Photo courtesy of RideZone

Dear Diary, Okay, I need to buy a vowel because "O" my God, what a perfect day! We started out by driving with Greg Galley to the Coach Diner in teeny, tiny Fredonia, Pennsylvania. The Coach is a rare, original 1910 trolley car that was converted into a diner. Fredonia is only about 10 miles off the interstate but definitely has a more off the beaten path feel. The place is a total dive and yet you can clearly spot the telltale signs of a true trolley car. Our waitress was sassy in a classic diner way and I have to say this place is well worth visiting because I had the best french toast I have ever had in my life! I'm serious, I don't make this kind of claim lightly, their french toast is incredible! It is wonderfully cinammony with a crunchy outer crust and and perfectly flavored batter. It's not like a Texas toast sized, fluffy concoction sprinkled with powder sugar - this is like the french toast you'd make at home, only better! Once again Cindy failed in her breakfast ordering skills and was relegated to a very-good-but-paled-in-comparison-to-my-french-toast omelette. Both she and Greg agreed the french toast was a winner and they both admitted to coveting my food. It was *that* good. From Pittsburgh to Erie, we drove to Waldameer Park in a driving rain. And yet the minute we arrived at the park the rain stopped. Soon the clouds would part and we would be treated to sunny skies and comfortable temperatures for the rest of the day. It was a perfect day! Waldameer Park is a gem. A perfect gem. From the moment you step out of the car you can see that this is a true picnic park - the smell of cookouts immediately engulfs your senses. Row after row of picnic tables and pavillions are occupied by groups of friends and families who've picked the perfect place to relax and spend the day eating home cooked food, and riding classic rides in a classic park atmosphere. To attempt to describe the beauty of Waldameer would be an injustice. The place is absolutely pristine. There's not a bench out of place, not a ride nor building or area that hasn't been beautifully painted and landscaped. Even little tiny areas that normally wouldn't merit much landscaping get the royal touch. A stunning fountain is the centerpiece for a children's convoy truck ride! One yard features a huge wagon cart bursting with colorful spring flowers. A gorgeous clock tower sits right in the middle of a flower lined plaza area. Beautiful flower boxes and planters are everywhere, shrouded by mature trees that have even been incorporated into some of the rides and buildings. And yet the atmosphere here is not fussy or organized or overly done - it is incredibly casual. It invites the guest to come in and unwind, have some fun and most of all, relax. I can't imagine anybody coming to Waldameer and leaving feeling stressed! The park isn't huge by any means. In many ways it reminds me of a combination of Lake Winnie and DelGrosso's Park, only more beautiful. As Cindy said, "they don't have a lot here, but what they do have is perfect." And she's right. Two dark rides, a junior wooden roller-coaster, a Monster, Tilt-a-Whirl, Wipeout, Log Flume, Paratrooper, Scrambler, a sky ride, ferris wheel, Ali Baba and a huge selection of impressive kiddie rides, and an outstanding waterpark that features all the slides and rides found in good waterparks. But none of this describes just how beautiful this place really is. And it isn't knock-you-over-the-head beautiful either. It's beauty is subtle, the way a good traditional park should be. It's effect is subtle, too. You don't come in here immediately dazzled by the beauty and quality of the rides. Instead the park unfolds on you slowly, and with each turn comes a new discovery and the almost subliminal thought that this place is really extraordinary. Joining Cindy, Greg and I on this day were Dave Sandborg, Tim Melago, Aunt Rose and her son Brent, and Robert and Sam Ulrich. We had an outstanding time at this park - perfect, in fact. I think a group of ten or twelve people is the perfect size to pal around with. Not so big that it becomes a chore to wait while someone indulges themself, and small enough that it's easy to move around as a group and make sure everybody gets to do whatever they want. I really enjoyed every single ride at Waldameer. The waits were nearly as much fun as the rides. Standing in line for the Wacky Shack, the prerecorded announcement threatens to deal with pranksters by removing their wristbands - perhaps with their arms still attached! While waiting for the Paratrooper we were treated (and tortured) by a Karaoke pavillion. One guy, though, sang REM's "Losing My Religion" so well that I broke out into applause from the queue line! Tragically, his performance was followed up by a man so tone deaf it took me awhile to bemoan the fact that he was singing Barry Manilow's "Looks Like We Made It." Ever heard a bad karaoke singer attempt to change pitch in the middle of a song? Oh my God, I had to slap some baloney wraps in my ears to stop the bleeding. Cindy told me about the butterscotch sundaes at Waldameer. She built them up to what I thought was an impossibly high level of expectation. Well, I'm happy to say she did not exaagerate. The butterscotch sundae at Waldameer is absolute perfection, easily one of the best things I've eaten at an amusement park. And shame on anyone who doesn't act like a true American by finishing