Ceder Point Vs. Hersheypark Endgame

That time of year again...the family vacation.  While we didn't bring along Aunt Edna, drag our dog on vacation or go to WalleyWorld, we did happen to make stops at two of the region's top amusement parks.  Cedar Point and Hersheypark. Time for the comparison blog!

When I first bought tickets for these two parks, I knew it would be a matter of which park was better.  C had gone to Hersheypark before.  I had gone to Cedar Point before, and G had a friend that seemed to "summer" on Lake Erie.  Would we kill the kids or would they kill each other?  Could we coax them onto roller coasters without yelling at them?  The questions were boundless, but the important one is the one that we're answering today - which one was better?

Time 5 riding Raptor

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio (they haven't changed that name Chevy Chase-style, yet?) was our first stop.  It was a Thursday and the weather was sunny-ish, humid and in the low 80's.  We saw that there might be thunderstorms later in the day, but the skies were clear when we got there...We got fast passes for this park so that we could maximize the ridership.  It was an extra $89 per person.

Hersheypark in Hershey, PA.  It was hazy, hot and humid.  It had to have been at least 90 degrees.  We did not get fast passes here because it was a staggering $135.00 per person for unlimited rides - plus the tickets.  I mean that's 3x more than the ticket to get in.  I could have paid $100 but 10 of the 13 rides would have been excluded.  That sounds like a much better deal, honestly. I guess I'm not going to Chocolatetown next year.

Now this is a biased question, really.  My undiagnosed high blood pressure was not suitable for the rides.  The warning placards told me so, at least.  So which one was better was my perception of the children's good times.

C:    I believe that he liked Hersheypark more.  He was familiar with the park having gone a couple of years ago.  He talked us into waiting in line for an hour for a milkshake at the store before the park.  Compare that to thunderstorm cloud burst that he had to endure while riding the train.  "I'm soooo wet!" he must have exclaimed at least 3 times on that ride. He did like Magnum XL-200 and Gemini - C and G went on those rides at

G: Definitely a Cedar Point guy.  He rode Raptor at least 5 times with his sister.  Enjoyed Magnum XL-200 and Gemini with his Brother.  Enjoyed all of the Cokes that he got at the fill up stations and the Crab Fries at Chickie & Pete's (Definitely not the best sports bar in America).  At Hersheypark, he seemed hot and seemed disgusted with the wait at Wildcat.  No Fast Track here. 

DLG:  She liked Ceder Point and Hersheypark equally, it seems.  She spent at least $60 playing the impossible to win rubber ball toss.  The girl manning the booth I think felt bad for her because every time she played, she gave DLG a stuffed animal.  Ellie thanks you.  She had a lot more luck at the next spot although she had to rely on C to get her the two things.  One of them was a multi colored unicorn that I was plotting to throw out as soon as we got home.  Cedar Point was close since she clearly liked the roller coaster.

Mom and Dad:  Who cares can we just get out of here and go to Dinner?

Verdict?  Cedar Point.

Even David Ortiz is a Victim of Our Times

Not David Ortiz too!

I was thinking this to myself when I heard the news that David Ortiz was shot in the back in his native Dominican Republic.  Big Papi shot?  It couldn't be happening to one of the most famous baseball players in modern baseball history.  He was just 43 years old for God's sake with a wife and two kids.

After a couple of days of reflection, it's apparent that Ortiz is just another victim of our times. 

Mass shootings and random acts of violence so numerous that I've lost count.  The United States was never a lone actor when it came to mass killing.  We just had more news outlets reporting it.

Social media profiles that are so ubiquitous that we can follow around our heroes on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook 24 hours a day.  I'm sure numerous people knew exactly where Ortiz was going to be at 9pm on Sunday night.  I'm sure the motive hunters didn't need any sort of tip off that Ortiz was going to be at the Dial Bar and Lounge with his buddies.  I mean the video seems to indicate that the shooter knew exactly where he was sitting! 

News outlets (from both sides of the aisle look for ratings) fomenting hatred, intolerance and bigotry to such a degree that people with just a touch of the "crazy" are getting more and more likely to find someone to hurt.  Kind of like The Running Man (And Arnold Schwarzenegger was the victim of his own assault just a couple of weeks ago...)

But he is just part of the violent news cycle that we look at with fascination.  People make money by getting clicks and people get clicks by being bombastic.  And that's assuming what we're reading is real and not a deep fake.  Things are moving on from the act itself and to the sordid motive that Ortiz was fooling around with a druglord's wife.  Soon it will move from that to the stories behind all of those who have been captured and why 7 men agreed to kill for $8000.  Soon we'll move on completely to the next story.

All I know is that this could have been a lot worse for Ortiz and us.  It just makes me think of his famous line after the Marathon bombing.  This is our f*cking Papi.

Volleyball is the Next AAU Sport

It seems that Southern Alliance Volleyball is the next AAU sport for the JMR household.  First it was AAU Baseball.  For the past 8 years, it seems that every Summer brings a new vacation hotspot.  Reading, Pennsylvania check.  Upstate New York (3 times) check.  Flemington New Jersey? Also check.

Then came basketball AAU.  That was a hoot, traveling to places like the Reggie Lewis Center to watch the kids play 15 minutes of basketball every weekend.  And the best part was when the two boys both played AAU baseball and basketball, which at the time were both Spring sports. 

