About a coaster ride

The graceful arc of steel track against a blue sky.

The should-we-or-shouldn't-we, is-an-hour-too-long-to-wait conversation.

Nah. We hear it's worth it.

Standing. Standing Standing. Shuffle. Shuffle.

Idle talk and chatter. Eavesdropping on the next queue over.

Reading the signs posted along the way. (Persons with heart conditions should not ride this ride.) (If you are wearing earrings you must take them off.)

Wondering about the condition of my heart, and putting my hoops in my wallet.

Setting little goals as we creep along: We'll be at the next corner in five minutes. The spot by the posts in seven minutes. Near the stairs in four minutes.

Trying to ignore that we have to go to the restroom.

Listening to the coaster as it runs the track, over and over again, a rumbling rhythm punctuated by screams and applause at the end.

Starting to wonder if it will ever be our turn, as we turn and turn in the endless maze, even as we near the end.

All that waiting, then it happens so fast: One last decision, which seat line to enter. The middle looks good.

Next on. A gate opens and shuts.

Following some business major's instructions: Put your belongings in the bin. Fasten your seat belt, pull your shoulder harness down, make sure it's latched.

A future teacher double-checks the belt and harness and it's thumb's up, enjoy your ride and thank you for visiting Cedar Point, ride on.

A short pause, just one breath, and we're flung up a hill--and all of the peninsula filled with coasters, and the azure bay, and the small city beyond spread before us, brilliantly sharp in the August sun.

At the top, here's just a moment between blinks to look--the sky, the sailboats, the sea gulls--and we're launched through a rock-n-roll, up-then-down, upside-down, speed-racer, mile-long, air-time, dark-tunnel, photo-flash who-is-that-screaming-oh-wait ... it's me.

Hard brakes, one last scream that ends in a laugh. Everybody claps.

Welcome back, riders, did you enjoy your ride? asks the future teacher.

Hell yes. Queue me up again.

About island time

Loyal readers, in the spirit of "living vs. writing," I am off on vacation for the living part, saving up stuff for the writing part.
Our July vacation is almost always to visit our families in northern Ohio, and I thank God our families live in an area with so much vacation stuff to do.
If while in northern Indiana when someone says they are going to "the lake," you must quiz them on just which lake they are going to, when someone says "the lake" here in northern Ohio, one knows just which lake they mean.
We'll be heading up to Lake Erie today for a little wine tasting and maybe eagle spotting. We're visiting Quarry Hill Winery and, hopefully Old Woman's Creek and Sheldon's Marsh today. At Quarry Hill, we'll see if we can score a bottle of their blueberry wine, which my dad prefers for its medicinal purposes, as he says. At Old Woman's Creek, we'll try to spot the eagles that nest on the estuary and soar over Lake Erie (and we'll be able to see Cedar Point just to the west). At Sheldon's Marsh, we'll walk out what is the VERY old entrance to Cedar Point and enjoy the butterfly area near the entrance.
Later this week, we'll be off to Cleveland for a visit to the Little Italy area near University Circle. My sister and her son recently visited a music shop there that repaired Ben's cello, and they discovered a wealth of restaurants, shops and a used book store I'm both dreading and anticipating (I want to buy all the books...I have no room to keep any more books...I want the books.)
My sister wants to take me to Mansfield, where my dad worked for many years as I was growing up, and is not a town he had a lot of good stuff to say about, in the '60s anyway. Times change, and now Reeny raves about the shopping that's sprung up and the restaurants to choose from. I'll risk a 45-minute drive to check it out! It's pretty down that way, Amish country too.
We'll take in the Fourth of July parade here in Norwalk, which goes right by my sister's house, and later we'll watch fireworks from her front yard, too. Oh--maybe we'll spend the afternoon in her pool...if it finally warms up. Don't even get me started on the weather so far. (Because I just can't fathom rain and 62 on June 30. I. Just. Can't.)
We had lunch yesterday at Kalahari Resort, which has the biggest waterpark in the U.S. (So they say.) We didn't do the waterpark thing, but we did enjoy lunch in one of the restaurants and wandered around a bit to check the place out. Wow. A marvel of engineering, really.
Oh! and my dad and I will spend a day on one of the Lake Erie Islands, probably Kelley's, although maybe Put-in-Bay. It's hard to decide. A winery, a microbrewery, some history, some shopping, a few hours tooling around in a golf cart, a good meal, on island time--nice.
Hey, I've got to scoot! The sun is finally out and we've got plans for the day. If you'd like to know a little more about what to do in northern Ohio, email me!
What kind of vacation time are you gonna be on this summer?