Day 1: On the road...

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain." -- Ellis Boyd Redding

Weiss stole my thunder a bit by referencing this quote in his comment on yesterday's post (screw you Jon!). But the reality is that I couldn't help but think of this line from my favorite movie (Shawshank Redemption if you don't know, and if that's the case, you MUST see it) as I prepared to hit the road today.

I woke up feeling terrible. I didn't sleep well, I was nauseous, I had no appetite... I hadn't finished (err, started) packing and was totally stressed out at the thought of leaving home for a month. I called Steve for inspiration and he told me what I mostly already knew -- I needed to get my shit together and get on the road. Once I did that, all would be good.

He was right.

As I hit the FDR heading north, I felt much like "Red" must have on that bus ride to Fort Hancock, Texas. As I glanced at the Manhattan skyline in my rear view mirror, my anxiousness quickly faded away. It was a beautiful spring day in NYC today, the kind of day that you would normally hate to spend in a car.

But I wasn't just in a car, I was on the road.

Was supposed to pick up Steve at 10:30 am, and I arrived promptly at... 1:21 pm. We loaded up, turned south, and headed to the only place I could think of to start a great adventure... Great Adventure!

This story actually begins in the summer of 2004, when Matt S., Steve, and I drove out to Cedar Point amusement park (aka The Roller Coaster Capital Of The World) in Sandusky, OH. We were drawn by "Top Thrill Dragster" -- at the time it was the tallest and fastest coaster in the world. We rode it not once, but twice that day, earning a little bit of street cred in the world of amusement park thrill seekers. Unfortunately, I later discovered that this was not effective conversation starter when talking to women.

Much to our shock and dismay, "Top Thrill" lost its claim as the biggest and baddest only nine months later. I felt like the roller coaster Gods had pushed me down the stairs and kicked me in the groin for good measure, and there was nothing I could do about it. Since then I've been consumed with finding an excuse to reclaim my bragging rights -- and today was that day.

Kingda Ka is a BEAST. 0-128 MPH in 3.5 seconds. A 456 foot (I'll say that again -- 456 FEET) straight vertical rise, followed by a 456 foot straight drop while doing a 270 degree corkscrew turn. And then, just for good measure, a quick scoot up and down a 129 foot "camel hump" that simulates weightlessness. This is to say nothing of the post-ride challenge of trying to hide the fact that you've soiled yourself.

I'm not sure you can fully appreciate going 128 MPH in an unenclosed vessel until you've experienced it. It's the equivalent to terminal velocity when skydiving. It's so fast your face changes shape and the wind blows your mouth open while peeling back your eyelids. I imagine it's much like having sex with Christina Aguilera, only less painful and without the risk of gonorrhea.

We conquered Kingda Ka (arguably the worst named coaster of all-time), and then went back a second time to sit in the first car and make it our bitch. It only got better.

Alas, I just read that a faster coaster is planned to open in Germany next year. Assuming I'm able to procure a hovercraft in time, who's in for an amphibious road trip???

I took a few pictures and a video, but just found this clip on YouTube that is far better than anything I have. It doesn't come close to doing the experience justice, but hopefully it'll give you a rough idea (I cannot fathom how this guy held his camera still):



Lots more to write and some pictures to post, but it's past 3:30 am and I have a long day tomorrow. I was actually going to put off writing until the morning, but I figured it would set a bad precedent would be too easy to oversleep and put it off again. Come hell or high water, if I have an Internet connection I'm going to write something every day. I figure I owe at least that much to you, my adoring public. And speaking of which...

I have been absolutely floored by the kind words that have been pouring in. In addition to the comments people posted, my inbox has been flooded with e-mails from people wishing me the best and, in at least two cases, offering me drugs. It really means a lot to me. I haven't been able to respond directly to everyone (and some the responses I did get out were much shorter than I would have liked), but rest assured, if you've sent or posted something, I've read it, and I'm very appreciative.

I have almost no downtime between now and Wednesday, so I'm a little worried that I won't be able to post as much as I'd like over the next few days. To be honest, between planning this trip and trying to update this blog, I already feel like I need a vacation. But if you bear with me, I'll eventually get the hang of it. Things will get less hectic by the middle of next week and I should be able to start cranking out some massive posts, along with pictures and video. I hope you'll keep reading in the interim.

So with that, goodnight from Harrisburg, PA. For any SHS grads who are reading this, tomorrow's blog will feature a top-secret special guest from the past... Stay tuned.

p.s. I'll be keeping a running tally of my total mileage in future posts, but I forgot to write down today's info before leaving the car. Roughly speaking, it was a pretty light day -- only about 260 miles.