Crazy Coasters and the Kirtland Temple

Cedar Point Amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio is the roller coaster capital of the world. There are 46 rides ranging on a thrill ride scale of 1 to 5. We went on10 of the 16 rides rated a 5, double black diamond - aggressive thrill. Well, I didn’t go on all of them, but most. There were hardly any rides that weren’t roller coasters. It was pretty amazing. The park is built on a jetty of land in Lake Erie, so the park is surrounded on three sides by water. It was really pretty and had beach and marina access from the park.

Here are the kids in the sky ride as we travel through the park.
Here are Caroline and Michael waiting to take off on the Top Thrill Dragster. This was the fastest and highest roller coaster in the world until a couple of years ago when a similar one was built in New Jersey that was 5 feet higher and traveled 1 mile per hour faster. Katie and I video taped and took pictures. This one goes from 0 to 120 mph in 3.8 seconds and travels straight up at a 90 degree angle. After you go over the top, you spiral 270 degrees on the way down.

This is them on top of the ride, 420 feet in the air.

Here are David and Nelson waiting their turn to go. They wanted to be in the front row also so they waited a little longer in the front row line.

After that ride, Michael’s shirt looks what the front bumper of your car usually looks like.

Katie on the Carousel. Giddyup!

On Thursday we arrived in Kirtland, Ohio. We got to tour through the Kirtland Temple. It was beautiful and very well preserved. I am glad we were able to take the kids here. I thought about the other modern temples we have been able to tour during open houses with the kids. What a blessing to be able to see so many temples at such a young age. The Kirtland Temple dedication was 8 hours long and you would’ve had a child or two on your lap the entire time. Things have sure changed. "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning" was written for this temple’s dedication. Then we went to the LDS visitor’s center and sites. Even though there was a special feeling in the Kirtland Temple, I thought the spirit in the other sites was so much stronger because of the truths that they were sharing as we went along. I am looking forward to our experience in Palmyra.

Here we are in front of the Whitney store. For those of you from our stake, President and Sister Buckwalter are serving at the visitor’s center and we got to talk to them for a few minutes. What a small world! We have been through Pennsylvania and are now in New York. Only 2 hours to go until our home for the next 16 days, Palmyra!