Wow! Looking back at August means looking back at one of the site’s most eventful months all around. Not only with did we head out for a bunch of trips, but a couple of features and important moments helped round things out. Here is a recap of all the amazing things that happened in August 2021:
Interview with Mike of Canobie Coaster
For about a year now I have become a regular watcher of the YouTube channel, Canobie Coaster. His in-depth, honest takes on roller coasters, whether in a ride review, ranking, or general park overview, have always left me feeling like I learned something. While enjoying the channel’s videos, I ended up chatting with the channel’s owner, Mike, numerous times. From there, I gave him a follow on his Instagram (@Canobie_Coaster) and we’ve gotten to know a little more about each other.
A few months ago I reached out to Mike to see if he would be interested in taking part in an interview for We Were Inverted. I knew his attention to detail and passion for this hobby would make for an interesting read. Thankfully, Mike agreed. Like I anticipated, he supplied me with so much great info that I broke the interview into the two themed portions below. Be sure to give them a read if you haven’t already. Also be sure to follow Canobie Coaster and tell him you saw his interview on We Were Inverted. Believe me, he’s a great guy and very engaging with his fans.
- 08.05.2021 – Q&A: Canobie Coaster, Pt. 1 – The Enthusiast
- 08.13.2021 – Q&A: Canobie Coaster, Pt. 2 – The Creator
Small Parks Seeming to Shine
Back in the “CAG Report – July 2021,” I made mention that, “Fun Fore All – 100 Fore Greg,” had become the site’s most viewed blog. Well, in just a short amount of time, another small park’s blog, “Carolina Coasters, Pt. 2 – Funplex: Myrtle Beach,” now holds that distinction. It’s so crazy to think that trip reports about smaller parks like Fun Fore All and Funplex: Myrtle Beach are getting more views on the site than the ones based on larger parks featuring massive coaster collections. It’s not a bad thing, though. Just unexpected.
In all honesty, views across the board have been going up each and every month. I’d like to thank any of you who might be sharing the site, its blogs, and social media posts. Every little bit helps get the word out.
Greg Earns Admiral Rank at Carowinds
A huge congratulations to Greg who earned the site’s highest ranking of Admiral during our visit to Carowinds on August 11, 2021. You can read about that day in the trip report listing a few sections down from this one.
Over the last year, since meeting Greg, he has become one of my best friends. He’s so positive and loves going out on adventures anytime we can find time. I’m so glad Sam and I wandered into his place of employment and I happened to be wearing my Beast mask from Kings Island. It initiated our conversation and thus, our friendship. I can’t wait to ride some more coasters and visit new parks with you soon, Greg.
47 New Pins Leaves Me 6 Shy of 600
Like my coaster count of 394, my pin count of 594 leaves me just six shy of the next major milestone. Unlike my coaster count, however, my pin count is just a formality. During a recent trip to Canada’s Wonderland, I told Greg to pick up whatever coaster pins he could find for me. I didn’t care if some coasters had multiple variations – just get them all. So now I have 16 new pins coming my way. But… We’re not here to talk about those. Those will be featured in the CAG Report for September 2021.
The pins above are the 47 new pins I managed to add to my collection in August. A bunch of them came from trips to parks such as Carowinds and Dutch Wonderland. A large number were also pins grabbed by Greg at Cedar Point and by Steven of Thrill Maxx, from Silver Dollar City and Six Flags St. Louis (SFSL). Some were pick ups I secured online, especially the last nine in the animation above. Those are part of the Project X/Orion framed set from Kings Island.
Last, but certainly not least, are the pins from Theme Park Collection. The nine pins showing different Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) train styles were all from his most recent Kickstarter, which I covered in the blog, “Kickstarter – Fells’ Theme Park Collection, B&M Pin Set.” They came out so nice and are bigger than I expected. If you’re interested in picking up any of them, he is selling some extras on his Etsy store, Theme Park Collection.
Fun with Friends & Fun with Family
Man, I could go on forever about all the trips that took place last month. Oh wait, I already have! I wrote a dozen trip reports last month, five of which were a part of the Carolina Coasters mini-series. Check them out in the listing below.
All but one of these trip took place with fellow crew members, although the one I did solo, I did get to see Kaylee while she was working. The rest included Sam, Greg, Renee, and Kaylee, but we found ourselves with a lot of company. At Carowinds, Greg had three of his family members at the park with us. Sam and I visited Hersheypark with her mom. And finally, Sam, Kaylee, and I went out for a day at Six Flags America (SFA) with my niece. These outings were a nice change of pace and yet another reminder of you can have a great time at the park without it being all about the coasters.
- 08.01.2021 – Six Flags America – Wet Not Wild
- 08.03.2021 – Dutch Wonderland – Kids for a Day
- 08.09.2021 – Adventure Park USA – A Westbound Trip
- 08.09.2021 – Howard County Fair – A Non-Dueling Dragon
- 08.10.2021 – Carolina Coasters, Pt. 1 – Pavilion Park
- 08.10.2021 – Carolina Coasters, Pt. 2 – Funplex: Myrtle Beach
- 08.10.2021 – Carolina Coasters, Pt. 3 – Family Kingdom
- 08.11.2021 – Carolina Coasters, Pt. 4 – Carowinds: Day 1
- 08.12.2021 – Carolina Coasters, Pt. 5 – Carowinds: Day 2
- 08.16.2021 – Hersheypark – Carol’s National Coaster Day Celebration
- 08.19.2021 – Hersheypark – Coasters by Day, Baseball by Night
- 08.23.2021 – Six Flags America – Dalila’s Day
Plans for September
Over the course of September I don’t know exactly what will be coming your way or when. I do want to publish the next installment in the Influential Coasters of My Childhood series, which will talk about three Vekoma Boomerangs – Sea Serpent at Morey’s Piers, Tidal Wave at Trimper Rides, and Sidewinder at Hersheypark. I had been waiting on this installment until after I gave Sea Serpent a ride with its new trains. I figured that would be nice for the Modern Take follow up afterward.
Until today, Sam and I were also looking to visit Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, and Holiday World at the end of the month. The more we talked about it, however, things just looked better for us to wait until October. Sadly, Kentucky Kingdom will not be open in October, so we’ll be down to just the two parks. In hindsight though, this allows Greg to be able to come along with us. And if I can plan it, I’m trying to get five new credits before that trip so that Orion will be my 400th. I guess that means I’ll be hitting up some SBF Visa spinning coasters in New Jersey over the next month to get me to 399.
I’ll be sure to keep everyone informed of any new happenings here on the site and via all the site’s social media accounts found in the site’s footer. As always, I appreciate all of your support and can’t wait to share our travels with you moving forward.
