Things happening with the Holland family

Me getting ready to ride the Beast

Yesterday, the Licking Heights marching band traveled to Kings Island to do their annual summer parade at an amusement park. Since I’ve been associated with the band, that trip has always gone to Cedar Point because Kings Island didn’t do those types of parades.  Cedar Fair now owns both parks and things have changed.

It has probably been 6 years since we’ve been to KI, so I was grateful that I got to take the day off to go down.  Amber got the day off as well and joined me.

There is something magical that seems to happen the second you walk through the main gate at any amusement park.  You are transported to someplace else, some place where you forget about the day to day things in life, and you are just there to have fun.  Walking into Kings Island, a place where I have spent so many days during my youth, was like being transported back to my teen years.  As I am a year away from 50 in the physical world, it was nice feeling like a teen again.

The park, like me as well, has seen many changes over the 30 plus years since I worked there.  Wild African Safari land has been replaced by a thrill zone, with all sorts of extreme rides.  International Street has seemed to lose the international feel, of this section being ‘Italy’, and that section being ‘France’.

Blue train has the lead on the 4th hill of the Racer

Roller coasters are a lot more prevalent now.  There were only a handful when I worked there, now they are  all over.  Of course, the beast is still there.  I worked there the Beast was opened.  I got to ride it before the General public.  It was a great ride then.  It’s even better now.  All the space that had to be cleared to build it has been filled in with 30 years of tree growth.  Some of the new coasters are outstanding as well.  We had rode the Vortex before, and it was a favorite.  The new Diamondback has become one of my favorites.  Firehawk is a very interesting experience, riding a coaster laying down.

Back in 1978 and 79, I worked at KI, in the Rides department.  Mainly, I worked on the Racer, but filled in for other people on many other rides in the park. Many of those rides no longer exist.

Working at KI was one of the best jobs I ever had.  Yes, it was very hot at times.  Being out in the rain sucked.  Sometimes, the long hours were terrible, especially when you had worked 30 all days shifts in a row.  But I worked on a roller coaster, with a great group of people, and we had fun.  And I like to think that we made things fun for our guests.  We entertained them, we interacted with them, we added our own brand of fun to their visit to the park.

The last time we went to KI, I was severely disappointed by the workers.  They were robots.  They went through the motions of operating the ride, and did their very best to not even look patrons in the eye, much less interact with them.  It was so noticeable that it became a distraction every ride I went to.

Things have gotten better since that last trip I must say.  There is interaction with the customers now, an d while it might be through a microphone, and they might say the same exact thing to every group that comes through, they  are at least aware of our presence.  Believe me, it is not easy to be original for every group of people when a new set of riders is going out every 3 minutes, and you are working a 12 hour day.

Amber conquering her fear of heights on top of the Eifel Tower

Overall, it was a great day.  We walked our butt off, but had a very fun time.  The band sounded good, I got to relive a munch of old memories, and I got to spend a whole day with my daughter, which is something that happens very seldom these days.  How can you go wrong with that?

Son of Beast - RIP

The Vortex, with the Beast behind it

The Diamondback baking a big splash

Inveritigo - The only coaster I haven't ridden there yet

Invertigo in action

Congo Falls

Vortex

The Diamondback - possibly my favorite steel coaster

St Augustine Lighthouse

The last full day in Florida. It didn’t get off to a good start, as I had a real hard time sleeping last night. I guess I paid the price for yesterdays 3 hour nap. Being tired made for a long day, and one where we didn’t seem to be able to do all that we wanted.

St. Augustine was the location of the day. We opted for the nice leisurely drive up A1A. The first location we stopped at was the lighthouse. This light is a bit smaller than the one at Ponce, but has more stairs. The climb was a lot easier, and had a tremendous view as well. There didn’t seem to be as much to do on the grounds, but it was still a nice place to visit.

Next it was on into the old city, and the first order of business was lunch. There were several choices close to where we parked, but we settled on the Milltop. The food was real good, plus there was a man with his guitar providing the entertainment.

Next stop was the Castillo de San Marcos,and old fort originally built by the Spanish, but changing hands and having been fortified several times over the early years. It was a nice trip through the fort, but Albert hadn’t had a nap yet, and the heat seemed to zap the strength from the rest of us, so we decided it was about time to leave town.

Before we left town, we had to stop off at the San Sebastian Winery for a tour and wine tasting. There were several nice wines, but we settled on a couple of bottles to bring home with us.

