Pre-Pennsylvania Paranoia
I never get to do everything I want to before I go on a vacation: I didn't get more than a few hours of sleep, I didn't get to say personal goodbyes to everyone that I wanted to, and I didn't get to watch the TV shows recorded Sunday night. I did manage to get completely packed ahead of time though, which was very nice for a change. I wish I could say the same about the pre-flight paranoia: Did I turn off all the lights and fans at home? Did I keep everything potentially valuable out of sight in my car? Did I accidentally turn the combo lock on my Samsonite bag? Did I bring enough hair gel?
The bottle I brought was near empty, and I can't believe they didn't sell any at the airport, despite having every other conceivable personal care product. Maybe nudie mags and condoms took up too much shelf room. Makes me surprised that there isn't a Castle Boutique in the Vegas airport, from the little I saw of the concourse that I landed in.
The last 12 hours of my time before getting to the airport were very enjoyable, marked by my time with other church members or dreaming with my mind and/or eyes open about my second summer trip. A slightly younger man was new to the church, as well as our young adult group, adding one to the number of Davids among us. As I had been previously challenged to do, I reached out to someone new and got to know him. He graduated from ASU a few years ago with a degree in Psychology and currently is a banker at Wells Fargo downtown. He was purely a visitor, fascinated by our group's joy and dedication to our beliefs, and he didn't ask for prayer but I prayed for him anyways. Sometimes I wonder if such visitors have going through their mind "I am a bit weirded out by you people, and I'm not sure that I'll be back," but I have nobody to judge but myself.
With an hour early pass to Hershepark, my anticipation for getting on the newest rides was building since the night before when I checked in to their campgrounds. After walking in the park a few minutes, I was greeted by an older man in a brown hat who told me that the path was not "open" yet. So I went along another path where I came across a long ribbon which did not have any writing about it, but instead told me how much of a gimmick the SweetPass was. Less than one fifth of the park was open, with only two older roller coasters running. Despite the lackluster gimmick and summer heat with humidity, going to the park was very much worth it. Their collection of coasters was well rounded - Ranging from an electromagnetic launched-start thrill ride to an older & brutally rough wooden coaster. I had never ridden the former before, which I couldn't anticipate the feeling of. The timing of the launch however was fairly predictable, prompted by a deep and eerie pre-recorded voice saying "here we go", but that didn't stop anyone followed by screams and yells of people on the ride, myself included. Its one of the extremely few things on this earth that will cause me to do that on occasion. If only I could find more people to come along for the ride.
The bottle I brought was near empty, and I can't believe they didn't sell any at the airport, despite having every other conceivable personal care product. Maybe nudie mags and condoms took up too much shelf room. Makes me surprised that there isn't a Castle Boutique in the Vegas airport, from the little I saw of the concourse that I landed in.
The last 12 hours of my time before getting to the airport were very enjoyable, marked by my time with other church members or dreaming with my mind and/or eyes open about my second summer trip. A slightly younger man was new to the church, as well as our young adult group, adding one to the number of Davids among us. As I had been previously challenged to do, I reached out to someone new and got to know him. He graduated from ASU a few years ago with a degree in Psychology and currently is a banker at Wells Fargo downtown. He was purely a visitor, fascinated by our group's joy and dedication to our beliefs, and he didn't ask for prayer but I prayed for him anyways. Sometimes I wonder if such visitors have going through their mind "I am a bit weirded out by you people, and I'm not sure that I'll be back," but I have nobody to judge but myself.
With an hour early pass to Hershepark, my anticipation for getting on the newest rides was building since the night before when I checked in to their campgrounds. After walking in the park a few minutes, I was greeted by an older man in a brown hat who told me that the path was not "open" yet. So I went along another path where I came across a long ribbon which did not have any writing about it, but instead told me how much of a gimmick the SweetPass was. Less than one fifth of the park was open, with only two older roller coasters running. Despite the lackluster gimmick and summer heat with humidity, going to the park was very much worth it. Their collection of coasters was well rounded - Ranging from an electromagnetic launched-start thrill ride to an older & brutally rough wooden coaster. I had never ridden the former before, which I couldn't anticipate the feeling of. The timing of the launch however was fairly predictable, prompted by a deep and eerie pre-recorded voice saying "here we go", but that didn't stop anyone followed by screams and yells of people on the ride, myself included. Its one of the extremely few things on this earth that will cause me to do that on occasion. If only I could find more people to come along for the ride.