Here's what happened after.

Me and the girl in the next seat never really happened as a couple.  Our relationship began and ended on that bus.  Still, its brevity and its purity changed my whole perspective on life and love.  I learned that hardship usually has a reward, even if the only reward is coming out of it stronger.  I learned how to talk to women.  I learned I'm a good storyteller.  I learned I wasn't the hideous unlovable monster I'd tend to see in the mirror.  Not a month later, another legend would begin.  That story's coming up one day, too.

Tony, who I'd known since I was a child fulfilled his childhood dream and became a firefighter.  It was the only job he ever wanted and he got it, and he's damn good at it.  Tony's a good guy.

Colin, the vile womanizer, happened to have a girlfriend waiting back in Northern Virginia who was none too pleased about what went on in Atlanta and on that bus.  Karma's a bitch, and so's his girlfriend when cheated on.  I have, to this day, not seen a more thorough ass-whooping of any man by any woman, or man for that matter.

Sergio graduated high school that year.  Turns out he had a twin brother.  I was mortified.  He was also 21 years old.

As for me, I went on to perform my first spoken word routine a few days after my return, emboldened by my newly-discovered talent.  For one class period, with the permission of the involved teachers I stood before the gathered students, many of them far better friends (and my future first-girlfriend among them) who laughed raucously, applauded, and set me on my course in life, to become a writer.  I completed my first screenplay two years later.

The events of that trip didn't make me who I am, but their contribution was great.  Like anyone, I'm a sum of my experiences.  The next Epic Legend, "Busch Gardens I" takes place in the year 2000, and is not only my first encounter with a dread roller coaster, but the first major step on my journey to the great fleeting now.

Stay tuned.

An optimistic entry into the park...we all loved the animal shaped topiaries!

Lullibell's favorite were the flamingoes!

A pause for a moment while waching the birds...then we went hard core with the rides and stayed soaking wet for the next 4 hours after riding every water ride in the park.  We had to stop for lunch for a bit because Bubba was thinkin he might starve to death then we road the train.

Which was, apparently, entirely lame...

I did manage to capture the end of, what may have been, the world's biggest yawn...

Love those tortoises!

This was followed by the coolest ride where the girl in the mirror above...

...gave this girl the nickname Buttercup.  Lullibell got to sit in the navigator's seat for the Rhino Rally...which got cut short due to LIGHTENING!

So we went and got frozen lemonade and waited in line to see the 4D pirate movie!

A few more topiary animals and my favorite plant of the day (and if any of you know what this beauty might be let me know because they were gorgeous!)

Then we went off to see the Clydesdales!  They are fabulous!

This was the best accidental photo of the whole day!

We had a great day and really can't wait to go back!

The above is a direct quote from my friend Folkwoman who shared the following headline with me, "Gibbon Quarantined After Biting Helpful Zoo Visitor".  She knows how I feel about monkeys.  They are evil and cannot be trusted. 

It seems that a Gibbon escaped its enclosure at the zoo and ventured into the parking lot.  When a good Samaritan tried to intervene he got a leg full of teeth for his trouble.  *shudder* 

But hey, it's all good!  Folkie said they rewarded him for his good deed, "They gave the guy a free membership – hope it’s a lifetime membership!  'Oooh so sorry about your leg, would you like to come again for free next time?' "

You hear THAT Busch Gardens????  FREE membership!  You know what I got when I was attacked by a terrifying fluff ball of evil?  GATORADE! No free dinner, no park passes, not even a keychain.  Oh yeah, I DID get a FREE tetanus shot.  Good times. 

