August… What a month for We Were Inverted! So many parks and so many improvements made to the site as a whole. A month ago I published the site’s first-ever CAG Report, going over the first full month online. Now, another month has gone by and some of the items I mentioned that were on the horizon for August have come to fruition. So it’s time once again to talk about what has been going on with We Were Inverted and what I’d like to do moving forward.
Design Improvements
When I launched this site back on June 29, 2020, I was happy with the site’s layout, but I wasn’t loving it. I had a week off from my job and I was pushing to get things finalized during my downtime. I knew once I went back to my six days a week schedule, I wouldn’t have the time to really dig in. I got things done in a basic manner and was glad to finally have something up and running. I knew, however, that eventually I was going to be touching things up.
These touch ups came sooner than I had anticipated. With resigning from my job at the end of July, which was not something I expected to do earlier a month earlier, I found myself with the time. More importantly, I also had a clear mind to spruce things up to my liking.
I took a few days and really went at things. I finished the overhaul on August 9, 2020, just in time to head out to Knoebels for my meeting with their Public Relations Director, Stacy Ososkie.
These Articles Ain't Loose!
How journalistic of me to use the word, “ain’t.” I do it with artistic merit though! Anyhow, the day after We Were Inverted’s redesign was finished, I was out to Knoebels for a day that had been months in the making. I had reached out to the park about doing a few articles focused upon the people who work at amusement parks and what their jobs entail. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, however, those plans were put on hold. Instead I talked with Ososkie about a few other topics for a different line up of articles. One of those has been published and the others are upcoming features that will be released slowly over time.
The interview went even better than I could have hoped. Ososkie went all out to get the information that I asked of her – even going as far as asking President of Knoebels, Dick Knoebel. Impressive! She gave me so much information and I felt so good about the day I spent at the park, I even wrote a couple of extra articles explaining how the day came to be and how the actual park visit went, as customary with all my park trips. You can find these blogs below:
- August 14, 2020: Getting Back to My Journalism Roots at Knoebels
- August 14, 2020: Knoebels – Reporting, Riding, Recording, & Relaxing
- August 21, 2020: Knoebels Grounds Flying Turns
So Many Parks Visited
In August, when I wasn’t redesigning the site or writing blogs, you could find me out at a park. I got in a few first visits to parks in 2020 this month, as well as a couple of repeat visits. Here’s a breakdown of this month’s park visits, along with the blogs I wrote recapping those days: (note, dates are blog dates, not park visit dates)
- August 14, 2020: Knoebels – Reporting, Riding, Recording, & Relaxing
- August 14, 2020: Six Flags America – Getting Greg Credits
- August 15, 2020: Summer of Sam – Camelback Mountain Adventures: Renee’s & Greg’s 1st Mountain Coaster
- August 17, 2020: Summer of Sam – Dorney Park: New Credits for 3 Crew Members
- August 21, 2020: Summer of Sam – Six Flags Great Adventure
- August 23, 2020: Hersheypark – Day Out with My Brother
- August 28, 2020: Dutch Wonderland – My 1 Hour Wait for Merlin’s Mayhem
- August 28, 2020: Hersheypark – Back So Soon for My 6th Visit
There are so many fond memories to be had in those eight blogs above. Things such as: Getting out with Greg for the first time. Heading out with Sam, Renee, and Greg for two destinations in one day. Visiting Hersheypark with my brother, Brian, for the first time since we were kids. Getting to ride on Merlin’s Mayhem, my newest credit, to finish the month.
I’m so glad I made the most out of my downtime here before I begin looking back into the job market. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything.
Wingmen Addition & Promotion
In August, the site saw it’s first new wingman added since the site launched at the end of June. Greg, who I wrote about meeting in last month’s CAG report, joined the site after going to Six Flags America (SFA), Camelback Mountain Adventures (CBMA), and Dorney Park all in the same week. We hit it off great and Renee and Sam both enjoyed hanging out with him. He totally deserves to be a wingman here and I can’t wait to attend some more parks with him.
Speaking of Sam, she moved up from the rank of Lieutenant (Rank 6) and joined Elaina, as the site’s two Commanders. Sam actually pulled ahead of Elaina by one rank point to finish out August, at 11 . She’s been getting those credits and going to new parks – five to be exact. Those parks include: CBMA, Dorney Park, Lakemont Park, Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv), and Wisp Resort.
Putting a Pin in the Pins Collection... Well, 235 Pins!
When We Were Inverted launched it did so without one section of the site – the Pin Collection. It was always my ambition to showcase my entire amusement park and roller coaster pin collection for all to see. I just didn’t have the time to photograph and upload all those pins during back when I was on vacation at the end of June when the site launched.
