Lou's Year In Review: 2007

Pretending to be a flower? Are you saying I'm not one already?

You sure are a pansy already.

Those pics make me all nostalgic, but I wasn't there. Somehow in my head i think i was. I wish my head was right.

 

^I was thinking a corpse flower.

Not-Too-Ghetto Fair and about three pictures from the Party!

 

 

So the next morning despite very little sleep and waking up lying on completely flat air mattresses (we are such fat bastards) we all got up pretty early and a few of us headed over to a local coffee place for coffee and to pick up a couple of things on the way back.

 

 

An iced chocolate drink and an oatmeal and raisin cookie... Damn good breakfast!

 

 

I love that Jimmy looks drunk even at 8am... Though to be fair, it's Jim, he might actually BE drunk at 8am.

 

 

The rest of the group for the morning met us at Hotel Alvey (which by the way gets 5 stars and comes complete with cute baby) and we piled into cars and headed out...

...Obviously stopping for caffeine, snacks, and FROZEN COKES on the way.

 

 

We were going to the Antelope Valley Fair, which I wrote earlier was in Palmdale, but I just checked and was actually in Lancaster. Did I just pull Palmdale out of my arse or did we at least drive through there or something?? After getting out of the car and borrowing sunscreen (as Wes pointed out to me, I was already looking burned and I'd been out in the sun for exactly 46 seconds by this point), we headed in.... It was really nowhere near as ghetto as I had expected, though they did have a lot of those "world's smallest horse", "world's biggest gator", "world's biggest pig" exhibits, and some slightly frightening rides, which are integral to ghetto fairs, really.

 

 

I'm slightly fuzzy on what we rode... WOW it was hot. Seriously, the thing I remember most from the day was going to a stall to buy a giant Sprite (though I ended up trying some other soda which was the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted) and talking to the vendors who were asking me where I was from, and saying they bet I missed the weather back home. That day I really did. There was a scary-ass mouse coaster with an op who only charged some of us and charged others different numbers of tickets, and I seem to remember them only checking some restraints too... I was somewhat surprised that we survived this coaster!

 

They had some somewhat decent stuff... The Falling Star was fun, the Spinning Dragons desperately needed air-conditioning, and Chris and I rode the Zipper of death (I'd never ridden one before) and almost died when his keys flew out of his pocket and tried to impale me. They also had REALLY good corndogs. Mmmmm.

 

 

Kyle, Carl, Jimmy and Hector... So beautiful isn't it. Hector looks like an alien, what kind of tulip has antennae?!?!?!

 

 

On the Tilt-A-Whirl! I'm so pink! I was convinced I was burnt but a lot of it was just the heat... I could never live in the desert. And I'm so sorry I cut Kyle out. .... Actually, I'm not sorry at all!! Check out the reflection in his glasses!! Hector is "helping" me take the picture by turning the camera towards him and cutting Kyle out!! *gasp*

 

 

We had watched the ride a couple of times and it looked pretty good, so we used the last of our tickets... And it was LAME!! Then we realised the op was just trying to figure out the speed at which we could spin the most... THEN it got better. And we got a really long cycle too!

 

 

I loved the sequinned disco backdrop in the cars!!

 

 

Back at Robb and Elissa's, Robb and I took a rather graphic picture up Guy's shorts which I don't think needs to be posted but I felt that story needed sharing. They'd invited a few people over for food and Wii so we starting trekking over to the clubhouse with supplies...

 

 

Pretty artwork!

 

 

"I'm in a kitchen.... What the hell do I do now?!?!"

 

 

"That's right, I take beer out of boxes!!!"

 

 

My contribution to setting up involved carrying wire around my neck and taking annoying photographs. Gotta love what the heat does to my hair. I need to get that straightening thing done that Wes should totally promote.

 

 

I didn't take many pictures this evening, I was too busy yelling at Robb over trivia questions, eating too much unhealthy food, and taking advantage of being on the same side of the planet as a bunch of my friends for once, but I did get this great shot of Robb doing.... God knows what.

 

 

Notice Jeff's sign doesn't say "Exit ONLY"...

 

 

Later on, Chris and Jim decided to play with fire... Wait, no, that's not right. Ice. They decided to play with ice. Ice. Baby.

 

 

After Chris got burned, he switched to using tongs... "DRY ICE, COLD!!!!"