And just as the boys were wrapping up their AAU experiences (in basketball at least), DLG started playing AAU basketball.  And the next year, she started playing AAU volleyball along with basketball.  This was driving me crazy.  And in the Spring no less - when the Red Sox and the Kentucky Derby are calling my name.

And finally, when DLG finally ended her AAU basketball career after a pretty bad concussion, volleyball was all that was left.  And DLG was excelling.  It's tough enough to be a 12 year old on a U14 team, but she was also going to be the starting setter for the team.  The field general.  A lot of responsibility will be heaped upon her shoulders.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  DLG's first tournament was going to be in Hartford CT.  Not the worst place to be if you know where you're going, but how about somewhere nicer?  Newport, RI?  New York City?  Boston (Don't worry, that's next weekend)? Nope, Hartford.  At least we get to stay in one of the nice suburbs, like the one I grew up in, right?  Nope Rocky Hill, which is just as lovely as you can imagine.  Let's put it this way.  Another hotel was adjacent to our hotel.  It was a a Motel Six or  a Super 8.  I would go for my walks in the morning and see the same guy sleeping in his car in that parking lot with drug paraphernalia next to his car window.  I was worried when I saw him slumped over each time.  But I realized he had parked in different spots so he was just living in his car. 

But all that disappeared when we got to the Convention Center. 

After constant negotiations over buying sweatpants, sweatshirts and water bottles, the matches finally started.  DLG's serves were dropping in.  And her sets and bumps were really good.  She was expected to block, save or kill the ball being the setter, bet every time she had an opportunity, she was playing well.  This was their first tournament of the year, so the expectations were pretty low.  And when we lost every match, there was reason to believe the low expectations.  But certain rotations looked pretty strong even though this was their first time playing together.  DLG played on this team last year, and I think this year's group looks a lot stronger than last years'.

Maybe it's the new setter?💁 

How Patiot-Hating is a Reflection of our Society

I grew up in Connecticut in the 1970's and 1980's.  Back then the Patriots were a sometimes-successful team, but seemed so far away from me.  The New York Giants were not very good, but had some fans around town.  But really the two most popular football teams were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys.  The Steel Curtain vs America's team.  I was on the Cowboys side growing up and a lot of my friends liked the Steelers.  Why?

Because these two teams played two of the most iconic Super Bowls ever.  I remember the dropped touchdown pass by Jackie Smith and Lynn Swann and John Stallworth doing Swann and Stallworth things.  They were the two coolest and best teams in the NFL.  I mean one of the teams was considered America's team for God's sake!  If you didn't love the hometown team, you loved one of these teams.  Eventually I outgrew this.  It all started with going to some Patriots games when they were REALLY bad.  Like Rod Rust bad.  That's all I needed to become the new Patriot's fan.

What got me thinking about this was seeing the ESPN graphic that demonstrated that outside of New England, not one state polled was rooting for the Patriots to win Super Bowl LIII.  Not one.  Even though the L.A. Rams barely have a fan base large enough to draw 25,000 fans to their games, all of a sudden, it seems as though everyone is rooting for the Rams to win over the hated Patriots.  I guess my wish that the Patriots became America's team is forever lost.

Music to haters' ears.

"Brady is too old and a cheater."

"Belichick is a cheater and is getting to old to understand modern offenses and defenses."

"The Patriots are in the Super Bowl too much, can we have someone else represent the AFC?"

"Josh McDaniels is piece of crap for screwing the Colts!"

"the Patriots are done...11-5 and they are going out in the second round!"

While none of these quotes are verbatim, I've heard most of these breathless themes over the last couple of years.  Why don't people like this winner like they liked the Cowboys and the Steelers?  Why do teams that have some success become vilified like it is evil incarnate.  I mean Spygate and Deflategate have both been proven wrong but are still brought up.

The answer is simple.

Because hate is so much easier than love in today's society.  Constant stress of work, traffic and school.  Weekends are spent traveling to the country to watch Soccer, Lacrosse and Basketball instead of relaxing.  24 hour news cycles like CNN and Fox fuel hatred to attract or keep viewers.  Hatred is a way to get eyeballs on the screen.  No one wants to watch the news if it is good news.  No one wants to watch grainy footage of a good deed; they want grainy footage of a fight.  Bad news?  Arguing?  Debates run amok?  Count these stressed out people and stations in. 

And pundits and influencers grab on to this.  They can become famous if they go to the extreme.  They can become well known if they have hot takes no one else has.  Newspaper reporters - a dying breed - will report on almost any sensationalistic news because it is what keeps readers.  And this usually usually means hate takes from people reporting on the reporters.  Max Kellerman has thought Brady should retire every year for the past 8 years.  His mindset is that one of these years he will be right!  Watch the NFL Network when they talk about the Patriots.  Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shannon Sharpe, they can't stand the Patriots' success, even though they have had success of their own.

Even the loathsome Boston-based Felger and Mazz, radio trolls if there ever was two has admitted that it is easy to get phone calls - simply bash the Patriots.

I'm afraid of what will happen when Brady eventually retires.  The hate will really come out then.

Until then, all I can say is that They Hate Us Because They Ain't Us.