Summer coastering - both Busch Gardens!

After a long couple of years with very few roller coaster trips, this spring/summer I've ventured back to parks as COVID cases remained relatively low. I signed up for two events with the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) - one at Busch Gardens Tampa in Florida, and the other at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia. These events are fantastic because they offer exclusive ride time and a lot of other perks.

The first trip was the annual spring conference, a three-day weekend in Tampa and Orlando. I drove down on a Thursday, and the next day began bright and early at Busch Gardens Tampa. Their newest coaster, Iron Gwazi, had just opened recently. What a ride! This is an intense and breathtaking coaster, and quickly moved in to the upper echelon of my coaster rankings. I enjoyed two days at the park, mostly with good weather - the rain held off, although it was hot and humid.

Iron Gwazi is the new kid on the block.

Some nice theming in the Egypt section.

Cobra's Curse spinning through Egypt.

Montu has been going strong since 1996.

Cheetah Hunt is a cool looking coaster.

We had several behind the scenes tours.

We got to tour Sheikra's maintenance bay.

Getting up close and personal with the Sheikra train.

I also did a tour of the animal nutrition center.

Backstage view of Iron Gwazi from the animal nutrition center. 

Scorpion is a classic. We had ERT on this ride too.

It really is a photogenic park.

I thought this was interesting - they label walking routes for exercise.

Having a local beer - kind of. It's actually a Georgia brewery. :)

The last day of the Florida ACE event was at Sea World Orlando, focused around their new coaster, Ice Breaker. We started off the day with some great ERT, and then rode some more and had a behind the scenes tour before enjoying the Seven Seas Food Festival. It was a very hot and sunny day, and the park got relatively crowded because it was the last day for the food festival. Unfortunately I had to leave in the early afternoon to drive back to Atlanta.

No lines during morning ERT.

Coaster-themed drinks in the food festival!

The new Ice Breaker coaster on a sunny Sunday.

Just hanging out with Manta!

Our behind the scenes tour of Manta took us on to the break run.

About a month later, I visited the other Busch park - Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia. This was another great ACE event, complete with more ERT. Once again the weather was beautiful. The new coaster, Pantheon, is excellent, and we had some pitch black night rides. Between Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg I'm not sure I could pick a favorite. Both are beautiful parks with great roller coasters.

Coasters for days!

The newest coaster, Pantheon, seen from the river cruise.

Of course we rode the log flume!

On Sunday I spent a few hours at nearby King's Dominion (yay, more roller coasters!), before briefly heading in to Richmond to eat lunch and see downtown. It was a nice wrap up to a fun weekend. Hoping to make it to another ACE event soon!

Welcome to King's Dominion!

Lunch at ZZQ in Richmond. Would recommend!

Gotta try the local ice cream. Gelati Celesti was delicious.

A cute mural in the Scott's Addition neighborhood.

Downtown Richmond.

A civil rights statue.

Buildings around the capitol grounds.

The capitol grounds were under renovation, so this was the closest I could get. 

Memorial Day in North Carolina's Mountains

This past memorial day weekend, we escaped the heat of Atlanta and went up to the North Carolina mountains for some hiking and sightseeing. We've been to the southern Appalachians many times, but this time we drove a bit further north, near where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia meet. We planned the trip relatively last minute, but found a condo on Beech Mountain to stay in. Not a typical cabin like we usually look for, but the condo did have sweeping views over the mountains and valleys.

Our first stop along the trip was at Scaly Mountain, just over the border from Georgia. They recently installed an alpine coaster, so of course Paul had to ride it! It's a solid ride. We continued on and stopped for dinner at the Old Hampton Store and BBQ in Linville. The restaurant/store was serving double duty as what appeared to be a happy hour for older adults on one side, and the restaurant on the other. The food was good, so we'd recommend it. We checked in to our AirBnB on Sugar Mountain (uphill from Banner Elk), and relaxed for the night before a long hiking day.

Just David hanging out with a bear at the Scaly Mountain coaster.

Going up the hill.

Yum!

The inside of Old Hampton Store. The bar area was packed!