 

 

I never knew dry ice fumes were hallucinogenic. At least, I hope they are. If not, these guys really have NO excuse... I love that so many of Chris's poses match his noises: They're all extremely dinosaur-like.

 

 

I won't go into the story of what happened with the rest of the dry ice... But I will say that I had nothing to do with it. Boys.

 

The next day it was time for the two best parks of my trip! SFMM and Universal!!

Tilt-a-Whirl

^ THANK YOU!!! Oh my GOD that was driving me mad, there was just this big blank spot!!

YAY! more pictures of me... er I mean from your trip! I just so happen to have a video from the party.

 

 

 

 

lol I had such a great time while you were over and I'm glad we got to hang out again.

Dance Dance Lou and Robb.wmv

Warning!

 

Some Mild language and adult situations are present in the above video!

That video just made me want to do a Lou Loses 30lbs in 30 days report. That was NOT a flattering angle to film from. But the footage was funny (Jim and the beetle, LOL!!!!!) so I'll forgive you!! =P

you look better sideways the way I filmed it, but it streched out a bit when I rotated it in windows movie maker to squish it down to fit. Please forgive my lack of good editing software to make you look thin!

wow, Robb can really gyrate

LMAO, Go Robb and Lou! Anyway, Lou great report thus far. Im really enjoying it...since I can't ride til Spring, this is helping a lot, Thanks!

Hmmmmmmm...graphic picture? Is it bad that I'm curious?

Would you pleas hurry up and get to the real trip

She passed it a long time ago

Looks like u had an amazing time Lou, Defo looking forward to the next installment!

 

Loving the video too, What game were you playing? It looks fab!

Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood

 

A small group of us headed off to Magic Mountain the next morning... I was endlessly amused by the ticking clock and then the "Celebrate good times COME ON!!!" song at the entrance. I was far less amused by having to run up a giant hill to get to X. I was even less amused than that when I found out that everybody else was all "meh" about X, and even MORE "meh" about running up the hill, so only Guy and I were doing the trek, and I was less amused than I've ever been in my entire life when I remembered that Guy is built like a gorilla with giant arms and legs, and could take strides four times as big as mine.

 

 

We FINALLY made it!! And thanks to the stupidity of much of California's population ( LOL), we were on the second train out of our side!

 

 

I liked X!! Aggressive but fun. Kinda how I felt about Eejanaika. The last ten seconds of both rides was kinda unpleasant compared to the rest. I felt so guilty that Guy lost his glasses on this one though.

 

 

I'm three for three with the Deja Vus (and I'll never get the fourth)! This one was actually pretty good fun. And we managed to get to it before it opened, so not too much waiting around. All in all we really did attack this park, ridiculous number of coasters done in like three and a half hours, and that was with several stops for us to rehydrate and stuff, as the heat was killing several of us... Mainly me as usual.

 

 

Annoying!! I don't remember which attraction I took this picture at... To be fair though, I have a feeling whatever it was DID actually open at some point, because I don't think I took this at Goliath.

 

 

Riddler's is so pretty! I really liked this ride. It seems like every stand-up I've ridden I've preferred to the previous, and this one was excellent. Fujin Raijin in Japan had that AMAZING bit of airtime that was like nothing else ever, but as an overall ride I think I liked Riddler's a little better, it just needs airtime like that. Hell, every ride needs airtime like that!

 

 

A typically Californian horizon through Scream! It seems that my opinion of many of SFMM's coasters was "fun but meh", I liked a whole bunch of them, but was extremely apathetic about this whole day... The park was far better than I expected it to be, but there was nothing about it that really excited me or made me want to stay there. I was happy that we got through (almost) everything in half a day, because I honestly think a full day would have depressed me, despite having fun on a lot of the rides.

 

 

 

I was gonna zoom in and crop this but iPhoto is playing up and I can't be bothered waiting. Stupid Goliath. I blame Jahan!!!!!

 

 

Let's see.... Batman I don't remember, Canyon Blaster was fun for a kiddie, and I was damn impressed that the park sold fresh fruit nearby ("hey Jim, hold my apple!"), Colossus needs to be burned to the ground (and if any of you feel like trying to recover my left nipple from somewhere underneath the track, please do), I *think* I liked Gold Rusher but I also think I may be confusing it with something else(!) (LOL at my apathy towards this day), the Free Fall was like being killed from the inside outwards, I didn't get to ride Goliath or Viper... I don't remember liking Ninja or Revolution much at *all*, and we did Superman early in the day and I loved it, totally energised me.