Too bad my little monkey incident happened almost 20 years ago.  These days theme parks are so lawsuit leery they would throw all kinds of free stuff at me!!  Although these days they probably would NOT say, "Hey kids, come pet the monkey!"

we will b going to an outlet mall 2day! then we will go to the parks 2morrow!! i wanna ride the one in islands of adventue of the dragons!! should i ride ice or fire? and of course the ride of hulk!! the best ride ever!! and i wanna ride shei kra in bush gardens!! gtg!! i have to get in the car! ill miss yaaa pplz!!! :( i will have fun!! :) :) byee, cya sunday

xoxo

~♥mErIdOlL♥~

Advice from Theme Park Mom: These all-day deals seem like a great deal and they are, for some families, especially if you plan to eat two or three meals at the park. But think before you buy. Some families bring in snacks and try to eat just one meal at the park -- an option that may be more economical. And check to be sure that the food available in the select restaurants on the plan is food that your family will want to eat.

We surfed the waves, had some great weather and tons of fun. Jaclyn and Paul just love body surfing.

I guess all the walking will have to be an acceptable substitute for a Sunday run.

The concept of the iconic 'American' brewery falling into foreign hands sparked fire into the public and politicians. Unfortunately the fire could not be quenched as large shareholders wanting quick cash resulted in the takeover. 

InBev has a reputation for cost-cutting yet promised to keep all Anheuser-Busch breweries open. There has been no promise as to Anheuser-Busch employee job security. There has been talk indicating the selling of non-core assets, which would probably include theme parks (Sea World and Busch Gardens). 

It should be interesting to see how other American beer companies will respond to this takeover. I'm sure in the coming weeks we will see more 'patriotic' WE ARE AMERICAN ads from the likes of Sam Adams or other all-american breweries. 

7/12/08 - 4.1 miles in 35:32

We had a blast on our vacation to Florida.  We got to rent a car, stay in a hotel, visit family, eat good food, soak up some sun, pay through the nose to visit Busch Gardens and had so much fun we didn't want to go home. 

My brain still feels a bit like pudding, so I shall use a few pictures to illustrate our vacation, rather than try to make coherent sentences. 

We stayed with my sister, Kam and her husband, Jared and my niece, Lilah.  We had a BBQ with my parents on the 4th and after stuffing ourselves silly, we lit the sparklers my mom brought.

[wp_caption id="attachment_83" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Interacting with wildlife, aka turtle that pooped everywhere"][/wp_caption] [wp_caption id="attachment_84" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Traveling across a rope bridge trying not to trip"]

Future sunglasses models

[/wp_caption] [wp_caption id="attachment_87" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="This is what you look like when it pours rain on you all day"]

Dang, I have some cute kids

[/wp_caption] [wp_caption id="attachment_89" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Me and Lance with creepy lady in the background"][/wp_caption] [wp_caption id="attachment_90" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The flamingo that got fresh with me. Notice the drenched shirt."][/wp_caption] [wp_caption id="attachment_91" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Playing with the lion with glow sticks"][/wp_caption]

 

This is the coolest story-right before the park closed, we headed over to an animal exhibit featuring African animals.  We found ourselves in the lion section where the three lions were staying out of the rain under their awning, which happened to be right where we were.  The girls were wearing glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces I bought for them at the Dollar Tree. (TIP: carry your own glow in the dark stuff into the park and avoid the $9 gazillion dollar prices of the parks.  It's a good thing.)  There was a female lion who was very interested in watching the girls walk around with their neon brightness.  So Lance got a glow stick and traced circles on the protective glass where the lionness tried to bat it, much like a housecat would.  It was the coolest thing ever. 

All in all, it was an awesome trip and so needed.  We got to visit our family, some of whom we hadn't seen in several years.  I got to spoil my niece and ply her with toys and books and love on her.  Lance, the girls and I had hours to spend with each other having conversations and enjoying just being together.

I had hoped that I would literally, sweat my butt off, but alas it's still very much there.

But don't take my word for it, try them both for yourself and then make up your own mind!

The husband's birthday is coming up and all attempts at a cool gift have failed so I'm now thinking we'll go to one of the many theme park offerings around.  However it is nearly impossible to make a decision between them!

Busch Gardens- good, not far, has animals which he enjoys.

