Charlestown, West Virginia

CharlesTown, July 17

Part of our new and revamped vacation plans for 2010 calls for making short, drivable vacation trips. Charles Town, at only 45 minutes away, would certainly fit the bill. It is the site of the Hollywood Casino, and of course, horse races.

We arrived at the Hollywood Casino around 8pm. Being a weekend, we expected a lot of people to be there. For now, this is one of the closest places that Marylander's can go to gamble. While this was my first time to visit, (not really being a gambler) we did have companions who used to be regulars and they noticed huge improvements in the facilities. For one thing, there is now a hotel near by, a parking garage, card games and roulettes. My wife and I spent about an hour going around trying the different slots, playing mostly the $0.05 slots while occasionally becoming adventurous and trying the $0.25. After that we had dinner at the food court. The price wasn't too bad, and they had plenty of coffee and red bull to go around. But as was to be expected, we all left empty handed around 10pm.

We already know that a casino isn't a kid (younger than 18yrs) friendly place to go. Luckily, there was an alternative for them while the adults spent time losing their hard earned cash...Harper's Ferry.

Harper's Ferry:

Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859, and its role in the American Civil War. Kids who visit like to claim that his ghost still lingers around. Rumor says that a while back, people spotted a man walking around the town, this man looked exactly like John Brown, and wore colonial clothing. The spectators saw "John Brown" talk to some of the people, and ever since then, people have liked to believe that his ghost still takes refuge there. Hearing these stories, we were really excited to think that we might have the chance to actually see a real ghost. When we got there, my friend, her dad, my cousin, and I all saw the old buildings that the town had. Most of them were made between the 1830's and the 1840's. We walked and saw the old stores, old signs, and old bridges above the lake behind the town. When we got to an old train station, we decided to take some pictures. We pretended to wait for a late train, took pictures to make ourselves look like ghosts and murderers, and lay down on the tracks and prayed to make it look like we were about to get run over by an oncoming train. We chased after small frogs and some geese with our camera. But as quickly as we got there, we soon had to go. Our parents were going to finish at the casino soon, and it was getting dark fast. Although we never got to see the ghost of John Brown, we had fun at Harper's Ferry.

Kings Dominion

Kings Dominion, June26, 2010

Our vacation this summer looks almost nothing what we had planned a year ago. We were going to go to stay a week at Williamsburg, Virginia which would make Virginia Beach, Busch Garden and other Parks within easy driving distance. Changes in the kids schedules among others makes it necessary for us to look for destinations within an hour (or two) driving distance from home.  Looks like we are going to be spending a few hours at Kings Dominion instead. 

Kings Dominion is not one of those places that elicit excitement out of me. Not because I wouldn't want to take on rides like the Dominator, Intimidator and the likes, but I worry about dizzying headaches, backaches, lost eye glasses and whether I could actually survive such rides. I am sure I would have felt the same if we went to Bush Garden instead. Maybe I should consider seeing my Doctor for a physical exam the next time. My kids are a different matter. So after a very early breakfast (no more food or drinks after), we were off.

First on the menu was the Dominator. It looked intimidating enough to me until I saw the Intimidator. Lines weren't too long the ride itself was pretty short.

Second on the menu was Volcano, The Blast Coaster! Instead of riding down from a dizzying height like the Dominator, you basically get shot out the summit of an artificial volcano. The lines were terribly long, almost two hours, and the heat / humidity was almost unbearable.  Because of the long lines my kids decided never to ride that one again...well, maybe until the next visit.


Third on the menu, the Avalanche, ore like a bobsled but good for those who can't take the twist and turns of a regular coaster. This would definitely have been perfect for me.

Last, the wave pool. I guess they found that one refreshing but by the end of it all they were tired. It is time for us to have dinner, then head on back home.

In case anybody was wondering what the adults have been doing all this time? We waited, cooled down and spent our time at Starbucks.