Saturday morning we set out on the longest hike of the trip - Calloway Peak on Grandfather Mountain. This is a very popular area, but they have a reservation system and we started early, so we avoided the crowds. Overnight a cold front swept through and it was windy and in the mid-40s. Unfortunately, it was also cloudy/foggy so we didn't get any views. The hike itself was pretty strenuous. The ground is very uneven and most of the time we were climbing on or over rocks. There are a few steep stone scrambles too. Overall a fun hike, but harder and less rewarding than we hoped for due to the clouds.

The path was very rocky.

Spooky!

Just a tad bit windy.

Some parts of the trail were so steep they required ladders.

Just imagine a spectacular view here. :)

More ladders!

A little bit of a view on the way down.

After the hike we drove back to Banner Elk for lunch. Since the drive was mostly downhill, our car got 151MPG. Not bad. 😀 We had lunch at Brick Oven Pizzeria back on Beech Mountain. The pizza was just OK, but it really hit the spot after a long hike! We relaxed for a bit, then later in the afternoon we went to another alpine coaster, Wilderness Run, just south of Banner Elk on Sugar Mountain. Even with a reservation system Paul still waited almost an hour to ride. While Paul was waiting/riding, David was cornered by two older southern women that talked his ear off for 30 minutes. It's great to see these coasters popping up everywhere - lots of new coaster credits all around. We closed out the day with a nice walk around downtown Banner Elk before heading back to our AirBnB - of course there was ice cream involved.

That's some mpg right there.

This pizza was not as tasty as it looked...but after a 6 mile hike definitely hit the spot.

Paul getting ready for his ride.

These coasters sure are scenic.

A cute little general store near our AirBnB.

View from our balcony.

Sunday, rather than focusing on another long hike, we explored the attractions in the area, including a cave, a waterfall, and a couple of cute towns. We started early with a trip to Linville Caverns. While not as impressive as some of the other caves we've visited (like Mammoth Cave, Grotte de Castellana, and Hwanseongul Cave), it was still an interesting and worthwhile stop. Notably, this cave is still actively forming, and due to recent rains it was quite wet inside. Our next stop was not too far down the road - Linville falls. The area was pretty crowded on a beautiful memorial day weekend, but we did a short hike for several viewpoints of the falls and gorge.

The pathway through the cave.

Some nice flowstone.

View from the top of Linville Falls - the river cuts around this rock before dropping into the gorge.

David with the crowds at the upper falls.

Overview of the falls and gorge.

It was a "gorge-ous" day.

Walking through the very welcome shade.

Paul at the upper falls.

From here we drove up to Boone, North Carolina, home of Appalachian State University. It has a cute little downtown, and we walked around a bit while waiting for a table for lunch at the Local. We finished off the day relaxing on our balcony enjoying the beautiful weather, and then dinner at Mi Jalisco (which was just fine).

David Livin' it up in Boone.

Downtown Boone.

The bathroom inside the Jones House Cultural Center.

Restored room in the Jones House.

Lots of App State gift shops in town.

Nice views from the ASU campus.

Paul just hangin' out in Boone.

A beer on the balcony.

A nice sunny view!

Dinner drinks!

On Memorial Day we drove back to Atlanta via the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and Mt. Mitchell. The parkway is a really scenic drive through forests and over mountains. The road runs from the Georgia border all the way through Virginia along the peaks of the Appalachians...but we just rode for a couple hours on the way to Asheville. Along the way, though, we stopped at Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River (around 6684'). The mountain is part of a State Park with hiking trails, a rest area, an observation deck and a campy radio station that lets you know all the most relevant facts about the mountain and park. Don't miss it if you're in the area...unfortunately, it was cloudy again and we didn't really get any views.

We stopped in Asheville for lunch at Biscuit Head. This is a trendy little breakfast/brunch spot in West Asheville. The food here is really good but the wait can be a little long. Don't miss their jam/preserver bar in the back! The last stop of the trip home was at Jaemor Farms, a common stop-over spot whenever we head northeast out of town. They have a huge farmer's market, homemade ice cream and pies, corn mazes in the fall, etc. Stop by if you're passing.

One of the tunnels on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.

Top of the (east coast) world!

*snicker* - this is a photo of a placard. There was not snow.

David learning about rocks on Mt. Mitchell.

Proof we were there.

Biscuits as big as your head at Biscuit Head!

Peach and strawberry ice cream at Jaemor Farms!