Thrilling

HOKAY so this week has been nutso. As in, I have been slowly adding to this post every night since Sunday. I manage to put about 5 minutes in and then get pulled in another direction. YEESH. I am really hoping life slows down soon!?!!! All work and no minimal play is making me a very very tired girl.

Speaking of minimal play, last weekend 8 of us took a trip down to to OH-HIIIII-O to visit Cedar Point Amusement Park. I haven?t been on a roller coaster in 15 years so, clearly, I was THRILLED! Here are the highlights of our short weekend

SERIOUS rain/lightning/thunder on the way down!!

Niki?s praying & trying not to throw up all over the back seat

Friday evening was spent enjoying a couple brews in our hotel and resting up for the long day ahead of us! We woke up to overcast skies and headed off to the park..

Oh hey Niki, hiding behind your supermodel sunglasses!

Niki hiding her anxiety& Ashley BEAMING for the first ride!

This is her nervous laugh face. As an FYI- Niki gets motion sick EXTREMELY easily and roller coasters made her very anxious. As we were in line for the first ride, she busted out nervous laughing, so I held her hand and we survived the ride together

The group (minus our photog- Niki?she passed on a couple of the more intense rides?.)

HAHA Shawn (Niki?s hubby) made the most hilarious faces in EVERY picture?

Of course there were random sights to see?

Best story of the weekend?.waiting in line for the ride Maverick?Niki scopes it out, and gives it her approval. ?Oh yeah, this one looks okay, nothing too steep/fast. I can handle this!!? Little did she know?..

Maverick takes you up 100 some feet, and you drop at a 95 degree angle, proceed to get whipped around, dropped into a tunnel and flipped several times at 75 mph. We were on the car in front of them, and as we finished, I just kept thinking ?POOR NIKI?.she is NOT going to like this!!!?

I was right. Proof:

HAHA! What a sport she was!! Everyone else loved this ride  

One of my favorites- the Power Tower. You go up 300 some feet, are suspended, then dropped HARD & FAST. Awesome feeling.

What?? You don?t drink beer while riding roller coasters?? We are just hardcore

After quenching our thirsts with ridiculously overpriced delicious Summer Shandy & snacking on some run of the mill nothing special wings (I dominated the celery & carrot sticks that came with!), we tackled the more challenging rides in the park. Like this one:

Essentially a giant rotating wheel that swings you back and forth and upside down. See how stoked we were:

WHEEEEE!!

Wicked Twister:

Yeah.

Awesome Shawn & Niki faces. Clearly made for each other.

And, saving the best for last- The Topthrill Dragster. They made me lock my bag up in a locker before we got in line so no pics

Try to use your imagination Basically, it launches riders from 0-120 mph in less than four seconds, shoots you up 420 feet, and lasts about 17 seconds. TOTALLY worth it.

BAWWW I WANNA GO BACK!!

So after walking/riding rides for 9+ hours, we were ready to EAT!

Yard Drinks were on the menu. How can you say no to that!?

Oops. Guess they can

We asked our waitress what they were known for and shared a sampling.

Deep Fried Pickles-

Fresh Baby Clams steamed with garlic & white wine, served with garlic texas toast.

And jumbo shrimp beer battered & served with a trio of sauces: HOT HOT buffalo sauce, sweet & sour, and raspberry jalapeno. Blurry = HUNGRY photographer.

I was uber impressed with Shawns sandwich- a twist on a reuben.. Corned beef, coleslaw, honey mustard and swiss cheese. Served with chips & pasta salad. And another one of those deep friend pickles!

We retired to our hotels for a few hours of Apples to Apples and some other game I can?t remember the name of (helpful, I know) on an ironing board table. Do what ya gotta do

The trip was so much fun, even though we spent what felt like half the weekend driving (around 7 hours down, and 7 hours back).

A crazy busy weekend lays ahead of me?working late tomorrow night (my county?s Girls on the Run teams have their final 5K), then working Sunday Night & Monday morning (more Girls on the Run 5k?s). Phew. I sure hope you all enjoy your long holiday weekends! I promise more food & recipes to come!!

<3 <3 <3!!!