Vacation Pics - Loch Ness Monster Rollercoaster

This summer we spent a couple of days in Williamsburg, Virginia. We visited the Busch Gardens theme parks, which are really nice. We went to Water Country, U.S.A. to cool down and then hit the roller coasters in the main park.

Busch Gardens is fairly old, but is well maintained and attractive. Unlike other parks, they don't have many 'branded' attractions. The different sections are designed around country themes, there's England, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy. We entered through England and the first roller coaster we hit was the Loch Ness Monster.

I was struck by how well the designers excited the theme. They created a faux society of Nessie enthusiasts and placed expedition materials around the entrance of the ride. Here's the sign for the expedition's main 'camp.' The society (I think it's meant to be an 18th century theme. It's very steampunky) is called the "Club of Underwater Phenomena Undiscovered, Ltd." Very cool.

This is the back of the research sub. I love the details. Someone had a lot of fun designing this.

This is one of the diving suits.

A map of the sightings.

There's even warning signs telling visitors to take cover if they hear the "Nessie" siren.

I guess Nessie likes her nibbles. I wonder what's in the "Loch Lure"? Maybe haggis?

The fake sponsors are awesome. I want to belong to the Scottish Society for Freshwater Phenomena.

More sponsors. "Royal Academy of Applied Scientific Study of Historical Nautical Rarities"? I wonder if Prince Harry is in charge of that? Sounds like it's right up his alley.

This sign gives visitors the history of the monster. I didn't know Nessie was first sighted in the 7th century. Wow, that's a long time ago.

The ride opened in 1978 and won an award in 2003. I'm not surprised about the award. The ride has aged very well.

I think this proves that good, thoughtful, design is timeless. I'm not sure the new 'branded' rides (Superman this, Harry Potter that) will endure. But the classic ones (I'm looking at you, Disney Haunted Mansion) will last for a long time.

Vacation Pics - Virginia Beach

Summer's almost over (at least for those of us who follow the school calendars) so it's a good time for a retrospective. Our fave vacation spot this year was definitely Virginia Beach. Great beaches with nice waves (we even saw a surfing competition), easy access, and great food (Abbey Road and Doughboys rock) all made for a great vacation. It's a great spot.

Link Fiesta

Sarah Mayberry on writing the ordinary heroine.

Ferris Bueller's Ferrari is up for auction. They expect it to fetch at least $100,000. Yes, I'm doing book research.

The luxury log cabin is now a thing. Isn't "luxury log cabin" an oxymoron?

A great remodel in the Virginia Piedmont. This post proves that ranch houses can look amazing. This kitchen is freaking fantastic.

My family came to visit for Fourth of July weekend. We ate at Jaleo, a Spanish restaurant in DC. Their white sangría is amazing. Here's the recipe. The recipe calls for brandy, but the server told us that the restaurant uses Licor 43, a Spanish liqueur made from orange blossoms, citrus and vanilla. I use Cointreau in my sangría, but I'm going to try out the Licor 43.

Link Fiesta

Hooked on Houses features a fabulous Victorian farmhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Cote de Texas looks at a Virginia-style home in Houston.

Matchbook Magazine has a great article about Dolores del Rio. They also have a modern take on her style. I love the Anthropologie retro bathing suit. A cheaper version is available here.

Speaking of Anthropologie, the Skikda Beach Tunic is to die for.

Since this post went off on a beach tangent, here's a bit of news. There's a Tumblr hashtag for pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch and his bird-theme bathing shorts. It's called #beachbatch.