Dinner was a repeat at Sonny’s,then it was back to the room to get ready for the long drive back home, one that I am not really looking forward to.

As always, this vacation seems way to short. I do think we know where we are coming in the future though. Too many things we wanted to do and just didn’t get the chance.

Albert playing in the sand at Daytona Beach

There comes time in every vacation where you have to change your plans. Today was one of those days. The original plan was to spend today at either St. Augustine or down at Cape Canaveral. It became a day of just relaxing at the beach.

We had realized that we were trying to do too much on this vacation, and somewhere the relaxing had been left out. We sent out to change that.

We had a nice quiet breakfast in the hotel lobby, the loaded up in the van to go to the grocery store. It seems that our supplies of lunchmeat, pop and snacks had been sufficiently depleted and needed replaced. As Andy had never been to a Publix supermarket, we had to take him to one. After we had those things that we needed, plus a few more, we were ready to head back out to the beach.

In Daytona, you can buy a pass for a day to drive on the beach. For $5 a day, you can drive anywhere where it is legal. It also gives you a parking place, all you have to do is find one. With a spot in hand, we got out of the car a started slathering up all the pastey white bodies with sunscreen. It is kind of funny to see later on then areas where the sunscreen didn’t make it.

A good time was had by all. Andy learned that it is real easy to loose sight of where you are in relation to where everyone on shore is. We also bought him a boogie board so that he could have more fun. Albert is not a big fan of the ocean. He laughed a lot as the waves rolled up on him, but would much rather be up on the sand playing.

After several hours of playing (or is that baking) in the sun, it was time to go get some lunch back in the room. Albert had to take a nap, and everyone else thought that was a good idea as well. Three hours later, we all woke back up, proving it was indeed a good idea.

Diner was next door to the hotel at Ken’s Wing House, which looked to us like a Hooters knock-off, not that I am complaining or anything. food was really good, but the Medium wings had li,e zero kick to them. Our server was super nice, giving us travel suggestions for future visits to Florida.

Back to the room to relax, and get ready for tomorrows trek to St. Augustine. A trip the through the old village, then to a lighthouse, and I have seen that there is a winery in town. Could spell trouble for us.

Spiral staircase inside the lighthouse at Ponce Inlet

Today was a day to hang around Daytona and the area. It started off with a farewell of sorts. You see, Holland vacations have this crazy little rule. We do not eat at chain restaurants unless the chain is not in Columbus. That keeps us from the fast food joints that we all get so used to, and typically gets us trying new places. One eatery that has always been a must go place is IHOP. That’s where we stopped this morning for most likely our last time on a vacation, as we are supposed to be getting one back home soon.

From there, it was back to Ponce Inlet for the full tour of the lighthouse and grounds. The lighthouse there is the tallest in Florida, and one of the tallest in the US, standing at 175 feet. The grounds still have all three keepers houses, a generator room, the oil storage building, pump house, and of course the lighthouse.

I must admit, Andrea and I were nervous about taking Albert to the top of the lighthouse, which is just a short trip of 203 steps up. he assured us he could do it, so we let him try. We all made it up to the top without any issues, and the view was great. The breeze was even better, as there is very little ventilation inside the light, and with it already in the mid 80′s outside, it was like a sauna inside.

The trip back down was about the same. All I can say is I am glad I quit smoking, as I would have never been able to make that trek if I smoked. As we were touring the rest of the buildings, one of those fast and furious storms went by, causing the steam factor to increase tremendously.

When it was tiMe to leave, we told Albert it was time to go back to the room for lunch and a nap, to which he let us know under no uncertain terms that he was not tired and didn’t need a nap. Guess who fell asleep in the car on the way to the room? Yup, it was Albert.

After his nap, and lunch, it was off to the Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500 Expirience. We were a little rushed, as we didn’t give ourselves enough time to do it all, but we did get in the IMAX movie, the tram tour around the speedway, and we got to race in the simulators. All in all, it was a good time, although I don’t think it was one a Alberts favorite places.

Dinner was at an old style diner we found the last time we were down here called the Starlight Diner. Good food and the prices are not to hateful either.

Back to the beach we headed, and beings I wanted to try and get some night pictures of the lighthouse, we headed back down there for the third time in thirty hours. Albert got some time playing in the sand, while Andrea and Andy played in the water looking for shells. Before we knew it, it was time to leave, as the park we were in was getting ready to close.

