copyright Jay Ducharme 2009

Friday, Karen and I arrived in Sandusky, Ohio.  The weather had cleared up; the sun was shining and a steady breeze was blowing.  We were returning to Cedar Point after four years.  Our daughter Heather was working there, as was her boyfriend Andrew.  We were there to meet up with them and Andrew's parents.  They all liked parks and roller coasters.  That Friday we got together for dinner with them.  Saturday we headed for the park.  There had been a few changes there since our last visit, but nothing huge. As we entered the causeway, there was a colorful new sign with a video screen showing scenes from the park.  I was puzzled as to why this sign and the one at the entrance were placed directly on the ground, making the park's name difficult to see in traffic.  The view from the causeway was still amazing, a jumble of gigantic rides stretching out into Lake Erie. We paid the $10 parking fee and were guided to about a third of the way back into the parking lot.  I was surprised at how empty the park was for a Saturday.  Of course, at Cedar Point, "empty" is relative.  By that point there were probably a few thousand people in the park.  From the parking lot, eight of The Point's seventeen roller coasters were visible.  We walked up to the entrance.  This year, the big blue awning out front advertised the 20th anniversary of Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster built over 200 feet tall.  We walked onto the midway, which looked pretty much the same.  One of The Point's two carousels was in front of us, playing recorded music even though it had a band organ.  To the left was a new food concession, Hurricane Hannah's.  It was nice to see that The Point still had beautiful landscaping throughout the midway.  The big addition for this season was the Starlight Experience, which happened after dark along the Frontier Trail.  We were going to meet up with the family for that.  Until then, Karen and I took our time enjoying the sights and sounds of the largest amusement park in the world. Raptor, one of the most photogenic coasters ever built, was sending riders through its twisted course.  We walked under it and onto the plaza where the station for the Blue Streak was located.  The oldest coaster in the park, Blue Streak was also our favorite.  There was a fairly long line for it, but it moved along quickly and in about fifteen minutes we were in the front seat.  The ride, built in 1964, was one of the oldest in the park.  But it still had a lot of kick to it.  Every hill produced strong airtime.  The return trip was one bunny hop after another, all the way back to the station.  Rides at Cedar Point didn't have to be big to be fun. We walked back out to the main midway.  The brightly colored kiddieland area was busy.  Across from the Raptor was a new area where formerly the big ball fountain was.  It was a sort of mini spray park, and the kids seemed to really be enjoying it.  We walked north and took a stroll through the shady Frontier Trail area.  There was no sign of where the Starlight Experience was going to be.  We did see a goat sunning itself on a pile of logs.  The Frontier Trail remained the prettiest area of the park, with rustic old buildings and a thick canopy of trees.  We emerged next to Snake River Falls, the shoot-the-chute ride.  For some reason, the ride was stopped and a boat full of passengers was perched at the edge of the drop.  A few moments later, the ride restarted and the boat splashed down.  On the opposite side of the midway, the park's newest coaster, Maverick, was flying through its course.  The small 3-car trains looked strange moving so fast, as if they were small toys. We walked to the far back of the park where we found that elusive delicacy, Cheese-on-a-Stick, at a non-descript stand.  We each ordered one and in a few minutes had our freshly fried treats.  They probably rushed them a bit, because my cheese wasn't fully melted.  But nevertheless it tasted great after all this time.  I resolved that I would have to learn how to make them for myself.... Karen hesitantly decided to try Millennium Force, the 310-foot-high steel behemoth.  Although it had become one of the best-loved coasters on the planet, I never understood what all the fuss was about.  I had ridden it only twice before, once on a drizzly day and the other time in the pouring rain.  So all I really remembered from the ride was cold and pain and bugs hitting me in the face.  I figured that my opinion would change if I rode it on a nicer day.  Karen was a bit fearful, not knowing the ride or how extreme the forces were.  I told her it was basically like a bigger Superman (R.I.P.) from Six Flags New England.  There wasn't much of a line and Cedar Point was running three trains, so our wait was minimal.  I liked how the queue line was so close to the track.  You could feel the extreme speed of the train as it blasted by. We waited for the front seat.  There was a really enthusiastic attendant with a wireless headset who continually joked with the crowd and got them pumped up.  The operation was efficient and friendly.  Soon we were seated.  I was glad that the trains still had the small T-bars, but I was thankful for the seatbelt.  Though the T-bars were secure, they made me feel so vulnerable, as if I could fly out of the train on every hill.  