But I have not conquered it completely.
Fear of heights remained evident in my system.
When I was a little girl, I would love to visit my Aunt Delia. She is the youngest (and I’d say, the prettiest) among my mom’s half-siblings. She lives in my grandma’s old Spanish-style two-story house with a patio over-looking the entire neighborhood. However, having to climb the long wooden stairs always held me back from seeing her as often as I’d like to and although fresh air is inviting I would seldom go or stay on the patio. My knees would just terribly shake when I look down. I always feared I’d fall from the patio or even from the stairs.
I am embarrassed to admit it- my knees still shake whenever I look down from high places up to now. Nevertheless, I am willing to muster enough courage to overcome this trepidation as much as I can.
Both excited and curious, I agreed with hubby to go with some young people from church to Kings Island. I heard stories of thrill and terror on different ride experiences, but butterflies exist nowhere in my stomach on our way to Cincinnati, which is about 2 hours away from Lexington. I just wanted to get there and try as many rides as I can so I can blog as much as I can about it.
Fear of heights remained evident in my system.
When I was a little girl, I would love to visit my Aunt Delia. She is the youngest (and I’d say, the prettiest) among my mom’s half-siblings. She lives in my grandma’s old Spanish-style two-story house with a patio over-looking the entire neighborhood. However, having to climb the long wooden stairs always held me back from seeing her as often as I’d like to and although fresh air is inviting I would seldom go or stay on the patio. My knees would just terribly shake when I look down. I always feared I’d fall from the patio or even from the stairs.
I am embarrassed to admit it- my knees still shake whenever I look down from high places up to now. Nevertheless, I am willing to muster enough courage to overcome this trepidation as much as I can.
Both excited and curious, I agreed with hubby to go with some young people from church to Kings Island. I heard stories of thrill and terror on different ride experiences, but butterflies exist nowhere in my stomach on our way to Cincinnati, which is about 2 hours away from Lexington. I just wanted to get there and try as many rides as I can so I can blog as much as I can about it.
Hubby, I, Chelsea, Morgan, Rachel, Brittney, Keith & MelissaAs a head start for a very hot long day, we rode Adventure Express, a runaway train coaster. We got into tunnels with monster-like sounds but nothing scary. It ran at 35mph for approximately 2minutes. It wasn’t bad at all for a first timer like me. “Is that it?” I silently mumbled to myself at the end, expecting a rather intense ride than that.
We headed to The Racer, a wooden twin-tracked coaster. Its speed was 55mph, apparently faster than the previous with a few up and down twirls. I remember fearfully gripping hubby’s arm, praying so hard for Jesus to keep us safe. Hubby said I was all red after the ride while Keith noticed me become pale after a while. I was fine but that got me literally scared to death!
Melissa said she was closing her eyes the whole time when we rode The Racer and she will not be riding the Vortex, which is next on the our list. It runs faster than The Racer and runs on a smooth steel track. Aside from up and down twirls, it has a vertical loop. We waited for about 40minutes in line and hearing the screams of people riding it made me doubt for a moment to stay with Melissa or give it a try. I gave it a try and it scared me less- not sure if it’s because I closed my eyes the whole time or because it was not that bumpy as the wooden coasters.
Next is my favorite- the White Water Canyon. I got over with my trauma of the previous rides as we jumped into white water rafting. I found it really awesome and relaxing. It cooled my nerves and helped me regain my sanity which I thought I lost somewhere during our previous coaster rides. We got wet bumping through the rugged river but I just love it! I’d be happy to do that for the rest of the day.
We also tried The Wild Thornberrys™ River Adventure in we which we simply steered our boats and navigate through the splash filled journey. We got wet for the second time as a spraying elephant met us as at the end of the journey.
The Beast is the world’s oldest roller coaster. It lasted for 5minutes at 70mph. I had my eyes close-open alternatley for most part and still prayed fervently. As a souvenir for our first time in Kings Island, hubby bought a picture of us- my eyes closed while hubby was anxiously smiling.
