they're tall, and they're fast, and they're incredibly exciting!

Roller Coasters, that is!  Last week, we took our boys for their first-ever visit to Cedar Point . . . the roller coaster capital of the world, and an extremely popular destination around here!

As kids, Tom and I each remember long, early morning car rides to Cedar Point, and the sleepy ride home late at night.  But Cedar Point now has a very large campground, so we decided it would be much nicer to camp on-site.  Our frequent camping buddies, Paul & Tari, and their kids, Hannah & Jensen, were camping, too.  Tom's brother, sister-in-law, and our niece were staying at a nearby hotel.

It's only about 125 miles to Cedar Point from Ann Arbor, so we set out after Tom got home from work last Wednesday.  Along the way, we crossed the huge new bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo,

passed by the Davis-Besse nuclear plant,

and saw some interesting businesses!

Finally, we arrived

and crossing over the Cedar Point Causeway, we caught our first glimpse of the giant roller coasters that the boys could not wait to get on!

Cedar Point is on a peninsula between Lake Erie and the Sandusky Bay, and the campground is at the very tip of it.  So . . . after maneuvering the RV through the very narrow entrance lanes and making a couple of crazy 90 degree turns, we wound our way around the outside edge of the park.  This gave us a great close-up view of some of the coasters that were going to challenge us.  There was Raptor,

which takes riders through loops and twists while your feet dangle in the open air!  I opted out of this one, but everyone tells me it was one of their favorites, so I'll have to try it next time we go back!

Then there was Maverick (new in '07),

which is known for it's quick launch up the first steep incline and a 90+ degree drop, followed by loops and twists, and I'm not sure what else!  I rode this one, and it was wild!

Then there was Millenium Force,

known for it's towering first hill and high speed (98 mph)!  I did not try that one, but Tom and the boys LOVED it!

Arriving at the campground, we were parked in the shadow of Mean Streak,

a particularly brutal wooden coaster, from what we're told . . . none of us got around to riding that one, although the kids would have, I'm sure!

After a short mishap involving a wrong turn, we finally arrived at our campsite and got set up.

We had a quick bite to eat, and then went for a walk around the campground to check things out. 

We had decided to wait until Friday to go to the park (pure torture for the kids!!) when Tom's brother and family would be there, so on Thursday we went for a drive into Norwalk, OH, where I had a gift certificate to a quilt shop (had to spend it - it was going to expire at the end of the month!), and Tom did a little motorcycle window-shopping.

Back at the campground, we spent the afternoon at the pool,

and visited the "Challenge Park" for go-carts

and mini-golf in the evening.

 

We made plans to meet outside our camper at 8:45am sharp, the next morning.  The park didn't officially open until 10am, but since we were staying on-site we were allowed to enter one hour early and there were selected roller coasters that would be running.  I didn't even have to wake my kids up in the morning!! LOL --  You would have thought it was Christmas!!  They were up and ready to go!!  We had a great time -- in addition to all of the roller coasters, we also rode the swings,

and the monster,

along with several other rides, and watched an extreme sports (bikes, rollerblades) demonstration that was really cool!  We also rode a few water rides . . . you know how they have signs that say "You will get soaked on this ride!", but then you barely get wet . . . well, on these rides -- you REALLY do get SOAKED!!

Lucky for us, we were just a short walk from our campers, so we went home for lunch, dry clothes, and a short rest -- then we were back at it!  The kids saved "the best for last" -- the Top Thrill Dragster,

and around 8:20pm got in line to have themselves blasted forward at 120 mph, up a vertical incline, and back down -- all in 17 seconds!  They had a little bit of a wait (our only real wait of the day!) -- almost an hour -- and it was about 9:15 when they finally had their ride.  Tari, Jensen and I watched from the "spectator stands" that they have set up next to the track.  That was really something -- I couldn't believe they rode it -- but they all loved it!

So that was it -- the boys thoroughly enjoyed their first trip to Cedar Point, and they're already planning on going back next year!!