The lift cable engaged underneath the train and we were gently pulled up the enormous steep lift at an unusually fast pace.  The view was breathtaking, the blue expanse of Lake Erie.  Before I could take it all in, the track seemed to curl under itself and we were plummeting down the 80-degree drop.  I could feel the skin pulling back on my face from the wind pressure.  Even with the extreme speed, the ride was smooth.  We rose up into the first insanely-banked turn and then dove into the first tunnel.  Next was the giant camelback hill with Intamin's trademark sustained airtime.  Then we flew into the pretzel turnaround, back over another camelback, another tunnel and then the turn alongside the station.  We screamed past the station, whipped through the final turn and smoothly hit the magnetic brakes. Karen loved it!  And so did I.  Finally, I knew why so many people liked the ride.  I still liked Superman better; it had more variety and better pacing.  But Millennium Force was a close second.  I wish there was more time to see what was happening during the ride.  It wasn't even obvious that we jumped across the river onto an island in the middle of the park.  And the tunnels were more like sewer pipes.  But there was no denying that the ride got our adrenaline pumping and brought smiles to our faces.  And since the Superman we loved was no more, MF probably would become our favorite steel coaster.   We headed over to the photo stand and were going to get a picture of ourselves on the ride, but for some reason my head was cut out of the image.  So we passed on that and walked next door for a more sedate trip on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad, one of my favorite amusement park trains.  I liked the big authentic coal-fired steam engine.  The trip to the back of the park was picturesque, running between the lake and the Millennium Force's lift hill and then running alongside Maverick.  We disembarked in the Frontier Trail area, next to the Maverick entrance.  Our daughter said Maverick was fun and smooth, but given our back and neck troubles we didn't want to chance it.  So we walked along past the Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Gemini, past the gargantuan Top Thrill Dragster and back to the main midway.  It was enjoyable just to be enveloped by the atmosphere of the park. We were near the classic Racing Derby and couldn't resist riding.  Though not much more than an overgrown carousel, its ingenious mechanism still amazed me as our horses surged forward and back.  Karen won the race by a nose.  We walked back toward Blue Streak and lined up for the Turnpike Cars, a long and pleasant ride that intertwines with the Cadillac Cars.  Then we headed over to the games across the midway.  Karen had always wanted a ukelele, and there was a water gun game with racks full of them.  We were allowed to play against each other, so there was no way we could lose.  But we had to play twice (to "upgrade" the stuffed animal we won on the first try).  Karen chose a pink model and couldn't wait to play it. We met up with Heather and Andrew after their shifts ended.  They took us out to a delicious dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  Then we returned to the park.  The Peanuts characters were wandering about.  Karen paused to take a picture with Charlie Brown.  Karen wasn't keen on the Magnum, but I definitely wanted to ride it in celebration of its 20th birthday.  So Andrew and I queued up.  It was hard for me to believe that the ride was built so long ago.  I could remember the excitement when it opened, how no one ever expected a coaster to reach 200 feet into the sky. The station was still as funky as ever, and the trains looked like they were taken from Space: 1999.  It all seemed like a mash-up between a retro sci-fi show and an old shopping mall.  There were very few people in line and we were soon seated at the front of the train.  The noisy Arrow lift hill still presented its wonderful view of Lake Erie.  The first drop, while not as severe as Millennium Force, still packed a whallop.  But where Magnum shined was on those wonderfully kinked hills.  While MF provided strong, smooth floating airtime on its few hills, Magnum tossed us violently up into our lap bar.  As dusk settled in, the tunnels along the course were much more effective.  The pretzel turnaround was steeply banked but taken at a slow enough speed so that we could really feel the banking.  The return run was one smashing kick of airtime after another until we reached the long run up to the station.  I had forgotten how much fun Magnum was.  It seemed to get overshadowed by its big brother.  But Magnum held its own with a much different experience from Millennium Force.  It was a more rough-and-tumble coaster experience, and a very enjoyable one. We then walked over to the Arrow hybrid racing coaster, Gemini.  Once the highest capacity ride in existence, the park no longer ran six trains.  But even with four trains, it had enormous throughput.  Karen and I headed for the front of the red train and Heather and Andrew took the blue train.  This coaster celebrated 30th birthday last year but it stlll ran great and gave a fun airtime-filled ride.  And Karen and I came in first. Across the midway, we lined up for the Paddlewheel Excursions.  