More extreme rides were waiting for us after lunch break.
We hopped into Invertigo, a face to face inverted roller. I was facing Chelsea while hubby was facing Morgan. It ran at 55mph. I still closed my eyes at some point but not as much as I did before. Chelsea was a brave girl. I couldn’t tell how she felt all the while but she had her eyes opened the whole time and never screamed. Morgan had her eyes closed most of the time. I bet she was scared as I was. I never thought I’d try this one. I heard screams as we approached it and seeing how riders were brought to the top then released then inverted at some point made me feel like backing out.
I swear I felt okay after that. I chewed a Starburst while on our way to Flight deck. I started feeling uncomfortable before our turn but rode it anyway. We flew on tree tops which was supposedly fun but all I remember was feeling dizzy after that and wanting to throw up. They all agreed to ride it one more time since we don’t have to wait in line. I finally said no and decided to stay with Melissa.
We waited for them and they decided to try Son of Beast- the tallest, fastest wooden coaster at 78pmh. Just looking at it makes me dizzier so I refused again. I stayed with Melissa and Brittney hoping to relax a little. After sitting a few minutes under the heat of the sun, we decided to look for a shade.
We passed by several areas with good shades but they kept walking. Wondering what they’re up to but too tired to bring it up, I just followed them. To my surprise, we reached the Viking Fury, a swinging pirate ship. Oh no! I haven’t recovered from dizziness and here we are. I was too shy to let them know so we waited in line. I am fine with the ship going up but my knees shook so bad when it went down. I can’t tell you how happy I was when it’s finally over!
The three of us met with those that rode Son of Beast at Delirium entrance. They were ready for it, which looks to me like being rotated in a tornado. There’s no way I am trying it! I want to conserve my energy for our last ride so I just took pictures of them, who valiantly rode it.
Drop TowerStanding at 315 feet is the Drop Tower, the world’s tallest Gyro Drop. Riders will be transported to the top of the tower then dropped at 61 mph. This is what I’ve been looking forward to since we came in the morning. I wanted to know how it feels being at the top or how badly my knees will shake. At first, I kept looking down to see how far we are, but the farther we got, my knees started shaking- bad to worst. I looked straight while hubby looked up to see if we reached the top of the tower already. Realizing that we were already dropped, the lady sitting next to me kept mumbling “I won’t look down, I won’t look down” so I did the same thing. It happened really fast. The next thing I knew is we’re already down.
Keith decided that we go home but Rachel wanted us to try Firehawk by which riders lie down and fly at 51mph. I really felt like I was flying like Superman does and it felt so good. Hubby and Keith raised their hand while I and Chelsea held on to our seats. We were all glad we tried it. It was my favorite of all the coasters we’ve tried.
During the last two rides above, part of me was able to finally let go although part of me still held on to fear. I was still scared and worried that something might go wrong somewhere, somehow along the ride. My experience with Kings Island tells me a lot about myself- someone who worries too much who oftentimes miss the fun. But I am just proud of myself to have at least tried the different roller coasters.
Keith decided that we go home but Rachel wanted us to try Firehawk by which riders lie down and fly at 51mph. I really felt like I was flying like Superman does and it felt so good. Hubby and Keith raised their hand while I and Chelsea held on to our seats. We were all glad we tried it. It was my favorite of all the coasters we’ve tried.
During the last two rides above, part of me was able to finally let go although part of me still held on to fear. I was still scared and worried that something might go wrong somewhere, somehow along the ride. My experience with Kings Island tells me a lot about myself- someone who worries too much who oftentimes miss the fun. But I am just proud of myself to have at least tried the different roller coasters.
Morgan, Rachel, Melissa, Keith & IAt some point during that day, I told hubby that I will never do it again but after having enjoyed the last two rides for a bit, I made up my mind. I’m going back to Kings Island and am riding the roller coasters again!
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