Time for Six Flags

Yep, time for Six Flags again.  We picked a weekday, and it was excellent weather – not too hot, but still warm enough for the water rides, and it was perfect crowd wise – very light crowds!  We went along with Adam and his family and had a great time.

We got there a few mins before they opened to rush over to Superman (the new coaster this year) because the crowds just get longer on this one. 

Standing in line, we were looking at what we were in for.

 

 

 

 

The first time we rode it was a little nerve racking since there are no shoulder harnesses – only a lap bar and a restraint around your shins.  We didn’t know what to expect and created a few screams from us.  It’s a very different experience and one that we had to repeat.  So we did. Our verdict? Two thumbs up!

 

The kids always love this “kiddie” ride that lets them spin the car as fast as they want. They have contests to see who can spin the fastest.  Hannah says that she has to put her head down so it doesn’t snap her neck back sometimes cuz it’s spinning so fast.  This time, they got off and were a little queezy and wondered why.  Really? You have to wonder why?

 

 

 

 

Of course the obligatory ride on Hammer Head is a must….

 

And everyone loves the Thrilla Gorilla!

 

 

And a surprise!  Two actually!  1)Voodoo was actually running today and even more of a surprise 2)Voodoo actually gave you a ride this time!  It appeared as they FINALLY got new software that actually made the car spin around more than once!  I mentioned this to the ride operator and she also confirmed that they changed the ride software this year.  I don’t think this ride has ever made it on our blog it’s been so lame all these years. It’s never been blog worthy except for this year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you spot Hannah and Jacob? Hint: They are not sitting next to each other

 

 

 

Boomerang was ridden….

 

As was Kong for the first time in several years. Usually that’s all we can take of this ride. It’s highly rated as one of the worst dangling coasters ever built it’s extremely rough and you WILL have a headache after riding it.  (And right next to it is one of the smoothest coasters ever – Medussa) I heard that Kong  got new seats and restraints this year, so we gave it try to see.

 

 

Nope. We’re good for another few years on this ride.

 

Gold Rush Days

 

Labor Day Weekend in Sacramento means one thing – Gold Rush Days in Old Sac. They cover up the normal cobblestone streets with dirt, have docents all dressed up, and have shoot out shows in the middle of the street.  It’s been a few years since we’ve gone, and the weather wasn’t too hot so we decided to go early in the day to beat the crowds and we went on Saturday, not actual Labor Day.

We parked in our secret (shhhh don’t tell anyone) FREE parking area that we found during the St Patty’s day parade and have parked there ever since when we go to Old Sac. It’s closer than even the $8 an hour parking!  It does require a 6.4 minute walk to Old Sac, crossing the Tower Bridge.  In all the years and times we’ve been to Old Sac, we’ve never seen the bridge go up.  As we were parking, Jacob said, “I wonder if the bridge ever goes up. We’ve never seen it working.”

As we started across the bridge, we looked down the river and saw the train bridge had opened and was letting a boat through, and the boat was heading our way.

 

 

 

Just then  we heard the loudest horn you’ve ever heard. It came from the top of the bridge we were crossing!  Then lights and bells on the bridge started to go off and gates closed across the bridge, closing it to traffic.  We proceeded walking past all the signs that say “GET BEYOND THIS GATE YOU HEAR THE WARNING BELLS” so we hurried to get beyond the gate.

Shortly after that, a gate closed blocking walking traffic as well.

Right next to us on the road, these HUGE steel pillars came up from the ground, just in case a car blew past the crossing arm. These would sure stop you!

 

And then the middle of the bridge started to rise!

 

 

 

 

When it was up all the way, the boat sailed calmly through, and then the bridge came back down again. 

 

We were so lucky to be there just at the right time!  It was very cool to watch it and be right there.

 

We then walked around Old Sac and watched some shoot-out old west shows, and heard an extremely loud cannon be shot that made our ears ring for about 15 minutes after it went off. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the car, we found this very disguised geocache hidden in a hollowed out branch. Hannah was the one to find it, and she wanted to make sure I wrote down that it was the first cache she found by herself in “about 5 years” she said. She was very proud!

 

All Aboard!

We found out that the Steam Trains at a local park were free one Saturday afternoon, and it had been probably 2-3 years that we went, so it was time.  The train are 1/8 scale of the real thing, and the track is about 2 miles long winding around, through and over the park.  It’s a fun little ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went on a hike at the Maidu Indian place where we found some geocaches, and walked along the river skipping rocks.

 

 

 

In A Van…..Down By The River…….

 

So we’ve lived here now for almost 8 years and we’ve never floated down the American River.  Groupon made it time to try.

We picked a good day, upwards of 105 degrees, and we got to the river raft place as instructed before 11. It was CROWDED!  It was like opening day of a new Apple Store or something!  We couldn’t believe how crowded it was!  It almost made us think about opening another river raft rental place on the river to provide some competition…..Almost……

Anyhow, after snaking through the huge line, in the sun, we finally made our way to the front and got our raft.  The put-in location was packed with large groups, some renting 4 and 5 of the 12 person rafts, then they would tie the rafts all together, and the 40-50 people had coolers, water squirters, umbrellas, they came prepared. One group even had a fire hose to squirt water, complete with a gas powered generator to shoot the water! It was amazing!

We were lucky as we put in the river quick, and got inbetween all the big groups, so we didn’t have too much company during our 3 hour float down the 3-4 miles of the river.  It’s not white water, it’s smooth and slow going, but perfect for just watching, swimming, relaxing and floating by the mansions looking at the expertly manicured backyards.

It was fun.  We would recommend not waiting 8 years to do it. Do it sooner!