This was as close to Disney as The Point got, with animatronic figures scattered throughout the trip.  Our captain, as usual, was full of bad puns.  By that point darkness was settlng in.  We met up with Andrew's parents and took a walk though the Starlight Experience.  The park strung sets of LED lights throughout the Trail, representing the four seasons.  It was much prettier than I expected.  You could purchase special glasses that created diffraction patterns in the light, but I liked the display the way it was.  A few displays had been set up along the trail, inflated Peanuts characters in enviroments representing different seasons.  Cedar Point did a really nice job with the Starlight Experience.  It may not have created as big a draw as a new coaster, but it was a unique and fun family offering. As we headed back toward the entrance, the big nightly light show was taking place on the main midway, with patriotic music and images and flames shooting up into the air and fireworks.  It was all a bit overblown, but the crowd seemed to be really enjoying it.  Then we headed out to rest up for the next day. On Sunday we all got together for an excursion to an island in Lake Erie, Put-in-Bay.  It was a big tourist destination with a diverse collection of attractions.  We parked near a dock and boarded a ferry out to the island.  The ferry also carried a lot of vehicles, from bicycles to pickup trucks.  Andrew's parents, Bob and Joan, told us they were going to rent an electric golf cart for the day.  So we were able to leave our car behind.  The trip across the lake was a pleasant half-hour ride on another beautiful day. We disembarked at the Lime Kiln Dock and walked up a steep hill to the golf cart rentals.  Bob got a six-person cart that had a surprising amount of pep to it.  He knew the island really well.  The narrow island roads had very little vehicular traffic except for other golf carts and occasional bicyclists.  Our first stop was at a quaint shop, The Cargo Net.  It was owned by two elderly gentlemen and stocked with every nautical item imaginable.  Karen and I found a beautiful brass ship's lamp that would look great in our home.  The proprietors were willing to ship it to us, so we bought it. Bob then drove us through the town square.  As we passed through, I could swear I heard a band organ playing.  We travelled along a coastal road and arrived at the Admiral Perry memorial, a 300-foot-high tower.  It was the smallest national park in the United States.  We took an elevator ride up to the viewing deck where we were treated to stunning views of the surrounding islands. From there he drove us around the peaceful island roads and over to a small beach.  I had noticed that in a few places there were copies of Robert Indiana's famous 1960s "LOVE" painting.  At this beach were giant stone cubes with those letters painted on them, but jumbled up like a child's building block collection and forming the word EVOLVE instead. After skipping some stones, we headed back toward the town square.  There were lots of college-age kids milling about, as if Put-in-Bay was a miniature Daytona Beach.  There were dozens of small touristy shops.  A parade had begun, consisting mostly of antique cars that drove around the square.  I followed the sounds of the band organ, and it led me to Kimberly's Carousel, a 1917 Hershell merry-go-round that was restored in 1979.  It sat on a lawn between two shops.  Two workers were busy cleaning the ride and changing light bulbs, ocassionally stopping to give customers a spin.  The many menagerie figures on the ride included a large humorous fish.  The Wurlitzer band organ was playing one of the same rolls we've used at the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round.  I paused to listen to it while the rest of the family explored some of the shops. Bob took us to Mossback's for dinner.  It was a small eatery with a beautiful wood and crystal bar.  Karen and I had delicious black bean burgers.  After dinner, Bob drove us to some of the most popular attractions on the island.  The first was the Heineman Winery, home of the Crystal Cave, the world's largest geode.  We started our tour with a complementary glass of the best grape juice I've ever had.  Then we descended the long damp staircase into the center of the geode.  A tour guide explained how it formed and how it was discovered.  It was pretty fascinating. Next up was the Butterfly Museum at Perry's Cave.  Dozens of butterflies (many from Costa Rica) were flitting about.  One alighted on Karen's hat and another on her foot.  Some of the butterflies were quite striking.  We stayed there for about a half an hour, then Bob drove us to an area where we could see a house that was built from part of an actual ship.  As the sun sank lower in the sky, we skipped a few more stones and then boarded the ferry for the ride back.  Karen and I stood at the front of the ferry and felt the spray from the lake as we returned to the mainland. Our last stop for the evening was at Toft's Ice Cream, a popular spot in Sandusky.  I asked for a small cone of strawberry cheesecake.  The girl had piled on about a quart of ice cream and was going to continue until I told her to stop.  The large cones must have had nearly a half gallon on top.  