Photo TR: BGE, Williamsburg and other events in Virginia

It was our anniversary on Friday and we decided a while ago to fly to Fredericksburg to visit Gyendolynne’s parents. We thought that we could also hit SFA, PKD and BGE, only to find out that SFA and PKD had private parties for 9/23. After the flight we didn’t want to drive to Williamsburg on Saturday, so we just stayed in Fredericksburg. It was for the best because we were really tired.

 

Busch Gardens on Sunday was great! There wasn’t a crowd at all. Maybe it was because of the weather report. They were talking about severe thunderstorms for Sunday. BGE was great because of the lack of crowds. There wasn’t a wait for anything except Apollo’s Chariot near the end of the day! Alpengeist was a walk-on all day and Dark Castle’s wait was only 10-15 minutes. We also saw most of the shows and did the beer master school. They don’t have a certificate though, which was disappointing. We did some flat rides too.

 

I think it is about time for some pics.

I can't believe they can play with them like this.

The next 2 wolves are babies that they have come out and run through the stage.

Here is the host.

Now it's time for the wolf show!

More wolf pics

Dave decided to pose with it.

This is the tree that no one has seen before...

There's a lot more Halloween theming throughout the park

Hey engineer, where ya going?

This train!

Here's Sue, waiting for....

Here's Dave...

Gyendolynne and her dad, Dave.

Here we are at Pet Shenanigans

The bird could do math!

Showing some strength

We always like these shows.

The pet show.

I think I surprised her with the picture.

OOHHHH, must be in 3D.

See....

No lines, no waiting.

DARK CASTLE!!!

It looks like....

DOH!!!

Great theming with the skis.

Front row and away we go.

I am glad to see the conditions haven't changed since the last time I was here.

Made it back to Alpengeist.

Here's another.

The grey wolves.

Each one was injured and couldn't fly.

They had some bald eagles there too.

Gotta get a pick of the Clydesdales. This was the only one there.

Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirates life....or death for me...

Don't be scared Sue.

I love Halloween.

Let's get going!

Gotta love this.

More....

Getting ready for Halloween.

Killer Premium Pass parking.

Who cares? We're here and it is sunny out!

Nope, doesn't look too promising!

The following day on the weather channel.

Where else would you go for breakfast?

Final pay-out voucher, $54.

I hit a 900, then a couple hundred, then this 520 coin pay-out. It was only a nickel machine though.

What else are you going to do with a one hour lay-over in Vegas? I picked this machine because our cat's name is Cleopatra, just like the machine.

Nothing like a free first class upgrade to start off your trip. This is also our wedding anniversary.

Nice pics! My best friend from college lives in Fredericksburg and I still have not made it out there to visit her.

Nice hat! Don't forget to wear it if you head up around Baltimore!

Nice pics. BGW looks sweet. Hopefully we will get out there next year.

 

PKD and SFA had private parties the same weekend last year too.

More pics from our day at BGE.

Hey Duke!

I don't know...

Here's our photo. The guy on the cell phone swallowed a bug. In the picture he is holding his mouth because of it. Gyendolynne saw it and said the bug was huge!

This guy was talking on his cell phone all the way up the lift hill and through the beginning of the ride. There is some sweet justice for this in a minute.

Here's Apollo's Chariot's wait. It was only around 15-20 minutes.

Gotta stop to smash some grapes.

Nothing like a good loop.

Hey Nessie.

There's the hammer Dave won.

Let's get going to the front

Ooooh, the Big Bad Wolf. Been there, done that.

Swing rides are so much fun!

Weeee

Sue and Gyendolynne took a ride on the swing while Dave did his feat of strength.

Well....

Good luck Dave!

Who dare hath the feat of strength?

The Anheuser Busch chocolate

Here's to us!

Beer school time.

Time for beer. It has been long enough.

I believe Dave had trouble with the same hill that Rick had a problem with earlier.

Now we need to rescue Gyendolynne.

It was still good fun.

Hmmmm not so wet.

Here we come!!!!

No, see it's dry.

Ummm, this looks wet.

Good Luck!

Just get on it, you won't get wet!

Dave and Sue waiting for Le Scoot.

Weeeeeeeee

Yep, it's Alpengeist.

