New Digs

It had to happen sooner or later: I bought a house. The reasons to buy were many (and growing), and the reasons to continue renting were few (and probably only imaginary anyway). So when Team P decided to head West to sunny Denver, CO, everything fell in line. They needed to find a buyer quickly, and I was familiar enough with the house to know that I would enjoy living there. Today at 1:30PM or so... after what seemed like an endless series of financial hassles, 41 signatures, and a few dozen phone calls... I have a place to call my own.

It's a small house on a large lot. Most of the 0.61 acres of land are in the fully-fenced back yard. I've never been a big fan of yardwork, so I doubt I'll be able to maintain the two gardens, the landscaping, and the fish pond as well as Mrs. P did. But maybe yardwork won't bug me as much when it is my own crib.

My new address is:

311 S. Sporting Hill Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050

Old School / New School... It's all good.

After a pleasant walk around Wildwood Lake yeserday, MBS had the great idea of going to Hershey Park. I wasn't expecting it to be all that much fun, because the last time I was there (in the late 1980's) it seemed a bit... tacky and cheap. But I have to admit: The park was a blast! The "old school" rides like the SooperDooperLooper and the Comet were even more fun than they were 20 years ago. And the "new school" rides like the Great Bear and Storm Runner? Oh my god! They were AMAZING. I think the Storm Runner is the best roller coaster I've ever been on. It starts by blasting you from 0 to 70mph in two seconds, then sends you straight up 180 feet... and straight back down. You can get a taste of it in this video, but a video can't do justice to the real thing.

It was nice to see that some of the old standards have held up over time. Even though we spent six hours at the park, there were two new coasters we didn't get to ride. I'll have to head back there in the spring to finish the other rides.

In other news: I bought a house. Closing is planned for this Wednesday. Check back for updates. The house is on 0.6 acres, a large part of which are in the fully-fenced back yard. It's the perfect house for, say, a dog :-).