the job with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry! The only downside to this amazing culinary experience was the disgusting food boy, who licked his hands repeatedly while making people's sundaes! Kid, you were making us sick with your infantile food handling procedures - put some gloves on your grimy little fingers and quit grossing people out! Aunt Rose graciously provided us with ice cold cans of Cape Cod Cranberry Dry, which she had chilling in her car. Now why she didn't haul out some huge aluminim foil tubs of potato salad, baked beans, watermelon, hamburgers and hot dogs I have no idea, because this is one park that demands a picnic. So tempted was I by the smell of all those barbeques grilling that on the train ride I stuck my hand out and attempted to snag a stray hamburger off a nearby grill. I'm telling you, that train ride was pure torture. Another thing I want to slam this park for is their haphazard neglect of the Ali Baba fountain! It was going full blast when I looked over from the Tilt a Whirl queue, but they turned it OFF when I rode it! UN-FAIR!!! We also saw where the Ravine Flyer III coaster is to be built. It sounds like there's a big hassle brewing from the neighboring community, but with tradition on the park's side (the old Ravine Flyer also crossed over the same street) hopefully the park will win approval and we can finally see some progress made on this coaster. Really, I think the only thing Waldameer needs is a major wooden coaster. The Comet is a great little junior woodie, but an adult sized wooden coaster would give this park the signature attraction it needs and identify it as one of Pennsylvania's best traditional amusement parks. We spent about 5 hours at Waldameer. This is supposedly a half day park, but I really did not want to leave. I like this place, a lot, and I was having a lot of fun. We had to leave to go to Conneaut Lake, a park I last visited three years ago and a place that left me feeling somewhat depressed. Photo courtesy of RideZone Oh my God, I cannot believe how much this park has changed! Conneaut is alive and well and looking good! The last time I was here the place was deserted and fairly run down. Now the park is alive, every ride is operating, the rides and buildings look newly built, freshly painted and well maintained, concession stands are open and selling plenty of good food and games, and the park just has an entirely different attitude. The ballroom was open and hosting a polka night. The midway now extends down to the lake, every area actually looks alive - no dead spots! There are so many new rides since my last visit I couldn't count them all, and everything just looks great. I simply cannot go on enough about how much Conneaut Lake has improved! It just BLEW MY MIND! The Twister at Conneaut is sick. Sick and twisted. The ride op is unquestionably talented. He knew exactly how to give every rider a great spin, and a great spin on this ride is not something you will soon forget. It's easily the sickest flat ride I have ever experienced! And what made it even sicker was that we all ran down the exit ramp and got right back on again! I have never been dizzy from a ride before, but my second ride with Tim Melago surely destroyed some vital brain cells. It's a sad and weird commentary on my concern (or lack of) for my well-being that I took a third ride. Greg, Cindy, Dave, Tim and I spent quit a bit of time together walking along the lakeshore and exploring the Conneaut Hotel. This is such a great area. I don't like the idea of staying in a room without air conditioning, but otherwise the hotel looks and feels like my kind of place. It's beautiful and timeless and so relaxing. It's of another era, with rocking chairs scattered all around the expansive front porch, and numerous old fashioned touches throughout the hotel. The library also has the oddest collection of books - Dave handed me a book titled "Hygiene" and suggested that it as must reading for me. How rude! We also had a great time eating out under an umbrella covered patio area near the ballroom. We had some sinfully good cheeseburgers featuring In N Out quality cheese, and smiley fries, which are french fried potatoes shaped like 70s smiley faces. This was probably my favorite part of the day - the sun was setting, the atmosphere was great, the food was great, the friends were great, the park was doing great, everybody was having a great time, and it just made my day to take in the amazing transformation this park has experienced. We ended the night with several rides on the Blue Streak. Jason, the ride op, is awesome - he is genuinely excited about doing his work and he really wants everybody to have a good time. He ran the coaster even after the park had closed, and was still pumping people up till the last person got off the train. As much as I hated to leave Waldameer, I *really* did not want to leave Conneaut. In fact I see that some people actually LIVE in the park! There are houses, *beautiful* little houses, inside the park property! Now why can't I live in one of those houses? Is it too much to ask? This was a perfect day at two parks that often get overlooked by coaster enthusiasts. Waldameer and Conneaut are a perfect compliment for one another, and they deserve our patronage. Whatever they've been doing lately, they're doing it right, and I personally could not have been happier to see everything I got to see.