http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/ SirWillow's Coasters, Parks, and more Mon, 31 Jan 2005 16:25:53 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Vacation Destinations Christianity http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/22.html Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:23:36 GMT So I get stuck out at the convention center in Orlando for 3 days for a technology conference. Wheeee. Lots of time listening to people talk, thankfully about subjects that I'm at least interested in, and hours walking around a floor area with hundreds of vendors. Talk about exhausting.... But thankfully, I was only a couple of miles away from Universal's Islands of Adventure. So once I reached burnout point each day (around 3-4 pm when it started at 8am) So once I was to tired to know a venn diagram from a computer schematic, it was off to the park to try to unwind and get my brain... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=22 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/20.html Sat, 27 Nov 2004 22:44:09 GMT As you get involved in talking to those within the coaster enthusiast community, one of the things that you will be asked sooner or later is, "What's your count? How many coasters have you ridden?" It seems like an innocent enough question, and not a big deal. But it is one of the fun things about the hobby. One of the first things I did when I really started my interest was to compose a list of the coasters that I'd been on, just to see how many I'd ridden. I now keep counts for my kids to. For some, the count may mean even a bit more than just a fun part of a hobby. For those... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=20 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/19.html Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:38:35 GMT This is a really long one, so be prepared. :) Trip Report- Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure 11-13-15 The people- me and my family- wife Margaret (who was ill most of the weekend), daughter Amber, and son Joseph. We also met up with Brian and Jay, and their son William Weather- very nice. A bit warm and humid Sat turning to rain, and cooler Sunday Crowds- moderate overall- light in some areas, heavy in others Brian Farrel gave me a call about a month back letting me know that he was planning a trip down here with Jay and his son William in mid-November, and wanted... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=19 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/18.html Thu, 28 Oct 2004 00:34:18 GMT Well, the announcement came out today, and it looks like Busch Gardens in Tampa is going to be adding one fantastic addition next year! The first "dive machine" every to be built in the US (similar to Oblivion in Great Britain), but bigger and better! With 2 vertical, 90 degree drops, an immelman loop, and an underground tunnel, it won't be a one trick pony. That's for sure. And it looks like it's going to blend in very well with the rest of the park. It's nice living so close to a park, and a high quality one at that. With it so close, it's easy to make several small visits frequently.... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=18 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/17.html Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:30:01 GMT I've had this suspicion for a while now that disasters seem to follow me. First time I ever took a plane flight, on a little commuter flight, one week later that exact same flight crashed. When I moved to TX our apartments were hit by a tornado a few months after we got there. Saw a plane crash at the Point Mugu airshow a while back. Watched Sacramento experience it's two worst years of flooding while I lived there. And now that I'm in Florida, for all of 2 months, I've experienced hurricanes. Not just one, but two. And maybe a third in another week. Boy, am I blessed! :P Really... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=17 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/16.html Tue, 17 Aug 2004 00:56:24 GMT Well, it's been a couple of days now since the "final blow up" for lack of a better way to call it. A couple of days for me to calm down a bit and try to get a grip. Things are slowly settling out and sorting out from the storm (though the hardest hit counties still have a long ways to go, and haven't even begun to release casualty information or much else since they're trying just to get basics up). But life goes on, and so should I. First, a couple of things I want to clear up after some of my emotional rantings and ravings from the last couple of days. If it's not clear, my major... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=16 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/15.html Sun, 15 Aug 2004 04:46:12 GMT We were lucky with the hurricane. It turned away from us (and the Tampa area) south of us a bit- around 90 minutes or so before we were expecting the first waves to come rolling into our neighborhood. Thank God. In the end, that saved a huge amount of damage and probably lives with it. Category 4 hurricanes are no laughing matter, and it's caused massive damage in the places it did roll through (I got to see some of it up close and personal today) and it's some frightening stuff, let me tell you. My heart goes out to those that lost their homes and/or loved ones (and sadly, there are a... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=15 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/14.html Fri, 13 Aug 2004 02:07:19 GMT Well, from one drama to another. If you haven't heard about hurricane Charley yet, turn on the news. For me, it's going to be up close and personal. My first hurricane- but at this point it's an experience that I would be just as happy skipping. So here I am, just east of Tampa, waiting for a category 3 hurricane to hit us full on tomorrow afternoon. And depending on which model you look at, we'll either be right under the eye, or just east of it a little bit. Great fun. So I've been running around the last 2 days buying water, canned food and other stuff that doesn't need cooking, and... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=14 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/13.html Sat, 07 Aug 2004 05:37:09 GMT Getting late, but just need to get a peeve or two off of my back before I go to bed. So forgive me if I spout a bit. First, people who will talk behind your back, but don't have the courage, guts, or decency to say something to you. I'm the type that if I've got something to say to someone, I'll say it to them first, and try to do it privately first so as not to cause them embarresment or anything like that. But to many people won't do that. I've got someone telling me that people are talking about me for something that happened, and yet not one of these other people, whoever they may... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=13 http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/archive/12.html Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:36:28 GMT First a quick note to anyone reading this. As you read, be sure to check the dates of my posts. With my move that took place at the end of June/ early July, it's been awhile since I managed to get back here and make a new post. Over a month and a half to be exact. So realize that much of what I wrote about in other posts is in the past and has been put behind me. :) Hope that clarifies a couple of things. And it has been a busy time. I started driving from CA to FL on June 25th, arrived in FL on July 9th, movers arrived on the 12th, which meant a lot of time unpacking. My wife also... (more) http://sirwillow.blogdrive.com/comments?id=12