Tyler's middle school took their annual field trip to Cedar Point on Thursday, May 31st. Rather than spend the money of putting Tyler on the bus, Tara and I decided that we would take him and Samantha down ourselves, since we had been promising to do so for a couple of years already. Unfortunately Tara was unable to get out of work (open enrollment time of year for her), so it was just the three of us. We left home at 6:30am for the 3-hour trek to Sandusky, Ohio. Aside from one stop at a service plaza on the Ohio Turnpike, it was smooth sailing the entire way.

    We entered the park about 20 minutes before the 10:00am opening time and made our way inside. We intended to get in line for a ride, but instead were greeted by barricades that limited how far in we could go. Once those barricades were removed we headed off towards the Wicked Twister, our first ride of the day. From there the three of us headed over to ride the Blue Streak for ride number two.

    After our ride on the Blue Streak, Tyler's classmates arrived on their bus. It was at this time that Sam and I bid him ado, and headed off on our own. We headed back towards the Blue Streak area to take our turn on the Raptor! After we rode that coaster, Sam wanted to ride the Dodgem bumper cars, so that was our next stop. From there we made our way towards the back of the park. Our next stop was at the Corkscrew for our third roller coaster of the day. We continued our walk through the park, but by now we were starting to get a little hungry. Sam wanted to eat pizza for lunch, but when I saw the price of that I decided that we should keep looking. We wound up finding a spot that served chicken tenders, and Sam and I decided that we could share a meal. Good thing, too, because with the meal (4 chicken tenders and french fries) and one large drink the bill was slightly over $15.00!

    After lunch we headed back to ride the Mean Streak, the wooden roller coaster that wreaked havoc on our backs, heads, and necks. One ride here was more than enough for today. Our next stop was at Maverick, a ride that I had never ridden before. Both Sam and I enjoyed this ride immensely! Especially the 95 degree drop on the first hill - awesome! We continued our walk, this time heading around the circle and making our way back towards the middle of the park. The next roller coaster we arrived at was Millennium Force, which we both eagerly waited in line for. Aside from a brief moment on the hill going up (about three-quarters of the way up Sam screamed "Oh sh....oot!), we both had a blast on this ride. I even managed to convince Sam to put her hands in the air for part of the ride! While we were in the area, we decided to give the Matnis a try. Neither one of us was thrilled with this stand up coaster, even though I had enjoyed it thoroughly in the past.

    After riding the Millennium Force Tyler called, asking us to meet up with him and his buddies at Iron Dragon. We headed that way and then got a call to say they were headed elsewhere. Sam and I decided to ride anyway. After all these years, this ride still stinks. Just sayin... We circled back around towards the back of the park, stopping to ride Gemini this time. Once again Tyler wanted to meet up with us, and we managed to locate them at the Witches Wheel. None of us were brave enough to ride it (that is one ride I refuse to go on), so we watched Tyler's friend finish his ride. After the Witches Wheel Sam and I headed off to the Magnum XL200. By this point we had ridden nearly every roller coaster in the park!

    Around this time we headed towards the front of the park with the intention of riding the Sky Ride, but it was closed. We headed to the beach instead, opting to ride WindSeeker. After that little ride was over, we made our way to Disaster Transport for a quick ride. At this point I bribed Sam into attempting to ride the Top Thrill Dragster with me, which was another ride I had never been on. Although the wait was lengthy, it was worth it. I had my reservations because the ride itself is over fairly quickly, but it was so worth it! 400' straight in the air and 120mph? Awesome! Sam had a blast too, keeping her eyes open and laughing the whole time. What a trooper she is!

    By now we were only one roller coaster short of riding them all, so we headed back to the back of the park to ride the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. There was virtually no wait here, and the ride was just as I remembered. While we were back here, we also rode the Antique Cars. It was gradually getting late, and Tyler's classmates would be heading for their bus soon. That meant that once again we needed to hook up with him. On our way towards the front of the park, where he was, Sam and I hopped on one more ride, the Matterhorn.

    Once we met up with Tyler, we decided that we had done enough for the day. Our feet were tired and we were hungry. We did some souvenir shopping for Tyler, Sam, Drew, and Jay and then made our way towards the exits. We made one last stop, at McDonalds, before making the trek home.

    All in all I think everyone had a great time. If I had it to do all over again (and hopefully I will next year) I would like to look into camping there for a night or two. It would be worth it to get off of our feet for a little bit, and we would save on food (especially when you consider the meal costs - that could easily pay for a night of camping!). Enjoy the pictures... until next time!

Cedar Point
	Samantha and Tyler in front of the Midway Carousel after arriving before the park opening.
	The Wicked Twister was the first coaster ridden by Rodney, Tyler, and Sammie.
	Sam riding the Dodgem bumper cars.
	Sammie enjoying her (very expensive) lunch.
	Sam was brave enough to ride Maverick... of course she wasn't aware of the 95 degree drop of the first hill.
	Meeting up in the afternoon, Sam and Tyler posed in front of the fountain located in front of Raptor.
	A close up of Tyler and Sam.
	Sam was proud to display the money tie that her loving father graciously won for her in the feat of strength carnival game (the one where you swing the big hammer and watch the lights go towards the top).
	Sammie driving the Antique Cars.
	Sam showing off her new mustache necklace.