Get Packin'

There’s no doubt about it: we are speaking about roller coasters of the world, be they wooden, steel or otherwise, where there is no comparison to the thrills a minute you experience.  Here are a few stats:  The tallest steel ‘roller coaster drop’ in the U.S. is Kingda Ka located (at Six Flags Great Adventure) in Township, New Jersey, or you might want to travel to Coomera, Queensland, Australia and try the Tower of Terror.  If you’re into the feel of wood, then Kings Island in Mason, Ohio boasts of its Son of Beast, or you can travel to Europe and enjoy the Colossus at Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany, both of which claim to be the tallest, and fastest, wooden roller coasters in the world.

It appears that the Superman: Krypton Coaster in San Antonio, Texas has the tallest vertical loop in the U.S. of A, while if your travels take you to Port Aventura in Salou, Catalunya, Spain, then you might want to let your heart drop a beat or two on Dragon Khan. 

So where are the fastest steel roller coasters?  Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, is number two, following the fastest steel roller coaster in the United States; Kingda Ka in Township, New Jersey, and number three is Dodonpa in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. 

Where do they get these names: Mind Bender, Hammerhead Shark, Steel Dragon, Tazmanian Devil, Boomerang, Road Runner Express, Phantom’s Revenge, Acrophobia, Bizarro, El Toro, Hades, The Time Machine, Millennium Force, The Boss, Viper, The Rattler, Ultimate, Superman: el Ultimo Escape, Shivering Timbers, Diamond Back, Thunderhead, and perhaps, as some folks have dubbed it, the big daddy of them all; The Great American Scream Machine.

What originated in Russia in 1784, re-tooled by the French in 1804, and then came along La Marcus Adna Thompson, who in 1884, built the first specialty roller coaster at Coney Island.   The Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railroad reached a top speed of six-miles-per-hour and thus began roller coaster mania in America.  It wasn’t however until 1927, that the benchmark for roller coasters was built with its incredible 60 degree angle and 85 foot plunge.  The Coney Island Cyclone is still considered today an industry standard. 

Children and adults alike are all-a-twitter at the first sign of a warm spring and early summer to get a head start at their local or regional amusement park so they can experience the thrill of that swooshing sound of a roller coaster car as it takes on its fastest dip or jarring turn and sudden stop.  Hands go up in the air, fingers clutch the metal bars and the crescendo of screams could easily begin a thunder-storm as rail cars whiz by like a streak of lightning or when they reach the highest pinnacle on their ride.   Peals of laughter intermingle with shrieks of fear and fun.  They get off, and on again, and no matter how much fun they had that day the most memorable thrill of all will be that coaster ride.  If you braved one, then you’ll brag about it, and what better telling is there than to share with all whom will listen that you conquered the tallest, fastest, and the most thrilling coaster of them all. 

Isn’t this what summer vacation is supposed to be about; having fun?  So no matter if you’re California dreaming, riding the Reading Railroad in Pennsylvania, trekking across the plains on Route 66, sight-seeing in sunny Florida, New Jersey bound, or taking a slow boat to China, why not include an amusement park in your vacation plans, and at the end of that great day of thrills and fun, what you need is a good night’s sleep.

Every year, normally between the months of March and October, there is something going on in your home state.  Most every town has something it is know for, so there’s a festival for it, like the Slug Queen Festival in Eugene, Oregon, or the Wiregrass Festival of Murals in Dothan, Alabama.  How about the  Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida and the Syracuse Polish Festival in Syracuse, New York?  If you’re into cultural festivals then the 9^th Street Italian Market Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania might be the ticket, or why not try the Jacksonville Caribbean Carnival, Street Parade & Festival in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Bonnaroo Music & Crafts Festival in Manchester, TN. Flickr Photo by rocknroll_guitar

Let’s not forget those music festivals like Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee or the Bamboozle in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  While we’re at it, let’s take in the Austin Reggae Festival in Austin, Texas, and why not the Lollapalooza, currently held in Chicago, Illinois or the Shamy Bash in Pataskala, Ohio.

Lollapalooza sign as seen in Chicago in 2006. Flickr photo by Tammylo

Vintage 1992 Lollapalooza tour poster. Flickr photo by Joe Madonna

While many of these festivals and events are local; oftentimes they are promoted regionally, and we can’t forget those festivals that people from all over your home state and beyond its borders do attend.  Or maybe your town has a special attraction, like an amusement park or huge water park, or even a natural forest with hiking, fishing and the like. 

