That time I went to the Zoo but the bears were missing....

So with a few hours in Massachusetts not dedicated to roller coasters, I had this plan to visit the Stone Zoo just a mile from where I grew up. All I really wanted to do was see the Bears.

So after flying into Boston from Orlando and taking the subway to Oak Grove my Mom picked me up and off to the Zoo we went! She had been telling me how all summer they hadn't had any real rain and stuff.... As soon as we got to the Stone Zoo... it started to pour. (Remind me again how it hadn't rained all year?) Well.. since we were already here... We ventured in, all I wanted to do was see the bears quickly anyways, and the bear viewing area is under a cover.. So yeah... uh... 

the Stone Zoo.. and stuff.

 And extremely wet and semi-deserted Stone Zoo

 I quickly made my way down the path to the Bears...

Where they were nowhere to be found. We hung around for 5 or 6 minutes waiting to see if they'd come back out now that the rain had stopped but, nothing. I made a quick lap around most of the rest of the Zoo before checking back at the bears (and my Mom, who was staying dry at the Bear enclosure)

 Surprisingly, an animal that tends to be a no-show when I'm here.. was very visible today, the Coyote.

 The Gila Monster staying near its heat lamp

(and warm rock)

 The Caribbean Flamingo didn't see to care about the rain

 Oh man!!

There were *two* Rock Hyrax in the Windows to the Wild exhibit being adorable.

 Aww, and a Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo

(Although slightly less cute than the one I saw with a teddy bear in ABQ!)

 Now replacing the Duck Pond

(sadly, but still.. yay?)

 I was pretty conflicted with this.. While I do enjoy me some Sandhill Crane... At the loss of the duck pond is hard to handle.

(can't they just... coexist?)

 The American Alligator is also new here, I think.

(it kinda amused me seeing two animals at the zoo back home that I have in my backyard at home)

 Mmmhm, Mr. Reindeer bringing the.. uh.. Rein.

 Clearly, from a Jeepers....

I wonder if they came from the one that was in Methuen

 Uh... also, this Hippo... thing... is pretty horrifying.

 Hmm.. and at some point they've replaced their kiddie train with a newer Zamp Rio Grande Train

 Oh, and some flowers.

:'(

Before leaving to get some super yummy Thai food (and get my glasses fixed) we checked on the bears for a fourth time... and still nothing. I was absolutely devastated.

BOOOOO :(

Osceola County Fair, for a few minutes

Osceola County Fair, my first visit although I'd passed it a few years ago. Didn't see what I was looking for and kept on my way.... This year would be the year I'd finally make the stop. Kinda odd having  just left the Florida State Fair not even 20 hours earlier!

Ok, lets do this..

Osceloa County Fair, woot. Doesn't have much going on for it..
but.........it has this.

The ONLY reason I'm here....

TOP SPIN!

(see how happy I am for once?)

having seen it SBNO 5 years ago or so.. And then having it be a 'No-Show' at the past say... 12 Strates fairs I've haunted... I tracked it down in Kissimmee. Damn. (but it was worth it for a well run Huss ride!!!)

From what I was able to find online it had really just come back on the road/rails last summer in Augusta, then it had a 'news worthy' incident at the New York State Fair... And it's made it way back to Florida.

So with that taken care of, it was time to stroll the midway, well, the part that still had power. It seemed like 4 or 5 rides were all powerless but were up and running later in the night.

 One of the two tracked dark rides at the fair, Ghettolovely.

Midway games and such...

 Musik Express was at the back end of the midway, we skipped it.
(had done it at the Seminole County Fair)

Hey look! Something Florida State Fair DIDN'T have for some reason this year.....

Zyklon was here, although was closed most of the night due to off and on rain.

Once it did open briefly, Jeff and I were on the second loaded car. Ha
Oh hey, and Strates new-ish Zamp Sky Flyer was here too, although rain ruined our chance of riding it, we had just ridden Reithoffer's last night

[RANT]Why have a wheel with 24 cars if you're only gonna load THREE per cycle, with at least 30 people waiting in line! Everyone was commenting on the horrible operations. Many even left the ride after 2 or 3 cycles of only moving up 10 feet in line[/RANT]
But the new-ish LED's look great on it...

Midway overview from the wheel, sadly EVERYTHING would close after we got off it.. Due to a massive rain storm that blew in. had we not waited 30 minutes for the wheel I may have gotten to ride the Zipper, Fireball, After Burner,  Sky Flyer, and the Top Spin a third time..... Oh well :(

PWNT

Yeah.....
 So that's about it... Even with the rain closing the fair way too early and not getting all my rides in.. I still got to ride a Top Spin run better than any other I've come across in the past 3 years or so. I miss when even my local Six Flags would run it well.. Now most parks run them with some craptastic one flip program and call it a "thrill ride", whatever.

 NOT AMUSED

Who knew Tampa was more than just Busch Gardens?

And that we'd get lost......

So Nick and I went to Busch Gardens after weeks of trying to plan a trip out there.. After being rained out of the park we decided it would be a good idea to try and find downtown Tampa... In the process of that we kinda ended up at an Air Force base, oops.... And then some random little pier/park thing, Ballast Point.

Yup

Ballast Point Park, thrilling.

 I'm sure......

Hey look, a pier. It seemed like a good idea to walk down to its end, during a thunder storm...

So a-walking we went.

And what did we find along the way??? well...

Fishing poles...

A bucket with blue crabs in it?

And some fish that got cut the fish up

"It's hauntingly beautiful"

d'oh! Its not even the Gulf :( just Hillsborough/Tampa Bay
(maybe next time....)
And with the storms rolling back in.. and me not wanting to get my camera anymore wet than it already was... we ran back to Nicks car. yay
Oh yeah, and Tampa is like.. a real city..

See?