The first stop on the Flying High weekend with the Western New York Coaster Club was at our old friend Waldameer Park & Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania. Since we had already made it to Rochester, New York, it was only about a three hour drive to the park. We stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds along the way and arrive in Erie at about 9:00 on another beautiful late summer morning. Since we were too early for check-in, we drove down the hill to Presque Isle State Park, a serene peninsula jutting out into Lake Erie. We followed the walking trail for about a mile. Karen noticed an interesting boardwalk off to the right. It was a platform in the middle of a marsh. It had two pedestal-mounted binocular viewers, which were free to use. We lingered there for a while and then headed back for our car and drove to the west parking lot. We were one of the first cars there and were able to park at a spot right in front of the entrance gate. The park didn't open to the public until 12:00, but our check-in time was 10:00. The midway was quiet except for maintenance workers going about their business. Karen and I headed over to the Lakeview Pavilion where members had already started to arrive. The event was co-sponsored by the Greater Ohio Coaster Club, and combined there were nearly 50 members in attendance, which was a healthy number. Steve and Tina Gorman, the park owners, had provided an assortment of fresh donuts for us, along with coffee. Next to the pavilion was the Spider, the classic Eyerly spinning ride that was always popular with kids. At about a half-century old, though, this was its last season in the park. It was going to be replaced with a Zamperla NebulaZ, a ride that was appearing in more and more parks. It would be a good fit there. We chatted with people for a while and as 11:00 neared, Karen and I headed over to the Comet, the park's junior PTC wood coaster where we were going to have Exclusive Ride Time. We stood in the queue line as the ride operators cycled trains through. Gradually the rest of the club members joined us. There was a much longer line, however, for the water park entrance that was next to the coaster. The line of people waiting to get in stretched all the way down the midway to the south. I heard talk that the park was going to redesign that area of the midway to accommodate the huge crowds they were getting. After a few minutes, the gate opened and Karen and I sat in the front seat (of course). And soon we were on our way up the short lift hill. Even though it was a relatively small coaster, it still had fun moments of air time and some strong laterals. After our ride, we queued back up and took another ride. After that we sat with some other club members and chatted for a while. At noon we were going to have Informal Take Over Time on the park's train, the L. Ruth Express. So Karen and I headed over to the station. At noon the rest of the members joined us. Unexpectedly, when we were let into the station, the attendant began assigning seats. I'd never seen that done on a train. I guess they realized the park was going to be really crowded, so this was a way to make sure there were no empty seats on the train. Ironically, since we were first in line, Karen and I had to sit at the very back seat -- which faced backwards. I had always wanted to sit in that seat but it was always taken. Once we were all seated, the whistle sounded and the train headed out. The back seat gave us great views of the expansive waterpark. When we returned to the station, we headed off for the entrance to the Sky Ride at the other end of the park. Hardly anyone was in line, so we were able to quickly board and were soon soaring high above the midway. When we returned to the station it was already nearly 1:00. So we walked over to the Lakeview Pavilion for lunch. There were a lot of members in line for the food. I was hoping they were going to have veggie burgers, but alas they didn't. So I had some coleslaw, applesauce, beans and I made myself a cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato. The coleslaw was exceptional, and the meal filled me up. And in fact, there was plenty of food for everyone. Steve Gorman came over and asked how we were doing. He and his wife were always so personable and outgoing. He talked a bit about the walk-back that some club members had requested. He didn't seem to enthusiastic about the idea, which was understandable since he had a park to run and it was a long trek. But he was willing to do it. I was thinking of taking a walk through my favorite ride in the park, the Pirate's Cove, but it was time for the walk-back to the track of the Ravine Flyer II coaster. Karen passed on it, and I couldn't blame her; it was a long hike. Steve led us like ducklings through the midway and out of the park entrance, along the east parking lot's sidewalk and then down onto Peninsula Drive which sloped down sharply. There was heavy traffic on the street and a steep grassy slope to the left. I decided to get a picture of the line of club members, so I stepped up a few feet onto the slope. I didn't realize it was completely waterlogged. The grass peeled out from under me and I went down like a sack of potatoes, landing with my left leg bent under me. I felt foolish and went to stand up, but my body instantly collapsed. My left leg was useless. Bob Wheeler, the President of the WNYCC, saw me and offered to be my crutch. We hobbled the half mile back to the park entrance. I tried calling and texting Karen, but I had no cell service. The park’s first aid guy came over with a golf cart. His shirt was embroidered with “Ride Mechanic”. So I asked if he was taking me to first aid. He said he was the first aid, but wasn’t qualified to tell me what was wrong with my leg. He drove me back to the club’s picnic pavilion. He traveled along back paths I never knew were there and even went through a maintenance garage. The whole time he was telling me how much he loved working at Waldameer and how he admired the Gormans. We arrived at the pavilion and he helped me out of the cart and over to a picnic table where I could put my leg up. He got a bag of ice for me. Fortunately my leg wasn’t swelling that badly and I could still move my toes and ankle (though painfully) so I knew it wasn’t broken. Bob found Karen on the midway and they both came over to the pavilion. And that was the end of our trip. I was sad because the next day of our trip was going to be at Niagara Amusement Park, and the group was going to be given a walk-thru tour of the three-story Flying Witch dark ride. But I knew there was no way I would be able make it. Another park assistant drove me over to our car. And all the way he too talked about how he loved working at the park and how much he admired the Gormans. It was evident that Steve and Tina knew what was important in running a park. I thanked him for his help and then Karen and I got in our car and drove off. Karen drove to a nearby CVS to get an ankle brace for the trip home. She got the correct brace but it was a piece of crap, with contradictory instructions on how to wear it, none of which worked. I managed to find a way to wrap it around my ankle as best I could. Then we went to our nearby hotel and crashed. At 3:00 am we woke up, packed up headed back home. We stopped on the New York Thruway at one of the new Applegreen's rest stops. Karen acted as my crutch as we hobbled the long distance in from the parking lot. It was 8:30 in the morning. There was a Burger King there where we planned to have breakfast, but inexplicably it wasn't scheduled to open until 10:30. The only food concession open was Starbucks, and neither of us drank coffee. I don't know what the NY Transportation Authority was thinking when they built these new rest stops. They used to have some of the best anywhere, and now they all sucked. So we hobbled back to our car and munched on snacks that we had brought with us. We got back to Westfield at about noon and Karen drove me to the local Urgent Care facility. After an hour and a half wait, the doctor saw me. Fortunately nothing was broken; it was just a bad sprain. He gave me a proper leg brace and crutches. He and an assistant had to show me how to use them, since I’d never before been on crutches (which surprised them). And he told me it's just a matter of time before it heals. He said my tendons were pulled to their extreme when I fell, but luckily didn’t snap. (I always did a series of leg stretches every day, and that probably helped save me.) He told me to just take it easy and take painkillers as needed. So that was an ignominious end to an otherwise enjoyable trip. If I had stayed behind with Karen and gone through the Pirate's Cove or Wacky Shack, maybe things would have turned out much different. But that pretty much ended our excursions for the year. Neither the clubs nor the park were to blame; it was just my poor decision to hastily go up that hill. Hopefully in the future, I'll use a bit more common sense so we can fully enjoy our vacations. Addendum: The following Monday I called the local podiatrist to get a second opinion, but I couldn't get an appointment until the next week. When that doctor finally saw me, he was shocked that Urgent Care made a diagnosis without an x-ray. It turned out that the guy in Urgent Care wasn't correct. My ankle wasn't sprained; my leg was fractured. The doctor immediately put a cast on my leg and told me to stay off it for a month. So I'll literally be taking a break from roller coasters.

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