Rest and Relaxation

After graduating from Airborne School, Reed and his dad drove east to Macon, Georgia to visit the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.  Georgia is the home of James Brown, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Ray Stevens, Little Richard, Gladys Knight, Ronnie Milsap, Alan Jackson, Jessye Norman, and many other music artists.

  Jim poses in front of the one of the unique exhibits in the Hall of Fame.

On Saturday of the Labor Day weekend, Jim and Reed headed north to one of the largest amusement parks in the Southeast, Six Flags Over Georgia.

  The newest ride in the park is the Superman roller coaster.  Riders are seated in held in place by large metal shoulder harness.  At the beginning of the 90-second trip, the seats are tilted 90 degrees backward so riders now are face-down, looking at the ground, a la Superman.  The preferred posture, judging from the other riders, was sitting with arms extended overhead, again a la Superman.  Jim was, to put it mildly, scared spitless as the ride progressed through twists and turns at speeds that made the eyes water.  For a virtual ride on this coaster, check this out.

  Another attraction, the Daredevil Jump, is not for the faint of heart.  Naturally, Reed went for it.  He was fitted with a harness attached to a couple of cables, then slowly lifted skyward.

  Reed once was as high as the twin towers shown at left.  When given the signal, Reed pulled a release cord and dropped straight down for a couple of seconds.

  The cable grew taught and interrupted the free fall.  Reed said it was much like the jump out of an airplane but more exhilarating because he knew he didn't have to worry about the landing.

  Not having learned his lesson, Jim agreed to ride Acrophobia.  From the photo you can see how riders are strapped in.  Note the hydraulic arms behind the seats.  This is probably the shortest ride in any amusement park, at least once you get to the top of the 200-foot-high cylinder.

  At the top, those hydraulic arms push outward so you are seated at about 45 degrees, looking downward.  The mechanical doughnut then drops down so fast it takes your breath away, then catches and slowly descends the last 50 feet to the ground.  Jim swears he's had enough excitement to last a lifetime.

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