 

 

Oh, and seeing Jahan in his uniform at Log Jammer entertained me greatly. I resisted the urge to embarrass him at work.

 

 

There were really only five coasters at the park I wanted to ride, Tatsu being close to the top of the list... So it finally opens, and we finally head up there, and then when we're about six feet away, it breaks down. Joy. Now I forget who told us what, but I know we started to walk away and I think were told by different people "we don't know how long", and "it'll be back up again pretty soon"... Anyway, long story short, we did eventually make it onto the ride, and I liked it!! I definitely think I preferred Great America's Superman in some respects, but all in all I had no real complaints. Much fun, and I felt it was a needed addition to the park.

 

 

Hector shows off his ass. Oh, and the UK trip t-shirt he won at the party the previous night!

 

 

We picked up Jahan (who had just finished his shift), and then headed over to In & Out burger for lunch before driving down to Universal.

 

 

In & Out was goooood, I liked their burgers almost as much as I like Steak N Shake's!

 

Guy certainly looks happy to be there.

 

 

 

And this was his response to me telling him he looked too normal in the previous picture, LOL!!

 

 

 

I always loved Florida's Universal parks (and later in this trip fell in love with Japan's), but for whatever reason I was totally anticlimaxed (so not a word) by Hollywood's. We had front of the line passes (because Joey is a God amongst men, even though he was too sick to join us that day ), which were awesome and allowed us to get through the park quickly, but... I didn't hate or even dislike the place. I don't know whether it was the mood I was in or what, but I was just pretty bored by it. Thank God I had such great company. I think, and I had said this to Jahan the night before, that after the party on Saturday night, all my brain power was going into looking forward to Disney on Monday and Tuesday, and I was basically just willing Sunday to pass, I think. So really, my heart wasn't in it. I think I should attempt to go back to Universal at some point but NOT the day before I do Disneyland, as apparently this changes my view of things!

 

 

I took exactly six pictures at this park, but somehow four of them (including my Kong picture) have disappeared from my camera and picture files!! I don't know whether I accidentally deleted them in multi-delete mode or something... There isn't an awful lot that's memorable about this park though. Except for the exploding lighter. The tram tour was actually fun (our guide was kinda odd though) but it needs to be about a year shorter. I'm pretty sure the people behind us hated me as I giggled uncontrollably through much of it, which is what you get if you sit next to Wes's sarcasm... And Wes. I made the group right Back To The Future which they weren't impressed with, but I needed the nostalgia!! It sucked more than I remembered.

 

I thought the Mummy was okay, though I was told by the rest of the group that that's because I haven't ridden Florida's yet. I had no real issues with it except that it somehow wasn't as "much" as I was expecting, which was possibly explained by Chris shouting "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!" at the end of the ride. He didn't like the new ending I don't think.

 

 

I did really well in the walk-through House of Horrors... Until the very end. Stupid Chris was all "there are no knives, you'll be fine!!". Lying bastard, I was scared sh!tless. Ah well, at least I missed Chucky or whoever it was who had a knife halfway through, I happened to not be looking at that.

 

 

Jurassic Park was awesome as ever, though my memory is fucking up and I'm having trouble distinguishing Hollywood's and Osaka's versions. Was it at this one where T-Rex-with-tiny-useless-arms froze before we dropped?? Slightly less menacing, I gotta say!!

 

 

Backdraft was pretty cool too! Could've done without quite so much pre-show, and as fabulousy chatty as the guy working the ride was (he studied in the UK!), Chris managed to creep me out about him, so that somewhat damaged my experience... Stupid Chris!!! I was definitely impressed with the fire, though I think far less so than I would have been had I not ridden Templo del Fuego at Port Aventura.

 

 

Anyway, here is one of the two pictures I have remaining.

Taken from the upper lot, after running up the stairs... I nearly killed my lungs and myself, but it was worth it to not have to stand still listening to trivia questions concerning the Friends theme tune!!!