SeaWorld- another good choice, he likes aquariums, I think we could catch a shuttle so we wouldn't have to drive

WDW- not sure.  It is my understanding that every one and their dog is at WDW every day and when you only have one day (we have no intention right now of getting multiday or season passes to WDW and we would have to drive up each day) the prospect of driving, standing in 95+ heat for 80% of the day and rain/thunderstorms the other 20%, and not getting to see the whole park is not that appetizing.

Epcot- good choice, especially while we don't have kids.  We can walk around and enjoy the different "countries" without worrying about bored and hot children.

There are quite a few others but these are at the top of the list.  I just don't know which one to choose!!!!!  Argh!!!

today i went with my family to busch gardens in williamsburg, virginia.  at some point, all of us decided we weren't going to ride anything crazy. so once we enter the park, my brother daniel and i take my sister angie on corkscrew hill. it's one of those cute little 3-D (or is it 4-D now? i can't remember) rides. it was a lot better than i expected it to be, but i think i'm just a sucker for those rides cause i'm five. i forget what happened directly after this, but quickly we found our way to the alpengeist.

now, my brother is supposed to be the one that can stomach all these rollercoasters... i'm not. i admit right this moment that i am the world's biggest baby when it comes to them. angie really wanted to ride it and no one was willing to take her, so i volunteered. i expected to be as frantic and foul-mouthed as my first time riding thunder run, wherever that coaster is... but it was the exact opposite. we waited in line in complete silence, save a few "no, i'm seriously freaking out"s that kept escaping my lips and the shaking of my bones. i volunteered to take the outside seat (because i'm dumb and protective?).. so, front row, outside seat, safe to say i was hating my life.. and i made it clear. the only sound i made on the ride was during the climb up... a quick "i hate my life RIGHT NOW"  when i spotted my stepmom below us. i closed my eyes afterwards because i suck with heights. i thought i had my eyes closed the whole time, but upon watching this video, i realized i didn't...

this is the love of my rollercoaster life. i was terrified, but the fact that i couldn't move around in my harness at all made it awesome. i will never deny the alpengeist.

we went on more cute little rides... including whatever 4-D (3-D? why don't i know!) thing is at darkastle. it ruled. we got the parents on it and it was awesome. looking at it online, it was one of those "wow, this is either really lame or really awesome" kind of rides. luckily it was awesome. we all enjoyed it. all the usual carnival rides (der katapult, da vinci's cradle, tradewinds, etc.) all weasled into the mix.

back to this big bad wolf thing... 

looking at it, it seemed like a relatively safe coaster, so all of us decided to ride. big ol' PSYCHE. the first part wasn't so bad, but my harness was too loose, so yeah, i was freaked out. we thought it was over, but we didn't clear the second drop yet. now, this drop is supposed to be everyone's favorite part of this ride... i hate it. i don't like them. the alpengeist dropped... but twisted so much in the process the downward force really became obsolete and i was focused on all the rolling instead. so, a 99-foot drop over the rhine river... with a harness that is too loose... not my idea of a good time.

the day at busch gardens ended with the best idea ever: the roman rapids.  i am a sucker for all of those white water raft rides. they're so much fun and i don't like doing all those logs and crap that drop. last time i did, i ended up with my face in my lap bar, soooo, PASS! but this ride rules, especially this time. my brother, sister, and i kept forcing the raft to keep spinning. at the end, we tried to put my dad under these waterfalls. it didn't work. i got a little wet from the first, we missed the second one completely.... the third... i tried so hard to spin the raft, but it didn't work, so i dove into the waterfall. i was the kid that gets out with water flowing off their clothing that makes the ride look awesome. probably the most fun i've ever had on one of those things.

so basically, i love the alpengeist, i'm afraid of the big bad wolf, and my family rules. such a great day.
 

Let’s see if I can keep up the trend of reviewing thrill rides in the central Florida area. Probably not, but I least have this one to share.

