Ticket To Ride...

First thing this morning, having woken up to sunshine, we checked the weather forecast. As it was looking sunny for the majority of the day, we rushed up and headed out.

We hadn't planned it like this, but the weather was too good, so we headed back to where we were yesterday. However this time it was Busch Gardens not Adventure Island. We arrived before the park opened but only had 5 minutes to wait. The national anthem played, the crowd cheered and the rope dropped at 10am.

Busch Gardens was part of our Tampa City Pass and one of our top destinations this holiday as it has a number of extreme coasters.

Mrs J and I have visited the park before but that was nearly 20 odd years ago.

Some of the rides are still there but there are some new ones. First up was...

Cheetah Hunt - it is awesome and takes.you from 0-60, from a standing start, 3 times in a very few seconds. Absolutely brilliant :)

The look on Mrs J's face on the first turn was apparently priceless. By that point she had no idea that she would be turned upside down... That didn't stop her riding it again, so must have been good.

The girls and I did all the major coasters - Kumba, Montu, Sheikra and Falcon's Fury. If you get a chance you can have a look at Google for videos of these rides. Our favorite was riding the front row of Sheikra, which pauses at the start, at a vertical drop.

Falcon's Fury takes you up the equivalent of 33 storeys, tilts you face down and the drops -a serious rush... The photo below was taken when we left the park.

Here's a few random photos from today.

Had dinner outside...

A cheetah being taken for a walk... As you do...

An elephant enjoying the sunshine...

A coaster silhouette...

All good things must come to an end and the good weather didn't quite last to the end of the day. With the park due to shut at 6, all rides were suspended at 5.30pm due to thunder and lightning. We waited to board our last ride - Cobra's Curse but the weather did for us. It is the newest attraction but each of the previous 3 visits it had broken down. Guess it's just wasn't meant to happen.

As the rain started and the sky turned black, we headed home.

On the way we stopped for tea at another first - Carrabas - an Italian restaurant. Great food...

Back home watching the Olympics. A great day...