It was time for the annual Western New York Coaster Club Flying High event, the club's closer to the coaster season, created with co-sponsor the Greater Ohio Coaster Club. We were blessed with beautiful weather, sunny and in the low 80s. To break up the long drive, Karen and I decided to leave a day early and stop off at one of our favorite small parks, Seabreeze in Irondequoit, New York (a suburb of Rochester). We left early in the morning and arrived just after the park's 11:00 opening time. Already the west parking lot at the main entrance was completely filled and we were directed to the east parking lot, which itself was nearly half filled. By luck, we ended up in a parking space near the east entrance. The park had installed a security gate, like most parks nowadays. We walked through that gate and over to the ticket booths. For seniors, the cost was a reasonable $28.99 each. I later learned that on Mondays seniors had free admission. If I had known that, I might have planned our visit for our trip back home. The first thing we did is head for the park's miniature railroad. Unfortunately when we arrived we learned that it wouldn't open unti noon. Next to the train was the park's brand new ride, Windstarz, which took the place of the old classic flying scooters ride. Windstarz was really colorful and looked great in the park. It was a fairly standard jets-style ride, with the added gimmick of ski-lift-styled seats with a fabric kite above each one. The seats not only went up and down but could rock from side to side. We headed next door to the classic Jack Rabbit wood coaster. It had the longest line I'd ever encountered at the park. There was just one operator, but he managed the ride with remarkable skill, dispatching a train, leaping across the tracks to let people into the station, then leaping back to control the ride's manual hand brakes when the train returned. The line moved surprisingly fast and guests could line up for whatever seat they wanted. Naturally, we headed for the front where a family let us go in front of them because they wanted to ride together in multiple seats. So we climbed into the next train and were dispatched toward the lift hill. From the top of the lift, the track curved slightly left and we dove down below grade and then rose up into the next camelback hill with floating airtime. A hallmark of John Miller designed rides, it was one camelback hill after another out to the turnaround, then bunny hops back toward the station and the tunneled helix finale. It was a lot of fun, except for the two girls behind us who screamed at the top of their lungs the entire ride. It didn't help my tinnitus. From there we headed over to the Seabreeze train, a pleasant miniature railway with whimsical cars that followed a meandering path around the park's log flume. It delivered its usual peaceful ride. That pond in the middle of the log flume didn't look too healthy though, with a dense green color. I wasn't sure if they had colored the water on purpose or it was just choked with algae. By then it was about 12:30, so we stopped by the Seabreeze Grill for lunch. They had veggie burgers, and their meal deal was pretty good: burger, fries and a drink for $16.99. We each got one. I got lettuce, tomato, cheese and grilled peppers & onions on mine. Karen got onion rings too. We sat at one of the shady cafe tables with the buzzer they gave us. In a few minutes, the buzzer went off and our meal was ready. The burgers were huge. The bun was soft and tasty. The grilled peppers & onions were great. Karen's onion rings were big and delicious. It was a terrific meal. We next walked next door to the park's spectacular carousel. We browsed the various displays in the historical exhibit. There was an impressive carved lion along with a creepy doll. As spectacular as the carousel is, the star of the pavilion is the big Verbeek band organ with it's wall-sized glass case containing dozens of organ rolls. It that was playing some unusual (for a band organ) tunes, including the 1960s classic Telstar. We sat on the bright red rocking chairs in the pavilion and listened for a bit. Then we walked over to the area opposite the Seabreeze Grill where a performance of Cirque en vol was about to begin. The park had offered the show for many years. It was a group of acrobats performing stunts that you'd typically see in a circus. They also had some cleverly hidden trampolines that provided almost magical stunts. Karen rested in the shade while I filmed another park walk-thru. when I finished we sat and listened to the band organ for a while. Then we went over to the little Sprinkles kiosk for some ice cream. We both got a small dish of strawberry cheesecake and it was delicious. By then it was about 3:00. We bid farewell to a wonderful day at Seabreeze and headed over to the nearby Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park. We strolled out along the long breakwater that stretched into Lake Ontario. We gazed out at the vast expanse of the lake. After that pleasant distraction, we headed off to our hotel for the night. Seabreeze is always a pleasant stop. Although the park is relatively small, it offers plenty to do. I wish they could add an antique car ride or a dark ride to round out their offerings. But there was more we could have done. We didn't go on the Bobsled coaster because the line was extremely long. We didn't want to get soaked so we stayed away from the unique flume. But even so we had a good time. And that veggie burger was absolutely delicious. Now that we know about Senior Days, we'll have to start planning our return trip!

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