Want to know where to look for these events?  Check out these sites: 

http://festivalnet.com/

http://www.craftmasternews.com/

http://www.craftsfairguide.com/

http://www.jambase.com/festivals/

http://www.uwmpost.com/2010/05/10/summer-music-festival-guide/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_festivals_in_the_United_States

You get the picture – why not get out and have fun this summer.  Attend an arts & crafts or music festival; get a little color in your cheeks, slurp a snow cone, gum some cotton candy, spread a quilt and eat some cold chicken, toss a Frisbee or two, scream at the top of your lungs while riding that dare-devil amusement park ride, marvel at the fireworks display that will surely follow whatever event you’ve taken in as dark finally settles, and when all is said and done, you will have filled your memory basket and now you’re ready for a good night’s sleep.

Although the first modern lighthouse lens was invented in 1822, by the Frenchman, Augustin Fesnel, it was not installed in a lighthouse until 1841.  Until then early lighthouses used wicks as a source of light, and albeit it did deter some disasters, the light beam was only visible for a few miles.  The Egyptians were, however, the first to build a lighthouse, and it is said they were also responsible for the tallest lighthouse ever built.

Lighthouses have been a major fascination for many, and a source of tourism.  As we explore lighthouses we also take a walk through the waves of history.

Absecon Lighthouse, courtesy of the AbseconLighthouse.org

If you live in or near Atlantic City, New Jersey, you probably have heard of the famous Absecon Lighthouse, which celebrated its 150^th anniversary in 2007, although it had been placed on the Register of Historic Places back in 1970.  In 1854, an appropriation of $35,000 from Congress was given to build a lighthouse on Absecon Island, and in 1857 the first lighting took place using a mineral oil (kerosene) lamp and with the aid of a Fesnel lens, made in Paris, it reflected light for 19.5 nautical miles out to sea.  The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933, its light extinguished, and except for a few celebrations, like New Jersey’s Centennial and its Tercentenary in 1963, the lighthouse might easily have met its demise.  Today, it stands as a testament and beacon of preservation of New Jersey’s maritime history, and is also a popular tourist attraction.

The Absecon Lighthouse is not the oldest in the United States though.  This honor goes to the Boston Light,a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island, dating back to 1716, and is the only lighthouse in the United States to still be actively staffed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

While many of us may not have known the name of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, located in Scotland, we may have seen it as depicted in a black and white illustration that shows an angry sea whipping at the rocky foundation of this famous lighthouse.

Artist rendering of Bell Rock Lighthouse, artist unknown

Many legends surround the devious reef Inchcape dubbed Bell Rock after a venerable Abbot placed a bell as a warning to mariners about its perilous and rocky claws, but the villainous pirate, Ralph the Rover, played a cruel joke by removing the bell.  The old saying, what goes round, comes round was certainly true here, for when ‘Sir’ Ralph came upon Inchcape in his own sailing vessel he had forgotten his mischievous, but deadly prank, and perished in the crushing waves.

Robert Southly (August 1774-March 1843), an English poet of the romantic school, and a so-called Lake Poet and Poet Laureate, wrote a hauntingly rhythmic poem about Inchcape and the prankster pirate: “No stir in the air, no stir in the sea” . . . Click here for the full poem.  http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/robert-southey/inchcape-rock/ and to read the full history of this enchanting lighthouse tale, visit here: http://www.elinordewire.com/bellrocklighthouse.htm.

Cape Hatteras Light House

Some lighthouse tidbits:  Once a prison, now a tourist destination, Alcatraz Island is also home to a lighthouse; The barber pole striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, located in Buxton, North Carolina, is the tallest brick lighthouse in North America; The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse is described as A Light in the Wilderness in James D. Snyder’s book about this lighthouse being built when Florida was a “wild, lawless frontier, ruled by bears snakes and alligators” . . . ; The first Point Bolivar Lighthouse, located in Point Bolivar, Texas, was built in the mid 1850’s but was “pulled down during the Civil War so that Union warships could not use it as a navigational aid.”

So many lighthouses, so little time and limited space, so for those lighthouse aficionados out there, perhaps a good night’s sleep in a lighthouse is just the tourism ticket you’ve been searching for.  John Grant has made it easy for you in his book, “Staying at a Lighthouse,” where he has listed more than two dozen “leaving the light on” places to visit and stay.  You can find the book at http://www.lighthousedepot.com/.