Now it is done. Finally…
As We Were Inverted chugged along these last couple of months, my pin collection continued to grow by the week. Between park visits and eBay purchases, it was time to get this portion of the site online. I already knew it was going to be a large undertaking to get the whole collection ready to be shown on the site, but that collection wasn’t getting any smaller. It was now or never.
My most recent additions came just days ago. They were purchases from Kings Island’s online store, including pins for Orion, Adventure Express, and some of the area surrounding Orion and Flight of Fear. Today I also had two pins from eBay arrive for Dueling Dragons. The two pins make a full dragon face, with one side being red and the other blue. I’ve been watching a few auctions for this pin set on eBay and finally found one that wasn’t too high price-wise. So technically, my pin collection is 237 pins, but these two didn’t make it onto the page before the month came to a close. They arrived as I was headed out for dinner and it’s been raining all day, so I’ll wait for it to clear up to shoot the photos outside like I did with the others.
Speaking of Pins...
Two of the 237 pins my collection come from London-based illustrator, Joseph Fells. I found out about Fells through a Kickstarter earlier this year. He was seeking pledges to turn some of his art into pins and he was successful in getting the designs for Carowinds’ Fury 325 and Kings Island’s Beast funded. Well, he’s back at it again with the second series of pins. I jumped on immediately to pledge for this next round of pins.
I won’t go into all the details again here, but read the recent blog, “Kickstarter – Fells’ Theme Park Collection, Series 2 Pins,” for all the details and how to help fund this project.
When I backed this project, I also reached out to Fells about the possibility of doing an interview for We Were Inverted. He expressed an interest, so I’m looking forward to making that happen soon. I’d love the chance to talk to him about his art, his love of coasters, and just find out who he is in general.
Introducing Myself to Another Artist
A couple of days ago I happened upon a post by one of my Facebook friends. He was looking for someone who could create wood cuts of sports team logos. A few people reached out, but there was one post that really caught my eye. Someone recommended Dave Taylor’s 3D Wood Art and I was immediately interested. Why you ask? Well, it’s because I have always wanted to commission a wood cut of either a roller coaster or amusement park logo. I just never knew ride or park I’d want, or who I could ask to tackle such a project.
Like a tattoo, I didn’t want to pick any coaster or park. I wanted this to be meaningful to me. Many ride logos are also just too intricate, or feature too many gradients for a simple wood cut to work. After scouring the internet for days on end many months ago, I kept coming back to a certain logo. That logo was the one above of Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s (BGW) Loch Ness Monster for its 40th anniversary.
I have been going to this park since I was just a child and even though it’s not as tall, fast, or as wild as the coasters being built today, Loch Ness is just iconic! I’ve been on it so many times, with both friends and my family members. It fit the bill! Luckily for me, the features simple colors too. So when I save Taylor’s art, I went and downloaded the logo, sent it to him, and asked if he thought it was something he might be able to create. He replied saying that he could and I was so excited!
We talked for a bit and I told him that I first wanted to make some alterations to the logo. I didn’t want to have the “Celebrating 40 Years” inside the center circle, nor the party blower by its mouth. He said that’s fine and to go ahead and do what I wanted to do to it and then send it over in the 24 inch x 24 inch sizing I was looking to have.
That next day I sent him over a PDF with the anniversary text replaced with the park’s former “The Old Country” logo. I wasn’t sure if it was too small for him to cut, but assured me it would be fine. We discussed the pricing and I paid him immediately. Now I’m just waiting patiently to see what he’s able to do. He has about 10 or 12 weeks worth of other projects ahead of mine, but that’s fine. I’ve waited this long and I’d rather him not rush it. He seems excited about this project too, so I’m sure he’s going to love working on it.
When I talked to him last, I asked him if he could take some photos of the project as it progressed so I could share it here on the site and on social media. He said that he will feature some progress shots on his own Instagram account, so if you’d like to see how it’s coming along once he’s able to start on it, give him a follow at @DaveTaylors3DWoodArt.
September is Upon Us
With August in the books and September making its way into our lives, I don’t know how many parks I will visit, but I’m sure there will be a couple scattered throughout. The season would typically be winding down for parks in this area moving into September, Some are still keeping to that schedule, but others seem to be keeping their gates open a little bit longer. I’m sure it’s an effort to try to recoup some of the money lost during this terrible year.
I will keep you informed of any potential trips that are on my radar. Right now, the only one I’ve even discussed doing is a potential BGW trip with Sam, Greg, and possibly Elaina. We would also meet Chris from Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS), along with his daughter, Carrie. Sam and I hung out with the both of them back in July at SFA. We all had a great time since it was right around the time parks began to open back up. It would be nice to meet up with them again, this time with Greg and Elaina along too. So if you’re planning on being at BGW, maybe we can meet up. Capacity is limited, but if you’re there…
You can be my wingman anytime! (Top Gun, 1986)
Patrick
