Geocaching

Okay. So it turns out I'm going to Alaska next summer, and I got an idea. I'm gonna try a geocaching experiment. I'm gonna take a hike somewhere, and hide/bury a cheap-ass digital camera with a huge-ass memory card in a weatherproof container with a note: "take a picture of yourself and put the camera back exactly where you found it."

I need a camera that is cheap, uses a standard memory card (ie, SD or CF), and uses a standard-size, commercially available power source (ie, AA batteries). I don't want to spend a lot of money, I don't want to be upset about the equipment getting damaged, and I want it to still be there when I go back for it, and who knows when that will be. I'll also need a weatherproof container. I'm going to do some tests on different containers in the rain, snow, cold, hot... I think that's it. I suppose some kind of marker would be a good idea as well. So I can say "go to these coordinates and look for the cat-shaped paperweight." I suppose it would be smarter to mark a tree or something that can't be moved.

So I'll post on my website, and on geocaching websites, and do whatever else I can think of to make people know about my camera, and when I go back for it (or get somebody I know who lives in Alaska to mail it to me), I'll post all the photos on my website. Just sounds like fun.

Anybody have any ideas/suggestions about any aspect of this undertaking?

Home at last

I'm totally wiped from driving 6-ish hours, so I may not make my huge post (encompassing all the e-mail reminders I sent myself from my phone) until tomorrow, but just a quick one now to end the trip on a blog note.

Hershey Park was great. It was less than I remember, but it was still a lot of fun. All the coasters at Cedar Point are eXtreme thrill rides designed to kick your ass. And they do. The coasters at Hershey Park are just solid fun. Not saying that the ones at CP weren't fun. Just a different kind of fun. Cedar Point was ball-to-the-wall fun. Hershey Park was relaxing fun. A good cooldown park.

It was wicked hot today in Harrisburg, PA, and I didn't imbibe nearly enough fluids, so by the time we left the park (I wanna say around 3), I was less than well-hydrated. So Josh drove the first ten or fifteen minutes until we found a subway while I passed out (or nearly passed out. Sometimes you can't quite be sure, you know?) in the passenger seat. After lunch, I drove the rest of the way back to smAlbany, and my hands are still vibrating. We made then trip in about about four and a half hours. Google said it should have taken 5:10. If we hadn't hit road work, we would have done it in 4 flat.

Later (perhaps tomorrow), I wil relate the whole story (summarized from my aforementioned e-mails), including monetary freak occurences, and the remainder of our "Haiku from the road". And yes, PaulC, I will link my posts later. I'm just too lazy to do it right now.

Darien Lakes and Cedar Point

Wow. What a day. Cedar Point is an awesome park. I definitely concur with the notion of it being the best coaster park in the world. The literature says they have fourteen coasters, and that includes several steel coasters, two or three speed coasters, at least one kiddy coaster, one small wood coaster, and two or three full-on woodies.

Darien Lakes was a pretty good warm-up park. It was windy the whole three to four hours we were there, so it was pretty cold. But the coasters weregood (not awesome), and it's no longer a Six Flags park. Who knew? So Superman is now just “The Ride of Steel,” and the prizes at the carney games are no longer Warner Brothers themed. Now, on to the coasters.

First, the parking lot ride. Ordinarily, I don't consider this a ride. But the way Josh drives, it was a good warm up. Just kidding. But when I opened my door, the wind caught it and it hit and closed (and nominally f*@&ed up) the door of the woman who was trying to get out of the car next to us.

The Ride of Steel (formerly superman) was first. I haven't been on a roller coaster is several (at least three) years. So, the former Superman was a little intimidating. The big lift hill at the beginning actually gave me a little scare. But after that it was all dark chocolate. I remember something about this coaster going fifty-ish mph, but that doesn't touch Steel Force's 68.

Predator. I don't like wooden roller coasters. I don't like the Comet at Great Escape, mostly because it's at Great Escape, but I also just don't like it. Maybe it's just because I haven't been coasting in a few years, but I loved this ride. It was smooth, as wooden coasters go, and it was fun.

Viper was odd. It was a sit-in-the-car steel coaster with inversions, and it had those notorious shoulder harnesses that are the bane of tall riders everywhere. There were some interesting, twisty inversions, and I learned how to handle said harnesses. If you slide your bum forward in the seat, your shoulders move into a more short-person orientation, relieving the ouchiness.

There was also the Mind Eraser, but I'll write about that later, as I am tired after a long day of waiting in line. I will also sum up Cedar Point in my next post.

Ride Till You Puke 2009: The Reunion Tour

View Larger Map

That is the map of the trip Josh and I are taking in a few weeks

Here's the itinerary. We leave Albany early Sunday morning, arriving at Darien Lake around the time they open. We spend the day at that park, then we leave for Sandusky, Ohio and the fabled Cedar Point, touted as the best coaster park in the world. There, we will spend two days (as is advised by Josh's sister, who goes there every year), with an option for a third if we need it. Tuesday, whenever we finish that park, it's off to Harrisburg Pennsylvania. We'll stay in a hotel in Harrisburg Tuesday night, and Wednesday we'll spend at Hershey Park. Wednesday night we will again stay in Harrisburg. Thursday morning, we will head for home. If we feel like hitting one more park on the way home, it will be Six Flags Great Adventure, in New Jersey.

A few times before (and during?) high school, we made similar trips with Josh's dad. One time Ashley came with us. That was the first one, if I'm not mistaken. After a week with Josh and Mr R, Ashley doesn't like Josh very much. Some of you know Josh, and know exactly what I'm talking about. So does Josh. We've done all of these parks before except for Cedar Point, about which we are particular excited. Also on the list of parks we've visited on such trips: Busch Gardens VA, Dourney Park, and Six Flags Riverside. We also went to Coney Island to ride the original Comet. We always skipped Great Escape because it sucks. It's got the Steamin' Demon, and that's over in less than twenty seconds. Then you're done for the day.

So, just thought I'd let ya'll know what's going on. Thought you might be interested.