Six Flags America 2009

Six Flags America | Photos | Videos

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September 6, 2009
Washington D.C.

For 2009 I had gotten a Six Flags season pass, and since I already had a trip planned up north for Labor Day weekend, I decided to take a side trip to Six Flags America. In fact, 2009 was the first year I can ever remember that I went on a coaster trip both Memorial Day weekend to start the summer off, and Labor Day weekend to end the summer. After waking up Sunday morning and having breakfast with friends I headed east to the D.C. metro area. I hadn’t been to Six Flags America since 2007, but since nothing new had been added I had no real plans for how I wanted to hit the park, other than to ride the rides I liked and skip the rides I didn’t while hoping that it wouldn’t be busy all day.

After a little over 2 hours of driving time I finally arrived at the front gate. It took a while to find a parking spot and I ended up in a far away lot I didn’t even know existed. The park looked packed, and people were heading to the front gate in droves. This was not what I wanted to see at all. The ticket booths had long lines, but thankfully all I had to do was present my season pass at the front turnstiles, show my wallet, keys, phone, and camera to security, and head in. I grabbed a park map and headed back to the back of the park.

I snapped pictures all along the way, and there were people everywhere. Once I got into the Gotham City area of the park, which was by far the worst of the themed Gotham Cities I’d seen due to lack of themeing, I noticed that Joker’s Jinx had a very small line. This was great, so I headed there first.

Six Flags America 2007

Six Flags America | Photos | Videos

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August 10, 2007
Washington, D. C.

I left for this trip on Thursday, leaving directly from work just after noon so that I could arrive at my first stop in Moorefield by the early evening. When I arrived at Petersburg I stopped by Rite Aid for some razor blades, and then I headed to my sister Jacqui’s house, where my brother would be as well. It was dinner time, but I’d eaten on the way up, which still didn’t stop me from having a bowl of rice as I sat and talked with the family over dinner.

Kelly and I left and went back to his apartment in Moorefield and then stayed up to watch Conan. I had a feeling I wouldn’t get much sleep, and I didn’t. But I was up and ready to go by 6:15 AM., at which time I left Kelly’s apartment and headed to town for gas. After filling up, I started towards D.C., which was a shorter ride than I had planned for. Not much in the way of traffic, and I stopped in Virginia for breakfast at McDonalds. I actually liked the drive to D.C.

I went around the southern part of the Beltway and called Matt about 10 miles from Six Flags America. I told him I was going to make a quick bathroom stop, and about 2 blocks away from Six Flags, I stopped at Target and picked up some disposable cameras, since I didn’t have a digital camera on this trip. Two exits up I spotted Matt and Bill at the entrance to Six Flags America, as the bus had dropped them right off at the front gate entrance road to the park, so I stopped on the side of the entrance road and they hopped in.

Washington, D.C. 2003

The Smithsonian | Holocaust Museum | Photos | Videos

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January 16, 2003
Washington D.C.

My friend Jon and I decided to take a mini-vacation in January to D.C. to go to the Holocaust Museum and to tour the National Mall. The trip started on Wed. evening as Jon and I traveled to Charles Town, WV where Jon’s brother, R.W. lives. This was where we were going to stay for the weekend. We arrived at his house in the late evening and went to bed so that we would be rested well for the next day.

We awoke early the next morning and accompanied R.W. to his job at Dulles International Airport. After a brief tour of his office and surroundings, and getting directions, we headed for Vienna, Va. where we were to board the D.C. Metro Line. Vienna is the end of the line, and since I love riding the Metro, I knew I’d enjoy our 30 minute trip into the city.

The train starts out above ground, and then submerges underneath the city limits. After arriving at our station, we headed up to the street. I got harassed by some homeless guy, and then we went to our first (and only planned) stop, the National Holocaust Museum.

Six Flags America 2001

Six Flags America | Photos | Videos

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August 17, 2001
Washington, D.C.

August 2001 was filled with a few firsts. My first big concert the night before seeing my icon, Janet Jackson. My first trip to D.C. without my parents. My first trip to Six Flags America. The concert was on Thursday, August 16 and on Friday we decided to go to Six Flags America for a day at the park. This was my second trip to a Six Flags park, and I wasn’t really expecting much since my visit to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Il wasn’t up to my expectations. Six Flags America, however, was quite better than I had expected, though they could’ve used a fresh coat of paint on quite a few rides and some renovation of the older buildings, not to mention more landscaping and shade.

We woke up around 9 AM and headed to the park from our motel room in D.C. Six Flags wasn’t very far from where we were staying out by the beltway. After our trip to D.C. proper the day before, in which we spent over 4 hours lost, I half expected us not to find Six Flags but it turned out to be very easy and we were there in short order. After paying to get in Jamaal and I went to get in line for Two Face, the park’s Vekoma Invertigo Coaster. I had always wanted to ride one.

Two Face: The Flip Side- The park wasn’t really crowded so we didn’t have a long wait in line. I used to always try and ride coasters in the front row and this one was no exception. Though most of the seats have front/back facing seats, we opted for the front. This ride looks much tamer than it actually was. After being pulled up the first back spike, we were released to go thru the circuit, fly thru the station and into a cobra roll, then into a vertical loop and up the second spike. After getting to the top of the second spike you do it all again…backwards. It was a lot of fun.

Janet Jackson All For You Tour Washington DC 2001

Janet Jackson | Photos | Videos

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August 16, 2001
Washington, DC
All For You World Tour 2001
Capital One Arena

I had really wanted to see Janet during the Velvet Rope world tour in the late 90s but alas, it was never meant to be. At the time I made my friend Jamaal promise he’d go with me to see her the next time she went on tour. Well, that was around 2 years before Janet finished work on the album All For You. I was kept at bay with her duets with Busta Rhymes, Blackstreet, Shaggy, and a starring role in the Nutty Professor Movie (with a Janet song on the Soundtrack even). But I’ll never forget when I heard her first single off the album, the title track, for the first time.

I was still living at home that March and rushed home from work one nite because I knew the that the song was being released to radio that day. I figured I’d use Napster to get the song (R.I.P. Napster) and was so excited to finally hear it! I couldn’t wait to get the album, and in April it came, with funk and dance beats galore. In fact, the album came out on the day that I was moving out of my home, and my friends bought it for me as my going away gift to listen to on the way to my new destination.

Since I was moving I knew that I’d be living near Washington, D.C., and Janet would most definitely perform there, so once the tour was announced I found out when (August 16, 2001) and where (MCI Center, now the Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.) and ticket Info. The tickets left on TicketMaster were sucky, so I went to another good source: eBay. I found decent tickets for a price I won’t mention here, and made the transaction. Couldn’t be happier! Jamaal said he would come visit me, and we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it.