Things that irk you......

I worked at Great Adventure for three summers in high school and college. Worked on a roller coaster that's no longer there, and a couple of restaurants that might or might not be. Learned how to make a perfect soft serve ice cream cone working there, so that's a takeaway.
I practically learned to drive on Route 526, the county road that runs from there to Trenton, and its tributaries. There's a little hamlet (might be more of a ghost town now) along that road called Imlaystown that's off of Exit 11 on 195 -- so about 15 miles from downtown Trenton and less than 10 from Great Adventure -- that feels like it's on another planet. Always loved that drive, though. So peaceful, and there was a long stretch of flat straightaway where you could open it up. First time I ever drove more than 100 mph was on that stretch between Allentown and Imlaystown. Good times.

 

Unfortunately we did not make it to a farmer's market. Looked for one in Princeton, but it was not where it was advertised to be. By Sunday afternoon, we were shot and the kids were of no mind to go hunting for a tomato stand. I was a bit sore from riding El Toro multiple times -- like being in a fender bender -- and so wasn't putting up much of a fight. Still, I regaled numerous people who had no idea of the provenance of the name Garden State, so thanks for that.

 

Imlaystown ... Why does it feel like it's on another planet?

 

Yup, we passed signs for that place, gf made note of the name. Lines at GA were really short. Surprised. Went there expecting to wait 45 minutes or more for rides, but the longest I ever had to wait was for bumper cars. Had been more than 28 years since I'd been to GA. Felt like a kid again. Was awesome.

 

A former poster here (he doesn't contribute anymore) related an incident on Facebook last week of attending a seminar for teachers and substitute teachers in his district. He got behind Coffee Woman. After in interminable wait, he carefully reached around her to grab the cream. She erupted about him having "invaded her personal space." He said he was sorry, but this was a coffee table, nothing more. She went on and on. He walked away instead of reminding her that she is a teacher and where she could stuff her personal space.

 

Like I mentioned in the other post, I worked there for three years. One of those years I worked night shift and didn't have a regular ride, so I often had to take the employee shuttle in in the morning and then hang out until my shift started around 2.
It got lonely sometimes, but there are worse ways to spend a summer, I suppose.
I saw damn near every midday showing of the Batman stunt show for two months. It got to the point where I could tell if they missed a mark and when they changed the cast. I think I knew the history of every ride in the park, when they were added, what they replaced, the stats, etc.
I mostly tended to go for rides with shorter lines instead of maxing out. Probably rode Rolling Thunder about a thousand times over those three years, because it was awesome and the line was rarely more than about 10 minutes long.

 

Pro tip: Bumper cars rule, but the line is always long because of the long cycle time. Avoid them unless you just have a hankering and feel like waiting/

 

Gone on and on and on and on and on and on about the damn hot brown/black water. Just drink it. Don't tell me about it. You don't want to hear regularly about the magnificent Diet Dr Pepper I just enjoyed, either.

But mostly it was a cheap riff on the previous post ;-}

 

What irks me is I'm too old to ride roller coasters. Used to love them, but now they make my head spin and stomach do flips.

 

It was a town founded in the late 1600s, but it doesn't seem to have ever grown past about 30 buildings. They're all that sturdy old stone and masonry that'll last forever if a meteor doesn't hit it, and one of them is an old mill. Checking up on it, there's been some on-again, off-again efforts to preserve it, but I think it's more or less a ghost town now. It's quiet and kind of creepy and spooky.
So, basically, you have this tiny 17th century ghost town out in the middle of the countryside, literally a mile from the interstate and less than 15 miles from a decent-sized city, and if you mentioned it to a lot of people in the area they'd have no idea what you were talking about.

 

I have zero idea how you do it. You're a hero. For real.

 

I guess I can understand that. I enjoy coffee a lot. I like good coffee, but I am no connoisseur.
I'm just surprised you encounter that much talk about it.
I'm not a wine guy, so friends who are really into wine don't talk to me about it.
I don't talk beer with people who are not into beer.

I had a buddy, very funny guy, who used to get angry about 'weed talk.'
'I hate weed talk! I don't care about the smell or the little red hairs in the buds!'