It was way too much to eat, but it was good and made a nice ending to a relaxing day. On Monday, Karen and I returned to Cedar Point.  Once again the sun was with us, and it was a bit warmer.  We brought sandals for the water rides and stowed them in a locker near the Frontier Trail.  We took a walk through the Town Hall, with its numerous displays of memorablilia.  We watched a well-made history of Cedar Point in a small theater there.  Then we ventured back out onto the midway.  The nearby Skyhawk was thrilling riders with its extreme swinging motion.  We walked past it and over to Snake River Falls, at one time the largest shoot-the-chutes ride ever built.  It still produced a huge splash.  There wasn't much to the ride: a lift, a covered turn and then the splashdown.  But we were glad we changed into sandals;  the boat might as well have been submerged.  We got completely soaked. From there we walked over to another ride that was sure to soak us: Thunder Canyon.  The ride itself was fairly mild, but toward the end there was a group of waterfalls that was unavoidable.  Our ride was made more enjoyable by a small boy who was on our raft and having the time of his life, talking almost non-stop.  The finale of Thunder Canyon was like a repeat of Snake River Falls.  We got off the ride looking as if we had gone swimming.  We slogged over to that non-descript food stand for another Cheese-on-a-Stick.  This time there were three workers there who were less than enthusiastic.  The girl who waited on us lazily went to grab the one cooked Cheese-on-a-Stick remaining and she dropped it on the floor.  She wasn't too happy and called out for another to be made.  Meanwhile, a worker at the other end of the counter was slumped over, his arms crossed on the counter and his head down as if he was sleeping.  We finally got our delicacies and sat down on a nearby bench to eat them.  This time, mine was done correctly but Karen's wasn't cooked on the inside.  At least we each ended up with one good one after two visits.... The nearby Antique Cars had no line, so we queued up for that.  Cedar Point was the only park I knew of that had three separate antique car rides.  This one on the Frontier Trail ran around a sort of green island and through a covered bridge.  After our brief ride, we returned to our locker, put our shoes back on and headed back to our car.  We took the easy route, riding the railroad.  As we waited for the train, the massive structure of the Mean Streak loomed over us.  When the coaster cars rumbled by, the ride earned its nickname of Mean Squeak.  The return trip on the railroad brought us past numerous humorous animatronic displays of western-garbed skeletons.  All the while there was the pungent smell of burning coal from the big engine. We returned to the park after stowing our sandals in our car and walked past Raptor, a ride that never seemed to stop running and never seemed to wane in popularity.  But Karen and I passed it by and instead lined up for another trip on Millennium Force.  This time the line was much longer, but it moved quickly.  A girl stood in the queue line and tried to entertain the crowd with quizzes and jokes.  The dispatch crew could be heard over the P.A. system.  They had given the different trains nicknames based on their colors (red, blue and yellow).  The roar of the train blasting by inches away caused us to jump each time.  After about a half hour we were again in the front seat and gliding up the lift hill.  The ride was just as exhilarating the second time.  And once again at the photo stand, my head was cut off in the picture. Back on the midway, the deafening roar of the stand-up coaster Mantis drowned out everything else.  We strolled back through the Frontier Trail and entered the Emporium, where I had seen some nice t-shirts.  I bought a few, including a Magnum 20th birthday shirt. Then we slowly walked along the winding paths back toward the main midway. It was sort of sad.  We could spend a week at Cedar Point and never get tired of it.  It was a carnival on steroids, much bigger than life but just as wonderous.  Everything was built so that even big kids felt little again, whether the ride was Magnum or maXair.  And of course there was the elusive Cheese-on-a-Stick.... We checked out the Pagoda gift shop.  Karen spotted a spectacular model of the Millennium Force layout.  There were also scale model reproductions of the coaster's trains.  But they weren't cheap.  Althought the layout model was $80, it was remarkable.  Every detail was recreated down to the queue line tents and the railroad train passing by.  So I splurged for it, and some other souvenirs.  I doubt I ever purchased so many souvenirs from a single park as I had over the years at Cedar Point.  That was not only a testament to the quality of their souvenirs, but of the fact that we wanted to hold on to the memories of the fun times we had there.  And it wasn't just about the rides.  The Starlight Experience was a good example of a simple attraction that was delightful without having to be thrilling.  Like any good park, we left wanting more.  And, like an old friend, even though we had to part company, we knew it wouldn't be too long before we'd see each other again.

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