Mike
gave me a quick tour of his new house, and we prepared for the trip to LAX.
We traded cell phone numbers for the drive and Mike also brought a pair of Motorola
walkie-talkie like things since we were taking 2 cars (we had to return his
rental). On the ride over we saw some interesting freeway antics, including
LA Motorcycle cops lane-splitting at 75, an aluminum ladder laying across 2
lanes of the freeway, and a huge shredded tire in the center lane.
Having gotten to the airport so early, Mike and I drove around Marina Del Ray a bit. Eventually we were back at the airport and I caught my AmericaWest flight back to Philly.
Rode a bunch of new-for-2000 woodies, and not one of them made it onto the Top10 list. The Villain and the Legend came really close, but the Gerstlauer trains kept them out. If these rides had PTCs or (better yet) GCI Millenium Flyers, they would be Top10 in a heartbeat. As for The Boss and Son of Beast, I guess I'm just not a big fan of 150+ foot wooden coasters - too much roughness inherent in the design.
Steel-wise, Goliath is one hell of a ride, and Supermen of Ohio and California were very impressive, and Riddler's Revenge was a great, great stand-up. But Mamba was the one to beat for this trip. I could ride that thing all day, spending most of the time out of the seat on sustained airtime. I'm going to put it as my #2 steel, right behind Magnum.
Maybe in my next life I'll be a career driver. I love long-distance driving, you kind of get in a rhythm after a while where it feels wierd to stop. I especially like driving in the Western half of the country, where you can see for 20 miles in any direction and there's so little traffic to deal with. All I need is a comfortable seat, cruise control, some books-on-tape and the open road.
Not the worst vehicle for a 4,000 mile journey. Very comfy seat, helped by the adjustable lumbar support. Not really enough legroom to stretch the legs, but not too cramped. Very good steering feel, as was evidenced by lots of twisty roads around Yosemite. My biggest complaint was not enough engine power for hills at high altitude. Many times on I-70 in Colorado and Utah the cruise control would give up in 5th gear and I'd be forced to downshift to 4th or once even 3rd just to maintain speed. Averaged 31mpg over the entire trip.
A valuable addition to my camera inventory. Originally purchased for the upcoming baby as the "camera with me all the time" camera, works quite nice as a travelling camera. Easily able to smuggle it on every coaster, not quite a wide-enough angle of view to get great 1st drop shots (a 24mm lens is ideal, the Yashica has a 35mm).