On a hot July day in 1986, my family celebrated dad's birthday at Great America, an amusement park near Santa Clara in Northern California. For a couple of rollercoaster-starved NZ kids, Great America was like heaven! Ben, dad and I (mum watching sensibly from the sidelines) were primed up for the scary stuff. The two rollercoasters I remember riding were the Demon, and the infamous Grizzly, an nostalgic-style wooden rollercoaster built like those of yesteryear. I didn't actually like the Grizzly, mainly because it was so shuddery and jittery it gave me a headache. But our trip to Great America was remembered for years and years afterwards, especially when we drank out of our giant plastic Grizzly "souvenir" soda cups.
Yesterday, Ben, Judy and I relived a little of our youth by returning to Great America - almost 21 years since our first visit. This time, Ben and I took on the big coasters, while Judy watched sensibly from the sidelines. Great America has changed a lot since 1986, with the addition of such adrenaline-pumping rides as The Invertigo, The Vortex, The Survivor Ride, and the Top Gun. I spend a good part of the day screaming and laughing hysterically as my body was hurtled at frightening speeds and flung in a variety of stomach-lurching directions. (I'd post some photos but the whereabouts of my camera is currently unknown... don't ask....). Judy was no slouch either, proving her bravery by taking on the Survivor ride (4/5 on the Thrill Scale), and winning a yellow Care Bear after fooling the "guess your age" woman with her youthful looks.
By the end of it, my brain was completely wired for action. As I was flying to New Mexico that evening I had the odd expectation that each gentle ascent of the plane would be followed by a sudden heart-stopping plummet towards the Earth. Had my fellow passengers known what I was thinking, I'm sure they would have thanked the heavens that I have not yet developed telekinetic powers...
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