Khrysti and I headed out the Tampa’s Busch Gardens Africa this Saturday, 1 to celebrate our anniversary, but more specifically 2, to finally Ride “SheiKra” which has been open for about 3 years now. But it’s all good, but it’s recently been “re-opened” with one new addition – make that 1 new subtraction – they’re removed the floor for the coaster trains. Woooooooo.

I learned waiting in line for about 15 minutes that early morning in ridiculously high temperatures that “SheiKra” is the name of an African hawk that has the habit of twisting in mid flight and taking sharp 90 degree plunges after its prey. I guess that’s why “SheiKra” the ride boost this awesome 200 foot drop of which half of said drop is 90 degrees!

Check out the vid below to see it in action:

After that, it does some twists and turns – that is if you notice after heading straight down and 70mph, then it does it one last time, but this time it’s a measly 138 foot drop. Then it swoops, turns, etc, then… well that’s it.

All in all, it’s be surprised if the ride lasted a minute. It’s quite short. Kind of a disappointment actually. Sure it’s got those 90 drops, but honestly, the trains are so firmly gripped to the track, there’s never a real feeling of free fall or danger. There’s just that constant sooth vibration of the steel coaster.

On major disappointment, and I’m sure it’s an engineering issue and I’m more than grateful to be safe than crashing face first into the ground, but it you’re not in the 1^st of three rows, the effect of hanging at the top momentarily before with first 90 degree drop is a bit lackluster. Unless they guy in front of your is wearing an unusually frightening hair piece, the chances of your heart racing and you screaming your lungs out before the drop are pretty slim.

All major complaining aside, it was a cool ride. Definitely not like anything I’ve been on before. It’s got elements of other things I’ve been on, but this was a few of them all rolled into one. But having said that, I’m also not eager to return and ride it again. That’s unfortunate too, because being a Florida resident the one day pass I bought Saturday is now good for the rest of the year. But with the price of gas being what it is, it’s really not worth the drive.

Now since that review was a tad shorter than the simpsons ride review (say by about 2000 words), I’m gonna pad out this review with some other events of the day trip:

Here’s a quick shot of “SheiKra” at the apex of its first loop:

“SheiKra’s” hill is slightly taller than this giraffe.

“It’s comin’ right at us!”

Got to take this shot as I got the Safari tour train. Not as awe inspiring as actually being on the group looking up.

Saw this guy on the Tiger Trial exhibit. It think that look is the Tiger equivalent of “piss off, I’m sleeping”.

One for icanhascheezburger":

Funny little local information here: The Orangutan exhibit is closed. Why? Because on May 19^th one of them escaped! Busch Gardens is currently “redesigning” the habitat to prevent that from happening again.

News flash here Busch Gardens, maybe if you feed the Orangutan, it wouldn’t have had to escape!

And finally, by my wife’s request, here’s Khrysti cupping SheiKra’s nuts.

Oh yeah, my patented final rating.

Uh let’s see:
4/10
2/10
7.4/10
You can fill the categories, “it don’t matter. None of this matters.” – Carl Brutananadilewski

That’s all for now. Look for a new review sometime between tomorrow and 2018.

To distract myself from the fact that T. turned 5 yesterday - and ultimately to remain in complete denial that my baby is actually growing up (insert "shuddering sob" here) - we took the family to Busch Gardens for Memorial day. We left our home at 8am, made a quick stop at IHOP for breakfast (T. had always wanted to go) and then arrived at the park, ready to rumble. We returned back home, zombie-like, at 7pm. What a day.

And you know what? I am still exhausted. Of course, my children awoke bright eyed at 6:15am as if yesterday never happened. However, I am sitting here, sore, tired, sunburned and overwhelmed by the entire experience.

In an effort to debrief all that we did, I thought I would share our day with you.