I think we might be altering the plans some just so we can spend more time at the beach tomorrow. We have tried to cram to many things into the trip, and are forgetting the part about relaxing. All I know is this trip is going way to fast already.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Day 2 was a lot like the first, lots of driving. This time though, the pot of gold was at the end of the rainbow. It was 6 hours of driving time, several stops for the potty, and a picnic lunch at the welcome center just inside the Florida line were pretty much all that happened before we reached the destination.

As the drive wore on, we kept watching the outside temperature creep into the upper half of the 90′s until we hit Jacksonville, where we ran into one of those typical Florida thunderstorms that dropped the temp over 20 degrees.

Unfortunately, we could really escape the storms most of the day. Off and on all afternoon we hit the storms, preventing us from hitting the beach. We did make trek down to Ponce Inlet to see the lighthouse. what a sight it was, even in the rain. It’s burnt orange color stands out against the stormy sky.

After we left there it was off to find Sonny’s BBQ. When this trip was first planned, Andrea and I were looking forward to one of our favorite BBQ joints around. The problem is the one we knew of was no longer there. Andrea asked one of the ladies at the lighthouse and was able to find one in Port Orange. Of corse, on the way there the skies opened up again, which made it hard to find, but we were able to do so.

Sonny’s has a new fan, as Andy has fallen in love with the place as well. When retold him there was a high probability of coming back during the trip, we made his day. of course, the are jars of sauce coming home with us as well. If they are going to go through the process of packaging up the stuff, I will make sure their efforts are not in vain.

On the way back to the hotel, (another La Quinta, our new favorite place to stay) we bummed around The outside of Daytona International Speedway. I think the one who had the most fun was Andy, the one who hates the sport the most. I think seeing just how massive the place is made him see things a bit differently.

Tomorrow is probably going to be hang around Daytona day. We need to check the weather again to see just how things be, but that’s the plan. The plan now is to find a way to get Albert to sleep in a room full of people who are awake and causing distractions.

Day one of vacation was, for the most part, uneventful. But it was probably the day I worried about the most. With Albert being 4 years old, I wasn’t sure just how long we could go without him driving us nuts. That fact was made even more apparent when, not 20 minutes from the house we hear from the back seat “are we close yet?”

After a trip to the cemetery in Pomeroy to pay some respect and make sure everyone is where they were supposed to be, we started making our way onward. At that pointe turned on ‘Nuvi’, the Garmin GPS, so that we had the fastest route to Florida.

I must admit, a good part of the day was trying to talk myself into making the drive to Daytona all in one day. The sensible side of me finally prevailed and we decided to set up for the night in Columbia, South Carolina.

After a nice dinner at the Crab House (where painted on the wall of the mens room was “crabs are contagious”), we took a little drive out to Fort Jackson.

29 years ago, I spent the first two months of my military career going through what they called “a smooth transition from civilian to military life”, and everyone else calls basic training.

I was not quite sure what we were going to be able to do while we there, as I had no idea where we were going once on the fort. This was made even more apparent when asked at the security checkpoint what we were there for and I said wander around. We had to have a destination, and he suggested the Welcome Center, so that’s where we went.

the lady inside the Welcome Center was real nice, gave us a map and some suggestions, along with letting us know where we couldn’t go, so off we went. A few places look kind of familiar, but nothing that really struck any kinds of brain cells that’s it. We wound up on the other side of the post looking at the parade field.

By this time i had basically given up, and was ready to leave. As we were making our way back, I saw some barracks that looked really similar to what I was in. While I couldn’t describe exactly what I was looking for to everyone else, I had a fuzzy picture in my head and this didn’t quite jive. Again, it was off to the main gate to head home.

That’s when we found it. My barracks. How did I recognize it? The building across the street. What used to be the Tigers Den, a club for enlisted folks who were not trainees. A place I looked at every day for two months, wanting to go, but never could. It is now a training office, but there is no mistaking it.

It was nice reliving some of those old memories of E-7-2, SFC Anderson and SSG Gagnon. I am sure I will be able to shake a few more out as the days go by, but I still have to wonder where all the sand went. When I was here 29 years ago, the base was nothing but sand.

My guess is the new guys don’t have any idea just how nice they have it.

Wicked Prey by John Sandford

I was all ready to read the newest installment of the Prey books by John Sandford when I realized I was still a book behind.