 

 

Overall, not a great day, but not a bad one either. And the company was unbeatable, so I had a lot of fun anyhow. This night and the next I was staying with Chris and his family, so I said a couple of goodbyes and then off we went. After meeting his parents (who are the nicest most welcoming people I've ever met) we headed out to Denny's to meet Guy, Jahan and Jimmy (who were holed up in a hotel down the street) for a late dinner, and Chuck and Dane (who I hadn't met before) came down too. Having eaten way too many pancakes and hash browns and watched some of the "kids" (Guy and I were parents for the evening ) argue over the bill, we left for an early-ish night, as we had an early start to go to Disney the next morning, YAY!!

 

 

Sorry this instalment was more than slightly apathetic... Disney will put me back on form, believe me.

^You didn't mention Jurassic parking and the ever widening escalators!

*dies laughing*

 

"JURASSIC PARKING!!" .... Bahahahahaha!!!!!

mmmmm, In-N-Out animal style

It's really a shame that you missed Goliath, which is the best ride at SFMM in my opinion. Oh well, it's almost as if I planned it that way to give you reason to come back to California.

 

And no offense to Joey, but no matter where you place Universal in you trip, you're going to get the feeling of being "anticlimaxed"...or "dumboed".

 

 

 

 

 

I look forward to the Disney installment.

 

-Jahan

I've never really thought of Universal Hollywood as a "theme park," but more as a movie studio with an entertainment center out front (sort of like the original concept for Disneyland).

I look forward to the Disney installment.

 

-Jahan

 

Ditto!

You forgot the awesome traumatizing experience inside the crappy Horror Maze with Chucky and the knife. Also Guy getting scurred by Frankenstein, hahaahaha.

^ I was far too busy being pissed at Chris for lying to me to notice anybody else's scary moments!! Frankenstein HAS to be the least scary!! Why would big strong Guy be afraid of him?!?!

 

 

 

Jahan, Dane, I'm looking forward to posting the Disney pics! Though they'll probably make me cry!! I wanna go back so much!!

I know you were afraid to meet me because I intimidated you. You told me yourself. Am I really that intimidating? I think I'm a pretty easy going person. I trust your opinion of me has changed greatly? I'm not that crazy. I just bring the insanity out in the best of us.

 

With that said...

 

1) Why are people so stiff in pictures when I'm not around? I show up and people let loose.

1a) Jimmybo on tha pole was awesome! I have video. It will materialize soon enough.

1b) Jimmy, I am still sorry about those ribs of yours.

2) The Waitresses at Bucca were too F'ing hot. Who has that picture of me with them? I need a copy. For that matter, who has a that picture of the one we took outside the restaurant?

3) That video of you and Robb playing Warrio Ware is awesome! Was that boom in the middle of the video game my dry Ice bomb going off in tha pool? Excellent!

3a) What Lou? No mention of my world famous Queso? (That you stood over for a half hour shoveling it into your mouth.)

4) Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf should be every ones first visit in the morning. Once is enough to get you hooked. I know you still crave it! Oh, and Starbucks sucks.

4a) You forgot the pig races at the fair. That was awesome!

4b) Why am I only now hearing about this mysterious photo you and Robb took up my shorts? Was I asleep? Are you not sharing because it will make all the other men here on the site jealous of me?

5) Why are my freakishly long arms just cause to compare me to a gorilla? I love my freakishly long arms. They're awesome for great hugs, or a reach around.

5a) It wouldn't have taken so long to get up the hill if you could have pedaled those little stumps of yours a little faster.

5b) In and Out 4x4 animal style, with a chocolate shake. I just wet myself. I'll have to get one of those next week. Yay!

6) Thank you Joey for the Uni passes. It made our little trek there that much more speedy.

6a) What happened to that awesome picture of all of us in front of Jurassic Park with our ponchos? That was hysterical if memory serves?

6b) Yeah! The new end to Mummy is real lame!

6c) OK! Yes, Frankenstein made me jump. It was the classic distract and pounce technique! The mad scientist was holding my attention to just get me comfortable that no one else was there. Then BAM! F'ing Frankenweenie scares the sh!t outa me. At least I didn't have to cling on to every person that was near enough to cower with you.

7) Moons over my Hammy! God I love Dennys!

 

This TR has been a great journey so far. It brings back such awesome memories and great times. I am looking forward to DLR. Keep up the good work.

 

Guy "Damn I'm a good lookin' man!" Koepp