Excited, singing, anticipating, strapped into the Saturn, almost there. Sunny, beautiful day, but - oh crap - its gonna be hot, lined up with cars, cars, cars, pay at the gate, more cars, guys waving flags, park in a row, efficient, lets get out, lets just finally GET there already. Unloading our circus: kids, sit n stand stroller, backpack fat with goldfish, pretzels, clothes, diapers, wipes, medicine, water bottles full, sippy cups sloshing. We skip the bus and speed walk to the gates. People everywhere, every shape, every color, every variety of hat, flip flop, sunglasses, stroller, tank top, tattoo, t-shirt, bathing suit. Smells like sunscreen, popcorn, animals, fun. Shuffling through the gates - moo; shiny, smiling, colorful characters dressed in gold walking on stilts meet guests, pose for pictures. T. hides. C. waves frantically. We're in! Maps out. T. reads it carefully in stroller, C. gapes at the buildings, the fountains, the flowers, the people people people, roller coasters roaring everywhere, the birds, the loud music, the sun, the trees, the color, the movement. We take off to the new section. Shaded areas, plexiglass, OH TIGERS! Cool. T. runs to the rope playground, C. wants OUT of stroller. Climbing, splashing, wondering, yelling, screaming, LOOK AT ME MOMMY!!!, laughing, climbing and climbing and climbing. He's so high. Diaper change time. Where is T.??? WHERE IS T.!!!! Hi mommy! Oh. Wrangling. I'm hungry. I'm firsty. Pretzels. Water. More sunscreen. Off we go. Next, the congo river rapids, I take T. He jumps and fidgets while we wait. For. a. half. hour. People. Too close. Staring at odd back tattoos. Annoying wet people. Eavesdropping. We're almost there T. So close now. Almost there. Do you think we'll get wet? Our turn, we jump on. 5 minutes later, we step out. We're really really reeeeeally wet. Meet Daddy. Walking, dripping, why didn't I wear my bathing suit? I'm hungry. I'm firsty. Lunch time. I want to go on the Merry go round!!! Where is a table. WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER?? How much for chicken fingers??? We'll split one. Is that "God Bless America" in Carousel music? Lets go see the pirate while we wait! I WANT TO GO ON THE MERRY GO ROUND! French fries, mommy wants french fries, everyone is eating french fries, must have must have... OK, Daddy, will you take them on the merry go round? I sneak french fries. Kids back, a few bites of $6 chicken, off they run. Pack it up, throw it out. Off we go. Yelling, roller coasters, people, kids, babies, stroller traffic, teenaged couples, more tattoos, lets go on the train. Where do we park the stroller? Do you have T.? Look at the big turtles. Wow, honey, yeah, cool.... where is my camera? Mommy, here comes the train! Please keep your hands and feet inside the train at all times. C. doesn't like that idea. Wrestle wrestle wrestle - look there's a Giraffe! Wrestle wrestle wrestle - look there's a rhino! Wrestle, HUG, don't be scared of the tunnel, its ok C.! Train stops. Off we go, C. on shoulders, backpack on, T. holding hands with Daddy, on to the skyride. Another line. Waiting. More people. Weird T-shirts. Teenagers rolling their eyes. C. trying to climb over the wall. Singing "do your ears hang low" to keep kids happy. More teenagers roll their eyes. I fight urge to trip them. Onto skyride. C. clings to me but peeks out, T. in heaven. Peaceful. Quiet. I smell elephant poop. Off we go, back onto stroller, the show starts in 10 minutes! Race through more people, more tattoos, more families of 5 stretched across the walkways just not getTING OUT OF THE WAY!!!!! Excuse me! Thanks! Daddy takes C. off to the quiet monkey section with shade, waterfalls, where napping potential is high. I grab T. and run for the theater. Inside, dark, FREEZING! Clothes still wet. Sit down. MUSIC!!! LIGHTS!!! COLOR!!! Fun, beautiful, singing, puppets, animals, stories, escape. T. is enthralled. Out we walk with the crowds, moo, back into the heat, bright light, wheres Daddy? Text him. "W. R. U?" Text back. "C. slpng. w/ mnkees." Off we go. There they are. Daddy giving loud kids playing near sleeping C. dirty looks. C. wakes up, groggy, grumpy. Off we go. More animals. More smells. More discoveries. More children elbowing their way in to see. Giraffe, meerkats, lions, hyenas, hippos, fish, turtles, alligators, elephants, snakes. Daddy takes T. onto another ride. I keep C. occupied by walking walking walking. Stopping to watch a lemur. Walking walking walking. Stop to look at an alligator. Walking. Walking. Out runs T. Happy!! The water almost got us! I'm hungry. I'm firsty. Off to find pizza. Stroller is so very heavy now. Must. Push. It. Uphill. Where IS pizza? Are you kidding me? More tattoos. More people in the way. Stroller traffic. Roller coasters zooming by. C. and T. stunned, fascinated. Over-stimmed out of their minds. Still trying to push through. More strollers. People stopped reading maps in FRONT of us. Groan. EXCUSE ME! Thank you. Find pizza. Oh. And beer! Mmmmm. Sense of humor returns. Off to kid section. Oh, you've got to be kidding me with this really bad princess and dragon show. Kids laughing. Keep sipping that beer. C. runs for the stage, hold by shirt until show over, then C. charges Dragon. Hugs. Hi! Hugs. Patting dragons belly. C. in love. Off to play in kid section. Ferris wheels, carousels, flying dragons, boats, more rope playgrounds, yelling, laughing, climbing, jumping, rolling, discovering, wandering, for crying out loud - where is T.?? Look at watch. Late. Tired. Lets get out of here. All accounted for. I don't wanna go! I want more fun! Uh-huh. Push through the crowds. Push through the gates. Push past crowds for bus and walk back to parking lot. Push the stroller up hill and give bus going by dirty looks. Can't find car. Can't find the energy. Oh. There it is. Pop trunk, stroller in. Kids buckled in, glassy-eyed. Daddy drives. I look through pics on camera. Get home. Done. T. is 5 and I am too tired to think about it anymore.

