This month’s CAG Report was shaping up to be the shortest in the site’s history. One park visited and some pins gathered. That’s it, done and moving on. It wasn’t until the final weekend of September that things began to move on several fronts including: We Were Inverted’s YouTube channel, visiting several small parks, and planning out an amazing trip for October. What was looking to be one of my most unproductive months in the site’s existence, ends with me feeling super creative and moving forward on several fronts like an Intamin Accelerator. Perhaps I just needed some downtime (pun intended)? How appropriate with the Intamin reference, huh?
A Little Love on YouTube
Since this site’s inception I have wanted to do more with its YouTube channel. Since it launched, I’ve published a few POV videos of coasters such as Phoenix and Twister at Knoebels, along with a few mountain coasters. There have been a few vlogs, most notably, “Chasing the Storm (Runner),” and “Skyrush – Mission 32 in 9.” The thing is, however, up until this point, they mostly featured cookie cutter black screen and logo intros that I was never really proud of. Well, that’s now changed.
Taking what little knowledge I have of Adobe Premiere Pro, and subscribing to a royalty free music site, I have produced a much needed intro showcasing what you will find on the channel and this site. It is featured in all four of the videos above and showcases coasters from numerous parks, including personal favorites such as Skyrush and Twisted Timbers.
Within days of creating the two POV videos from Adventure Park USA, I already began to feel more comfortable with Premiere and some of the ins and outs of YouTube. The upcoming Quest for 399 series vlogs will feature outros as well to tease other vlogs in the series. The more I create the more I learn. I hope you get a chance to check these videos out and as they say, leave a like, comment, and subscribe!
The Quest for 399
Speaking of those Quest for 399 vlogs, on September 25, 2021, I was sitting at 394 credits. With plans to visit Kings Island with Sam and Kaylee in mid-October, I wanted to make Orion number 400. In order to do so, however, I’d need to nab a five credits before heading to Ohio.
My solution was to visit three Jersey beach parks including Keansburg Amusement Park (2 credits), Jenkinson’s Boardwalk (2 credits), and Fantasy Island (1 credit). On top of the five credits between the three parks, all would be first-time visits for me, so I was looking forward to experiencing new parks as well.
With that being said, I know the best laid plans don’t always work out. If any coasters were closed during my visit, I had iPlay America (1 credit), Casino Pier (1 credit), and Steel Pier (1 credit) on standby as a back up plan. As you can see by the blog listing below, I ended up stopping at all six, so that should tell you that things didn’t quite go according to plan.
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 1 – Keansburg Amusement Park
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 2 – iPlay America
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 3 – Jenkinson’s Boardwalk
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 4 – Casino Pier
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 5 – Fantasy Island
- 09.25.2021 – Quest for 399, Pt. 6 – Steel Pier
600 Pins Surpassed
At the end of August I was left just six pins shy of 600 for my collection. Well, thanks to Greg, 600 was not only reached, but easily surpassed. Earlier this month Greg made his first-ever trip to Canada’s Wonderland. He had an amazing time. Hopefully Sam and I can join him for a return trip in the future. The park has always been on my bucket list, so I really need to go get that passport!
Back to the pins. I had asked Greg to grab me one of every coaster pin he could find, even if it was the same coaster with a different design. He did just that, finding 14 total coaster pins and 2 general park pins. I’m so happy to add them to my collection, especially the Behemoth pin that isn’t Behemoth. Greg noticed it and he’s right. It features XCelerator from Knott’s Berry Farm. That one ranks right up there with my Apollo’s Chariot dog tag pin from Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW). That one show Apollo’s with inversions.
I don’t understand how either of these were approved for production. Reminds me of when one of the owners I formerly worked for would approve third party ad designs instead of passing them to me – the advertising & social media manager. That resulted in some horrible ad designs and errors from time to time. Guess it happens in much larger companies as well.
A Few Rides with Friends From Philly
Heading into the September, Chance, the Cheapthusiast, had asked me if I would be interested in heading to Hersheypark. He picked the weekend of September 11-12 and finally narrowed the visit down to the 11th. Sadly, I already had plans that day and didn’t think I’d be able to make it.
Long story short, on the 11th those plans got altered and I ended up being open much sooner than expected. That allowed me to run up and meet him, Aaron, and Mike around 3 p.m. And although the three of them had to leave the park around 6 p.m., it still allowed us to catch some rides together on Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, and Lightning Racer. Read more about that day below:
- 09.11.2021 – Hersheypark – Catching Up For a Few Hours of Fun
October is Shaping Up to be Fun
As you saw in the Quest for 399 portion of this CAG Report, I will be headed to Kings Island with Sam and Kaylee in mid-October. What I failed to mention is that we are going to Kings Island on back to back days and then heading to Holiday World. There are also two Scene75 locations along our GPS route featuring SBF Visa spinning coasters. Fun times to be had.
As always, each one of our stops will be featured in trip reports once we return. I should also have some video going up onto the YouTube channel. I’m not sure what exactly that will be, but expect at least some off-ride footage, some vlogs, or perhaps a 400 credit celebration for me and a 100 credit celebration for Kaylee. Those two milestones will be happening during the same trip, if not on the same day, or possibly if timed correctly, the same coaster. I can’t wait to share all of it with you.