Wicked Prey is the 19th book of the series that follows Lucas Davenport, now of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

What I love about series like these is following along with the lives of the characters.  Lucas has gone from a man-whore to a husband and father.  We see the changes in the other characters as well, and even have returning criminals that play major parts in the story as well.

Wicked Prey takes place around the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St Paul.  When ever you have that many people gathering around a city that aren’t normally there, there is bound to be some extra criminal activity, and this is no exception.

People who are to be passing out money to by votes and other such things are being robbed.  Beings that this practice of handing out money is illegal, not much can be said about it publicly. The governor’s aide has a meeting with Davenport to explain the situation, and to ask for help.  Pretty soon, the connection is made that these are the same people who killed a cop across the river in Wisconsin, and the hunt begins.

A couple of side plots, like his soon to be adopted daughter getting in trouble with hookers, and anarchists in town with .50 cal machine guns all get in the way of keeping on task.

As typical with these books, everything comes together in the end, with most everything solved.

While these books are not literary classics, they are very good books that keep you entertained.  This book is no exception.  Sandford does a good job of keeping you involved, without getting too deep.  It is a good quick read, good for a nice weekend if you have nothing to do.

Deliver Us From Evil

I first read a David Baldacci book several years ago after a suggestion by my mother.  I was instantly hooked, and pretty much read everything that he has written.  He has a balance in his books that is hard to match, and this one is no different.

Deliver Us From Evil is a sequel to The Whole Truth, in which we follow the man known as Shaw.  Shaw works for an unknown organization, fixing things in the world that need to be fixed.  One can assume that he works for the US Government in a role that no one would admit to.

This time, Shaw is in France, trying to take down Evan Waller, who is trying to sell nukes to Islamic terrorists.  Waller has a history himself that is none to pleasant, which is why Reggie (Regina) is there.  Her job is to take Waller out as well, because of things that has happened in his past.

What follows is the intertwining of plots up until the end.  While there was excitement, it wasn’t with the fervor that we’ve seen in previous books from Baldacci.  I am sure we will see the characters again in a future book, and when we do, he will need to step it up to catch up with his other re-occurring heroes, the Camel Club along with Sean and Michelle.

A nice touch in the electronic version of the book was some of the actual outlines that he used in developing the book, along with the original ending.  He also added pictures he took from Gordes.

Overall, this is a good book, but when compared to other books he has written, not his best effort.

My little dream, Holland Photography, is ready for takeoff.  We have already had a couple of jobs already, and we have more lined up.

A big one is in two weeks, Beth’s Wedding.  Beth is my Sister-in-law, and she hired me almost two years ago,when she first got engaged.  This is before Holland Photography even existed, back when it was just Mark and his camera.

A lot has happened in that time, and hopefully, a lot more will happen in the future.  But to say I am a little nervous right now is the understatement of the year.  I wonder if everyone feels this way when they first start off.

After the wedding is Senior Portrait season.  We are getting ready to do a small mailing trying to gather some business that way.  The plan is to start small, do things right, learn how to do them better and quicker, and slowly expand.

As a side note we actually ordered business shirts today.  If you need shirts made, and are looking for someone to do them, I highly recommend you talk to John at Digital Impressions in Johnstown.  He’s a great guy to work with.

For my first family blog I thought I would stick with the book review theme, especially since I just finsihed a book that has made an impact on me.  I have always been a lover of animals, big or small and remember going to Zoo from a young age.

This book is by Jack Hannah and basically tells his story. He talks about his life in Tennessee, meeting his wife, his first Zoo jobs and how he came to the Columbus Zoo.  I love it because he is such a “regular guy”, and he talks about his struggles and his friends and the animals he raised and lost.

It is amazing to me how one man can have made such an impact on the lives of so many people and animals.  Maybe it’s just from growing up around Ohio, and the fact that Jack came here right after I was born, but I always remember his face. I had the chance to meet him once at the Columbus Zoo when I was taking a workshop for education. He just happened to be the building and stuck his head in to say Hi. I know the people with him probably wanted him to move on to his meeting or whatever he had, but he took a moment of his time to shake our hands and introduce himself (like he needed to do that).

This book is a entertaining read, it made me laugh frequently, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort,but makes you think about what little changes you could make that might make a difference in the world around you.  I guess it goes well with the Earth Day theme of this past week.