Kings Island

On a whim, Jill and I decided to drive the three hours to Kings Island, which is having its Winterfest event. This ended up being our 29th amusement park this year! Excellent! We have season passes to the chain, so it only cost us gas and food. And it was another day away from her increasingly angry and abusive mother.

It was wonderful, though cold (around 30 F, 0 C). One coaster was open, Mystic Timbers. I only got one ride on it in 2017, so it was good to know it's still running well. We ended up with around five rides. In the photo is the park's centerpiece, the 300-foot Eiffel Tower replica.

We left around 11 p.m. We didn't want to get stuck in traffic leaving, and our drive was already three hours away.

In extras is Vortex, an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster that closed for good a few weeks ago. It was revolutionary when it opened in 1987. It had six inversions and was 148 feet (45m) tall. It had gotten pretty rough in its final decade, but it was still fun. Next year, the park is opening Orion, which will have a 300-foot (91 m) drop. It's not going in Vortex's place; that space ought to be good for something else in a few years.

Happy last day of the year!