30 July 2007

What a Wonder!



I confess. Though I've written about the Wonder Wheel many times, until last Sunday I had never ridden on it. This is primarily due to logistics (not that I'm making excuses). I usually come to Coney with my kid, who is still too young to ride the Wheel. I can't very well tell him to wait on the ground while I take a ride, so I've had to bypass it for a few years.

Well, this past weekend, I convinced the Wife (not an amusement park lover, per se) and a friend to come to Coney, and thus I was afforded an opportunity to part with five bucks and partake of the landmark. My friend and I boarded the above blue car, passing by the hardbitten, seen-it-all carnies who man the thing. I have to admit, I didn't expect the Wheel to hit the heights it does. I felt a bit dizzy looking down, but I was grateful for the all-encompassing view of Coney, as well as bird's eye view of what Thor has wrought.

Moves rather slowly, this creation. But the periodic slides down the metal tracks leading to the center of the circle were stomach-churning enough. I'd ride it again, but maybe in one of the stationary cars.

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