Last Sunday Ric and I went to Sea World and I got to experience the park's newest attraction...a unique rollercoaster called MANTA.I wrote about the soon to open coaster, among other new attractions, earlier this year and now that it's open I've been hankerin' to ride it. But when I checked out the sample seat they have on display at the front of the entrance I thought I might not fit. Indeed, when we got on the ride, the restraint barely made it down into a locking position and sure enough the right side latch came loose just before we were about to take off. I started to freak out but luckily the head attendant saw that I was unrestrained on her computer monitor. I guess each seat has electronic sensors that can detect if the lock has disengaged. So luckily she was able to come to my rescue to push the restraint down tighter to ensure I was safe. It was a snug fit, but I was safely secured.
But I was still a bit freaked out and I started to imagine that my weight plus the outward pushing g-forces would unloosen the restraint in mid-ride and I would be flung mercilessly to my painful death. So I didn't really enjoy the "flying sensation" of the ride. I was too busy screaming. Of course Ric was loving my hysteria.
Later, after lunch and a few of the shows, we made our way to Kraken. Now here was a coaster I really loved. It's a bit higher and faster than Manta but I was familiar with it. I'd ridden it many times since its debut here at Sea World back during our theme park heyday year of 2000. So being familiar with it, I was less fearful. Plus, you sat in it like a normal ride. Straight up and facing forward...the way it should be.
But much to my chagrin, I found out that I couldn't even fit in the "big guy" seats anymore...the seats designed for "persons with chest dimensions greater than 52 inches". Oh brother. I watched other fat guys get on and off the ride the whole time while we waited in queue to see if I'd fit. No one else failed to fit. Except me.
So I had to exit the ride and just watched on the sidelines as Ric rode alone.
Perhaps it's appropriate this happened. It's yet another wake up call. Yet another moment of truth when I'm forced to face reality. If I've let myself go to the extent that I am presumably the fattest person in the theme park, rivaled, perhaps, only by Shamu himself, I think I have to do something about it.
At least I kept the promises made...
I specifically wanted to come to Sea World again and go the entire day without a drink. As if to somehow metaphorically turn back time, I wanted to revisit the park where, in some respects the whole sad drunken downward spiral got it's re-start. Those "innocent" sips of beer no doubt contributed to the rekindling of a dangerous and deadly flame. A flame that burned hotter and hotter each year since, and like all growing fires, threatened to destroy anything in its way.
But I digress. Suffice it to say I am proud of my newfound sobriety and my symbolic return to this park and remaining dry the whole time. Ironic for a park owned by one of the largest breweries in the world.
Now the challenges are to continue steadfast in my new lifestyle despite the ups and downs of day-in and day-out everyday life. That'll be the true test. After all, dealing unadulterated with real life issues is the scariest rollercoaster of all!
Here's a little video memory of our day: