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| I'm sure there's a lot to see and do
in Tampa Bay, Florida -- home of the Buccaneers, Sea World, and some
halfway decent beaches, I'm told -- but we were there for one reason:
Busch Gardens.
You have to understand that Chris and I grew up in Seattle, where
the biggest ride is the Mad Mouse mini-coaster at the Seattle Center Fun
Forest. So neither of us really liked roller-coasters as kids, since we
never rode any REAL ones, and coupled with the fact that Mike is none too
fond of heights makes for a childhood mostly kept with both feet planted
firmly on the ground.
Mike had since been to Disneyland, Disney World, and Six Flags
Magic Mountain, so he had experienced what real roller coasters were like,
but this was Chris' first foray in the thunder and thrill of the major
theme parks. Sure, living in Orlando made a trip through all the sections
of Disney World somewhat obligatory, but while Space Mountain was
reasonably thrilling, it certainly didn't make the yearly passes we
purchased worthwhile -- we spent ten times as much time at Epcot as at all
the other sections combined.
But back to Busch Gardens. Chris was officially baptized and reborn
a steel-coaster fanatic on what is still our favorite ride: Montu. By far
one of the longest rides in teh park, Montu takes you through a series of
convoluted loops, corkscrews and hairpin turns that leave you wondering
which way is up and regretting having ignored the warning to secure loose
jewelry and sunglasses (because yours are gone forever) It is themed
around an Egyptian motif, which adds an interesting bonus: one drop hill
actually takes you into an archelological dig site below ground level, so
you get that second or two more of acceleration before hitting the
vertical loop.
To hear Chris scream on that ride, I though she'd never go on
another roller-cpoaster again, but to my surprise she wanted to get back
in line. From that point on, I knew it would be an eventful day.
Other rides we survived were Kumba (a wild, convoluted track which
features a 135 foot initial drop hill, and the largest vertical loop in
American coasters to date), Python (when this snake gets done tossing you
around, you're ready for a break), and Scorpion (a somewhat tamer ride
than the other big coasters in the park, but it got the blood pumping
nonetheless.)
Oh, yeah, they also have a beer garden, with an honest-to-goodness
beer college so you can truly appreciate all of the different styles of
beer that zymurgy can produce. If you're lucky, they also bring out the
Anheuser-Busch clydesdale draft horses.
Also of note is Anheuser-Busch's dedication to preserving natural
habitats and endangered wildlife, so we can't forget the nature preserve
which shares the park with the roller-coasters. (Don't worry; the animals
are kept far enough away from the rides that they aren't disturbed by the
noise. We wondered about this, too)
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