carowinds!

this weekend andrew and i were invited to go to carowinds with my work. i was really excited because i LOVE roller coasters, but andrew was somewhat more reserved since he doesn't. i had, however, convinced him to ride at least one, just for me, and i was really excited about a fun weekend with him and my work friends. unfortunately, the night before we were supposed to leave, andrew got sick with a stomach thing, and i ended up having to go alone :-( i still had a good time, but i wish he'd been able to come too.

before leaving saturday, we had to be open at work for our usual saturday morning hours, however friday was crazy, and we ended up having surgeries that would have to happen before we left as well. i stayed late friday night to assist with a splenectomy/mass removal, i worked double-duty saturday morning running appointments and helping with another surgery, and then before we could leave that afternoon, we had a THIRD surgery. by the time we got on the road we were all a touch on the grumpy side and very very tired. though i had planned to ride with andrew, i was lucky enough to hitch a ride there with steph and sammy. the grumpiness faded away, and we revved up for a great weekend at the park!

that night, after figuring out the room fiasco (there were some issues with competency at the half-renovated hotel), we grabbed a bite for dinner and hiked over to the park. we stood in line for a long time for the nighthawk as our first ride:

then we made a dash for the afterburn, my personal favorite:

i didn't want to carry much around, so i don't have any pics from my own camera - sorry!

after our quick jaunt at the park, we headed back to the hotel for some pizza, beverages, and some stanky leg dance. i believe there is a picture i can find of this. good times.

we got up saturday morning and "enjoyed" (not so much) the continental breakfast and then headed to the park! it was awesome. we rode every ride there was (with the exception of the carolina cyclone because i've ridden it several times and it always gives me a major headache). we even rode the scooby do haunted mansion, where i got 900 pts shooting ghosts with my laser gun!

our crew: sammy, steph, me, hunter, rich (not pictured: kat and edie)

then we headed to the water park, where i lost $25 in the wave pool (stupid running short pockets), we went down some fun raft rides, and then we almost died on the screaming wombat tube slides. holy cow, i have never felt so terrified in my whole life. so i wouldn't say that the water park was a complete success, but if it hadn't been there i would have probably overheated before we left.

we spent the rest of the day on wooden coasters (no thank you, too jerky), getting icees, re-riding the fun coasters, and getting totally sunburned. i rode back with hunter and rich, and by the time i got home at 9:45, i was exhausted! but i had a great time - thanks to carefirst for letting me feel like a teenager again!