See The USA In Your ... Mitsubishi?

Whew! That's quite a load off my mind - and I'm a lot less cranky than I was a couple of days ago. Studying for college finals is nervewracking to say the least - and definitely no picnic when you're 40! But I made it to the end of another semester, and only 7 more to go! Yay me!!

So, luckily, my wife and I have this time off to go to her best friend's wedding next week in Chicago. I've only been there once before, and I really enjoyed it. Mainly because I love eating - and Chicago has some of the tastiest food around. I'm not about to start any food wars here - that's not the point. I'm just acknowledging that Chicago has very tasty food. Let it go.

The original plan was to take the time after the wedding and go to visit some theme parks. My wife and I LOVE theme parks, so it's a good thing we live in Orlando, otherwise there'd be nothing to do.

We had planned to go to Kings Island in Mason, Ohio on Tuesday, and from there go to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and visit Dollywood.

Unfortunately, I am very spoiled, having grown up in Southern California and then moving to Orlando. Theme parks have always been open 365 days a year. And I understand the regional parks are only open seasonally - I am fully aware of that. What I wasn't prepared for was that the season ends around the 1st week of August. I fully expected it to be open through the end of the month.

Kings Island is the rarity: it remains open through the 3rd week in August. All of the other parks in the Midwestern and Southern regions all close after the first week in August, including - but certainly not limited to - Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta; Carowinds in South Carolina; Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia; and of course Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Looks like we'll rarely if ever get to see those parks, since the summer session for college ends the first week in August and gives us the next 3 weeks off - precisely when each of these regional parks shuts down for the season. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Not to be discouraged, my wife and I switched gears quickly and made the decision to visit Chattanooga instead of Pigeon Forge, electing to stay at a beautiful B&B Click Here For Details and visit some local scenery and here for this info.

We're so very excited to see something new and different. I'll keep you posted on the trip as it goes.