though, on three of the 4 images above, I did wipe their URL off the signs in favor of my own tongue-in-cheek choices.

Did they fool you? When did you catch on? Got any funny sayings you'd like to see on a church sign? Got any real sayings you've seen and want to share? My comment box is hungry for your words. ~.^

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Today's Penny Doubled Daily Cumulative Amount for 124 days is:

212,676,479,325,586,539,664,609,129,644,853,821.43