Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017: A New Adventure Awaits

Back in 2014, just three years ago, my pals Rich and Eddie and I took our second ever Roller Coaster Road Trip, venturing out to Louisville, Kentucky, Nashville, Tennessee, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Richmond, Virginia.  It was our second such trip, and a great one at that, riding many great coasters at Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, King's Island, and Dollywood, as well as exploring Mammoth Cave National Park, all the sites in Nashville, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and more.

OSU

Our third trip will not include Eddie, sadly, but our pal Gary, one of the most intense roller coaster enthusiasts I know, will be joining Rich and I instead.  This time we're hitting King's Island again in Mason, Ohio, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Niagara Falls, and finishing up in the city of Toronto, including a day trip to Canada's Wonderland.  Cool, right?

Eater

As the clock ticks down towards our adventure, I'm getting more and more excited.  It'll be our first Roller Coaster Road Trip in three years!  I can't promise any regular posts during the trip, but I do hereby promise to get all the way to the end this time (On our last trip, I only covered up until the first part of Nashville.)  So stay tuned...

niagarafallslive

Friends

I know, I know, I promised way back in May that I was back again.  Well, of course I found myself without time and ever since I gained that time back at the end of the school year I haven't been inspired.  Well, I think maybe it's time I just delve back into writing.  I still have people complementing my writing, so well, maybe by just doing it I'll be inspired.

I'd like to talk about friends.  I've got a lot of people in my life who I call my friends, but are they really my friends?  I mean, that word is used so loosely.  Luckily for me, I do know what constitutes a true friend because I've got two of them in my life who, no matter what, are always there for me when I need them, good times or bad.  I've had a lot of negative experiences this year with 'friends,' and it's caused me to reevaluate how I deal with people in my life.

friend

noun

1. 1.

   a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.

Okay, so according to this definition of friends, I have a lot of them.  I do.  I'm a very social person.  I liken the difference between the two definitions, though, to loving someone and being in love with someone. Same term, two very different things.  The important thing to realize when you look at your friends is to know which type they are and treat the relationship as so.  That way you won't let any negative stuff get in your way.

Earlier in the year, I was completely cut off by a so called friend, someone I had known for a few years.  We'd shared many good times together and when it happened it was without explanation. That wasn't the first time this happened to me, but for a long time I was left wondering and now there's a person within my circle whose presence makes things uncomfortable.  I hate it, but you know what? He was never really a friend and so it's not my problem.

Then there are those so called friends who take and take and give nothing in return.  I've had several of those in my life as well.  One-sided friendships!  These types of friends are the toughest to deal with because it usually takes awhile to realize, and the best thing to do with them once you do realize is to keep yourself at a distance, eventually weening them away.  Sad, really!

I write this like I write a lot of my posts.  For one thing, it's something I live with everyday and so it's on my mind currently.  I learn for myself when I put it out there and so like I said, I need to reevaluate how I deal with people from here on out.  I certainly don't need to waste any precious time on those who aren't worth my time.  And maybe one of you out there can recognize these types of friends from your own life and realize that maybe you've been wasting your own time.  Life is way too short for that!  Simply open your eyes and evaluate whether or not certain people in your life are worthy of the term 'friend.'