Cedar Point. Again.

Hey gang.

I just got back from an overnight school field trip to Cedar Point.  Now, you guys remember me telling you before about my weak constitution and lack of love for all things rollercoaster, right?  Cedar Point, then, must be an interesting vacation destination for someone like me, as that's seriously all the place is known for.  The rollercoaster capital of the country.  Puke Central, USA.

(I totally saw a lady throw up all over herself, too, by the way - it was awesome.)

Alas, this is where my school has been taking their 8th graders every year for the last few decades (instead of, say, Mackinaw Island or what-have-you.)  I get seasick pretty easy (heh), and don't have the stomach for the big drops in rollercoasters and such, so I don't ride much on these field trips.  Instead, I bring a book, man a bench in the sun, and watch over my coworkers' things while they ride the rides and I get frickin' bronzed.

My coworkers prep their hair for a day in the sun.

This year's trip, like last year's, went off without a hitch (despite an apparent lack of marked elevators and stairs when we checked into our hotel, causing hundreds of 8th graders and all their luggage to bottle-neck in a small lobby, leading to all-out chaos and misery for all the hotel's patrons and staff.)  Again, like last year's post, I'm only uploading those pictures I took that don't have students in them ('cause FERPA) - don't want to get in any trouble here, gotta keep it professional.

So yeah.  Here's some pics from this year's end-of-the-year field trip to Cedar Point. . .

After a four-hour, early AM bus ride, we pulled into Cedar Point around 11am.

Mrs. Benkert - the math teacher on my team, and who annually organizes this field trip for the 8th grade - goes over rules and expectations with our bus.

Our charter bus (had to wait until it was vacated, as it'd be sort of illegal to upload a picture filled with other folks' kids.)

Bryant, Benkert and Priem - also known as my Work Wives.

Here's a picture of a bunch of rides I didn't go on.

We kicked off Day One with Priem and Benkert jumping on one of these elaborate Carnie rides, while I held their crap and took pictures.

This lady here, who was sitting on Priem's right, started puking all over herself the second the ride was over with.  The fact that I stopped recording video on my phone seconds before this happened will always be one of my life's biggest regrets.

The teacher squad decided to stop off on this classic later in the morning, mostly to humor me (as everyone now knows this is my favorite ride in the park.)

If all of Cedar Point looked like this, I'd be riding shit all day.

While some of our teacher group hopped on one of the scarier roller coasters, Ms. VanTiflin, Catlin, and Bryant and I resumed our benches and rocking chairs and continued to catch up on our reading and bronzing.

25% of the people in this picture didn't ride Valravn.  Care to wager a guess?

nnnnnnnNOPE.

Around 5pm, our group of teachers left the park to hit up a BBQ joint located on the neighboring marina (just like we did last year). . .

This place is pretty awesome.  I'm not huge on BBQ, but there's enough on the menu for my needs.

Wincent and I, waiting for a table to open up.

Wincent, Bryant, Priem, Benkert, VanTiflin, Catlin and Wasmer.

Without a doubt, the coolest Wet Floor sign I've ever seen.

I sent this picture to Kris, with no captions or anything, just to mess with her.  I always threaten to buy more of these horrible little things for the girls whenever I travel somewhere, and she always flies into a rage as the girls have dozens of them lying all over the house.

Leaving the park at the end of a long, sunny day of rides and park benches.

Heading to our hotel, which was a hell of a lot nicer than last year's.

I temporarily got lost trying to locate a stairwell that could take me up to the 3rd floor, where we were housing the boys.  With only one elevator working, and hundreds of sweaty and hyper 8th graders - and their luggage - clogging up the lobby, we were bottle-necked and there weren't any adults on the floors we were sending our kids.  In order to stave off chaos, we had to find an alternate way up to the floors, but the newly remodeled hotel hadn't put signs on any of their doors yet, so it took FOREVER to find the stairs.  By the time we did, there were dozens of 8th graders running amok all over the hotel.  It was total anarchy, but we were fortunately able to calm things down and get everyone into their rooms before people started calling the cops on us.

After we took attendance and settled kids into their designated rooms, we went down each floor and taped up each door to prevent students from leaving.  We male teachers decided it'd probably be a good idea to tape up the female teachers' room on the female floor, just to play it safe, but Benkert apparently didn't agree with us.

There were only three male teachers on this trip - just like last year - and so we all got shoved into one room.  I let the other two guys have the beds, and I took this Maxi Pad pull-out chair thing.  I've had better nights of sleep.

Once the students were all down for the count - and hired police officers were patrolling the hotel floors, keeping an eye out for ne'er-do-well teenagers - some of us teachers got to hang out on the beachfront and adult for awhile.

Day Two.  The forecast today was also awesome.

Head count and ticket distribution by our bus.

Like last year, we utilized the hotel's continental breakfast pavilion in order to feed our two hundred-some teenagers before they entered the park.  It's located right on the beach, which, unfortunately, borders Lake Erie.

Our group was able to access the rides an hour before the park opened to the public, and there was a side entrance directly behind the pavilion, so once students chowed down their breakfast they got to run right into the park and start hitting up rides.

We adults took our time and made sure to fill up on the free all-you-can-eat food (I was full until dinner.)

Entering Cedar Point's Frontierland (or whatever its equivalent is at Cedar Point.)

I know I've said it before, but this is my favorite area in Cedar Point.  I'm a sucker for all things Ole Timey.

Wouldn't be a Cedar Point trip without the Social Studies department posing in the stocks. . .

No thanks.

While me and some of the more cowardly teachers hung out on the benches and worked on our sun tans, Priem, Benkert and Wincent hit up more rides. . .

We sat on this platform in Frontierland for an hour or two, watching the same train pass by every 15 minutes, while folks rode rollercoasters.  I got pretty tan today.

One of the new terrors now available at Cedar Point. . .

After awhile of sitting on the platform, we decided to hit up the train ourselves, and rode it around the park two or three times.  Here we're passing my personal favorite, the Mine Ride.

Oh, you adulterous skeletons, you. . .

Making another pass at the platform.  Wincent only has one thing on his mind. . .

Some of the teachers wanted to eat at this all-you-can-eat buffet thing, but it cost $17, and I was still full from breakfast (some of these other adults sure can eat), so I just got a pop.

After lunch, I decided to test my mettle by going on a second ride:  the Iron Dragon.

It was about a half-hour wait, and this was relatively tame compared to some of the other rides my coworkers had been going on the last two days, but I think everyone wanted to see how I'd handle a ride that was a step (albeit, a small step) up from the Mine Ride. . .

It was pretty badass.  I think next year I'm going to try the next one up:  the Gatekeeper.

Like last year, some of us decided to take an old antique portrait together. . . always one of my favorite things to do at places like this.

The Work Wives and I went with a Charlie's Angels type thing this year.  I think we pulled it off rather well.

Bryant had been Jonesing for Dippin' Dots for the last two days, and every time she wanted to get some the vendors were having issues with their machines, or else they were sold out, etc.  Finally, towards the end of Day Two, she was able to get her hands on some.  Thank God.

And so, another year of Cedar Point is in the books.  Much better weather than last year, we got ourselves another antique portrait to hang up on our team bulletin board in the 8th grade building, and I was able to conquer another rollercoaster.  AND I got paid for doing it all.  Hooray for babysitting.

- Brian