And this morning at 6:30am, as I lay on the couch watching CNN, feeling sorry for myself since I am sore and still absolutely WIPED OUT from yesterday, T. says to me "I want to do something fun today". Great googlie mooglie.

The tigers were split into two large multi-level areas with plenty of excellent viewing.  Their exhibits are well laid out, with rocks, grass, waterfalls and pools for them to play in.  For the public, there are large viewing windows at various points, including one where you can see the tigers underwater as well as above land.  There is also a tiger lookout point where you can pop you head up into a domed area for very close up view.  Unfortunately, there was only one and it was up a ladder so a queue quickly formed and I felt that could have been better thought out.

I really enjoyed watching the tigers being fed scraps of meat and playing in their pool.  I took rather a lot of photographs... as usual!  I do love Busch Gardens and seeing the tigers this year was great - so much so, we visited twice this year.

The rest of my photo's from Jungala are on Flickr here.

Am Freitag unternahmen wir dann eine Trolley Tour, welches es ermöglicht an 19 verschiedenen Punkten der Stadt in einen Touristenbus einzusteigen und darin vom Busfahrer alle interessanten Fakten zu den Sights sowie Insiderfacts zu erfahren. Die Tour zog sich über mehrere Stunden, da wir hin und wieder ausgestiegen sind um die Sights genauer zu betrachten. Außerdem machten wir einen Abstecher zum Bostoner Fenway Park, welches die Heimstätte der Baseballmannschaft Red Sox darstellt. So, lernten wir an diesem Tag auch noch das restliche Boston kennen und konnten uns schon langsam Boston Insider nennen. Abendgegessen haben wir in einem "German Restaurant", wo Andy sich ein Schnitzel gönnte und ich mir eine Art Grillteller. Man muss allerdings sagen, dass es natürlich lange nicht so gut wie daheim schmeckt. Das abendliche Programm stellte sich dann aus dem neu im Kino erschienenen Indiana Jones 4 zusammen. Der Film war wirklich sehr unterhaltsam und überraschenderweise für ein Sequel und einen wesentlich älteren "Indy" sehr gut.