Hey, how's it going?

I'll leave the construction area with this last pic.

I guess I am not authorized for this.

I am blocked by a chain for this shot.

More construction!

I wonder why no one has posted about this....if you think I am serious....

If you lift the camera over the fence, this is what you get.

More construction.

Here's another area.

This is what you can see if you put your camera through the crack in the fence.

Uh-oh, I think I might have stumbled onto something.

Not so much a signature move.

Signature move?

This is not my dentist.

You can buy it in every country, you just can't take it from country to country. Ask me about this if you would like!

This is my cousin.

Hello

There's Dave and Sue, and Gyendolynne's arm.

I really love Halloween.

Corkscrew Hill in 4D.

Where to now? This is almost Seussish.

Even my head can't cover it. I betcha this would dwarf the castle at Disneyland!

Man that's a big pumpkin

I think it is time for lunch.

This is the auction. No more pics!

There's Aaron O'Sullivan

We're early enough for the 12:15 show.

Let's go see the O'Sullivan auction.

They're having the Halloween events today.

Where to now?

Continued

Nothing like a couple of country people!

Cracker Barrel for dinner.

The drive home.

These guys were playing on our way out.

Is there beer in there?

^? Ted, the thought did cross my mind. I can't believe they beat Cleveland yesterday. Better yet, I can't believe Pittsburgh lost!

 

^? Gregg, I agree, how can 2 parks be closed on a Saturday in the same general area? They're only open on the weekends at this point! How stupid.

 

^? Nicole, Fredericksburg is a great place. I wouldn't want to live here though. I can't stand humidity!

I wanted to go to Mary Washington, mainly for the excellent girl to guy ratio. Looks like you had fun at BG. I dreamed about getting the kinds of crowds you had on the 4 trips I've been there this year.

Went to the Battlefield today with Dave. I have been here a couple of times before, but I wanted to see it again. I also have a passport for National Parks that I wanted to get stamped.

The Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield map.

I can't believe they could wear this in this heat!

I don't consider myself a history buff, but this is so interesting.

More of the history here.

Awesome TR Rick!

 

That is sweet justice with the bug. Seriously, what call is THAT important??? Cell phones.....stupid pieces of overused technology....

Friday is the best day to visit BGE in the fall. I was there last Friday checking out Howl-o-Scream stuff and walked right on to DarKastle, too.

^^Matt, it was definitely sweet justice.

 

^Thanks for the information about Friday! I am always looking for no crowds.

Just testing out the new camera. I just picked this up about 2 hours ago.

Great TR!

 

I'm glad that they are getting a new ride next year so I have an excuse to go back!

Next time Leanne and I go back up to BGW, we need to go see the wolf show. Thanks for posting these pictures.

^^I agree about coming back next year for Griffon.

 

^The wolf show is neat just because of how they interact with them. The "show" part of it has them doing some neat acts.

 

Here are some more pics from BGE and last night.

We are still celebrating our 5th year anniversary and the waitress brought us some icecream dipped in white chocolate on some strawberries. It is finished and then we decided to take a pic....OOPS!

All of us at our table.

Gyendolynne and Sue outside the front door.

They have won some awards.

This is one of our favorite places to go when we visit. It is in Stafford county.

Busch Gardens in the morning.

Dave and Sue on the Log Ride.

It made me happy to see you visited the Spotsylvania Battlefields. Why? Because I'm from Spotsylvania. Ha.

 

Sad part is, I've never visited them myself. Never was interested in doing so.

Final day in Virginia and a flight home.

I didn't have any seat in front of me.

No first class, but we had exit rows.

AmWest and USAirways merged, but apparently this group didn't get the message. There is no waiting for USAirways, but a long wait for AmWest. They are the same friggin' airline! 5 employees weren't doing anything!

Another pic from the house. That is their sailboat under the cover.

The lake from the house at 7:30am

Gotta love the Exit row!!!!!

 

The general public scares me. We're sheep, look at all those fools standing in line, and there's signs telling them that they're the same airline!

Next time your'e up there check out Fredricksburg and their battle fields (if you haven't already).

 

It's worth a stop and it's like half way between PKD and DC.

 

I stopped there on the way back from SFA a couple years ago.