foundation.

I now feel like I'm a bit more of a Pittsburgher, as I have now been to Kennywood. For those who may not be familiar, Kennywood is an amusement park that flaunts its "old-time charm," which basically means, "We know our rollercoasters aren't anything like those at Geauga Lake, King's Island, or (especially) Cedar Point, but we want you to come here and have fun anyway." And, in fact, I did enjoy myself.

It was the first in a series of "Fright Nights," meaning that the park was supposedly fraught with spookiness. The rides had extra amounts of fog and lights, and there were haunted houses, graveyards, and even a fort throughout the park. After driving to Ben's apartment for dinner, he, Debbie, Brian, and I drove out to Kennywood at around 8 or so...I don't think it would've been much fun to spend an entire day there, so I feel as if my quota is sufficiently met. Anyway, we arrived and rode on a few rides. Allow me to explain, for a moment, why "Old Fashioned Rides" aren't conducive to tall people or people who aren't sticks. The rides just don't have room. Ben and I shared a car and Brian and Debbie shared a car on most rides (except when we rode the 'Matterhorn' sort of ride and Debbie and I so greatly enjoyed watching Ben and Brian smoosh each other that we insisted they ride together both times). Ben and Brian are both at least 6'4. Neither Debbie nor I wears a size 2. So, basically, we got to be very close last night, whether or not we wanted to. Although, it was sort of amusing that Ben felt the need to duck down really low on the roller coasters, for fear that he would otherwise be decapitated!

Amidst the fun of the rides, we thought we should partake in some of the more festive segments of the park, so we made our way to "Fort Despair." (*Insert bone chilling music and spooky voices here*). Now, I am a fairly jumpy person--I am ticklish and sensitive to touch, but I don't scare all that easily. I do hate when people invade my personal space without being welcome to do so.

That being said, people were led into the "fort" in groups. The four of us were the last in a group of about 15 who were going through together. We were all in line until we realized you had to be single file to walk through the doorway. Somehow, I ended up being last. So, naturally, the "dead people" ganged up on me. I squealed a bit at the beginning, but got over it quickly. Until Ben, being the "wonderful" guy that he is, said something along the lines of, "Don't be scared, Kristen." At which point, all sorts of ghoulish creatures out on a Thriller Night descended upon me and began whispering my name and screaming my name and chanting my name. And a couple of them (not touching me, at least) got right up in my face and, though I wasn't scared, it still made my skin crawl. I don't know these people. Blech. Anyway, it all became much funnier when someone (clearly not a veteran ghoul) started saying, "I had a dog named Kristen...it died." Um...so? Here is an abridged list of the problems I have with that statement:

1. You're a ghost. You're dead too.
2. Dogs die. It's not scary, only sad.
3. It's not like you were talking about Kujo. And really, how many dogs do you know named Kristen?
4. You're 16 and clearly did not think through your responsibilities. Rather than doing a "ghostly" job, you did a "ghastly" job. (Haha...I amuse myself).

Anyway, we had some good laughs. The one part that freaked all of us out was at the end of the fort, however, when we entered a pitch black room that was lit only by a red strobe light that flashed only once every 2 or 3 seconds. I did grab onto Ben's sweater then.

In about 5 minutes, I'm going to drive down to Morgantown for the football game, but not until after we (my parents and I) tailgate with several of Dad's frat brothers. Apparently, Joe called Mom yesterday and told her that his goal was to get her drunk. Then it came up that I was going to be there, and he said, "Oh, well, she can't tailgate with us, huh?" And Mom said, "Joe, do you realize how old she is??" And he said, "Well...she's still 4 to me." Haha...As Mom said, he'll be in for a surprise today! It should be fun though.

Ok, bye. :0)