Samstags stand dann ein Ausflug in das an Boston angrenzende Cambridge auf dem Programm, um wohl die bekannteste Uni der Welt zu besichtigen. Bei wem es bis jetzt noch nicht geklingelt hat, es handelt sich dabei um Harvard. Dort schlossen wir uns einer kostenlosen unofficial Harvard Tour an, welche von Studenten auf der Basis von freiwilligen Spenden durchgeführt werden. Die wirklich humorvoll geführte Tour ging neben den Harvardbauten wie Unterrichtsräume, Studentenheime, Library etc. auch immer wieder auf die Rivalität zwischen der Uni und ihrer Heimatstadt ein, deren Highlight wohl eindeutig das Cambridge Fire House darstellt. Diese Feuerwehrzentrale wollte die Stadt Cambridge auf Harvardgrund bauen, dies lies die Eliteuniversität allerdings nur zu, sofern dieses aussieht wie ein Harvardgebäude, also in klassischem Rotziegel-Look sowie eine Kapelle auf dem Dach. So kostete die Stadt das Feuerwehrhaus wesentlich mehr als budgetiert. Die Stadt seinerseits revanchierte sich natürlich dafür u.a. beim Brand des Harvardgebäude, welches unmittelbar vis-a-vis des Feuerwehrgebäudes ist, wo die Feuerwehr erst viel später ausrückte oder bei den Genehmigungen zum Wachposten bei der Einfahrt auf das Harvardareals. Am Nachmittag unternahmen wir dann einen Ausflug zum John F. Kennedy Museum, welches auf sehr interaktive Weise, das Leben des 35.Präsidenten (und wohl einer der wichtigsten, Stichwort Kubakrise, Gleichberechtigung der Afro-Amerikaner, "Ich bin ein Berliner") der Vereinigten Staaten bis hin zu den Schüssen in Dallas zeichnet. Wirklich ein sehr gelungenes Museum, welches durch die interaktive Gestaltung wie Filme und Nachbildugen bspw. des weißen Haus oder der ersten Fernseh-Wahldebatte der beiden Kandidaten dem Besucher es sehr leicht macht in die damalige Zeit reinzuversetzen. Am Abend genossen wir dann noch in einem Restaurant in China Town ein entsprechendes Gericht und wollten dann das Nightlife in Boston unsicher machen. Allerdings mussten wir aufgrund unseres im Zimmer gelassenen Passes auf eine Sportbar umdisponieren und schauten uns so dort lediglich das Playoff-Spiel der Boston Celtics gegen die Detroit Pistons an.

Am Sonntag wäre dann eigentlich Whale Watching auf dem Programm gestanden. Wie das Leben allerdings so spielt, haben wir keine Karten mehr dafür bekommen. Ironischerweise waren wir die Tage zuvor täglich am Long Wharf (wo die Touren beginnen) und hätten diese gleich kaufen können. Demnach hieß es umdisponieren. Wir machten aus der Not eine Tugend und beschlossen die Anheuser-Busch Brauerei im nahegelegenen Merrimack, New Hampshire zu besichtigen. Die Brauerei, welches in Amerika u.a. die Marken Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch, Busch Light etc. herstellt ist neben dem Biergeschäft auch noch in weiteren Branchen aktiv. So produzieren sie auch unter anderem BBQ-Saucen und betreiben mehrere Theme Parks, wie bspw. Busch Gardens, den wir in Tampa besucht haben, aber auch Sea World in Orlando. Die Tour durch die Brauerei war kostenlos und ist für alle die in der Nähe sind zu empfehlen. Natürlich durfte anschließend der Besuch des Gift Shops nicht fehlen und so wurde wiederum ein bisschen geshopt. Somit war unsere Trip nach Boston auch schon wieder Geschichte und wir machten uns auf in Richtung Niagara Fälle bzw. auf einen Zwischenstopp auf halben Wege in der Hauptstadt New Yorks, Albany, um nicht die ganzen 7 Stunden Fahrt an einem Tag erledigen zu müssen.