Return to story

retroroadtrip Couple makes a spur-of-the-moment 'Pitt' stop at Victorian-era amusement park By Annette Jones The Free Lance-Star

September 16, 2006 12:50 am

You gotta love Google. And Mapquest. And Weather.com.

Here was the challenge: Find a place to go that would be rain-free, about four to six hours away from Berryville and somewhere my husband Bob and I haven't been.

(I'll explain about Berryville in a moment.) Oh. And it's the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend.

Bob and I have been known for our less-than-conventional trip planning. There was the Outer Banks-Ocracoke day trip over July 4th weekend and the summertime trip a few years back where the only plan we made was to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.

So, here I am trying to figure out what we should do. Mid-August, Bob discovered he would have a string of days off around Labor Day. That would probably be the last time he had two days off in a row until March, when high school basketball season ends.

He's the color-guy for high school sports broadcasts in the Winchester area.

This is where the Berryville dilemma plays a role. His first football game was supposed to be Sept. 1, James Wood vs. Clarke County. Of course, Tropical Storm Ernesto had other plans and the game was moved to Monday night. Bob would need to be in the Clarke County area by 5 p.m., Labor Day afternoon.

Our first plans--to head to the beach--were going to be tough regardless because we hadn't decided where we were going, on a holiday weekend, no less.

Then the rain rolled in. And it's tough to get to Berryville from the beach in four hours, anyway.

Second choice was an amusement park. Bob and I love them. But I wanted to go someplace different. That eliminated Dorney Park near Allentown, Pa., and Six Flags in Jackson, N.J. Neither of us have been to Busch Gardens, but that's a day trip.

I checked out a few destinations I knew against Mapquest. No sense getting my hopes up if the amusement park was too far.

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, is six hours and 21 minutes from Berryville. Out. Paramount's Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C., is just about six hours from Berryville, but Bob wasn't too enthused about that one. Six Flags New England in Agawam, Mass., was well out of the six-hour range, as was a park I remembered near Glens Falls, N.Y. I was out of ideas.

Hello Google!

"Amusement Parks" was my search. Up popped a few. One that caught my attention was Kennywood, near Pittsburgh. I had never been to Pittsburgh, although I think half my friends and most of the people who attend the same church I do grew up there. (At least that's the only reason I can think of for the Steeler mania, which truly irritates this New England fan.)

The rides looked old-fashioned but sounded interesting from the descriptions. And there were hotel package deals that seemed fairly reasonable.

A quick stop on Mapquest showed that Pittsburgh was well within the less-than-six-hours-from-Berryville parameter. Weather.com revealed an overcast Sunday with a 30-percent chance of rain. I liked our chances.

The first hotel was booked, not a real surprise since it was the Saturday of a long weekend. But when I called the Holiday Inn Pittsburgh Airport, the nice desk person said they had plenty of space.

We took the Kennywood package, which included a night's stay at the hotel, two tickets to Kennywood, a banana split bar for two, and breakfast for two. The cost was $139. Upon further negotiation, another night and breakfast for two would add $109 to the hotel bill, thanks to the AAA discount.

I packed while Bob finished up work on Saturday.

I checked our ever-present travel guide: "Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A." by Jane and Michael Stern. It's an old book; the edition we have is from 1997 before the highway exits changed to mile markers. But it lists some good local eateries.

Sure enough, there was one in Pittsburgh. Primanti Brothers on West 18th Street. We figured that would be good for one night's meal. We chose to eat there after the park experience. The neighborhood eatery's claim to fame is that everything goes between the two slices of bread: meat, cheese, tomato, vinegar-based coleslaw and french fries. Yup. Fries.

The ride to Pittsburgh was easy. Even though I did a Mapquest, I ignored the first half of the directions, which sent me through the Capital Beltway to get to I-70. We opted for the ride through Winchester (why not?) and up U.S. 522 to Hancock, Md. It's prettier.

By the time we left Spotsylvania County it was nearly 3 p.m. Six hours later we were arriving in Pittsburgh. Bob stopped a couple of times along the way. I slept through the pretty part of 522. Figures.

We did get to the Holiday Inn just in time to take advantage of the banana split sundae smorgasbord. It appears the banana split was invented in Pittsburgh. And that's not the only "first" celebrated at this Holiday Inn.

The first radio broadcast was on KDKA in Pittsburgh. The ferris wheel was created by a Pittsburgh native. And so on. There are nearly a dozen firsts etched in the glass above the entranceway to the hotel.

And though it wasn't a first, Kennywood is nearly unique in that it is one of the few trolley amusement parks still in existence.

The park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was created in 1898 as a recreation area at the end of the line of the Monongahela Street Railways Company in West Mifflin, Pa.

It wasn't unusual for the rapidly growing trolley lines in big and little cities alike to create a weekend destination for those within the cities. In the Washington area, that park was Glen Echo, in Maryland. West of Boston, it was Norumbega Park in Newton. For the most part, they are memories.

Not Kennywood.

On Sunday, we got to the park around noontime. The directions from the hotel included, "Follow the yellow arrows." Yellow arrows? Well, the yellow arrows are apparently landmarks, just like Kennywood. Visitors need to wind through residential streets to arrive at the park. And every turn along the way is marked by Kennywood arrows.

Parking is free; however, priority parking costs $5. If we hadn't received our tickets as part of the Kennywood Package at the Holiday Inn, they would have cost $28.45 at the park. A bargain, in my mind, after spending nearly $50 at Kings Dominion or Six Flags America.

And we weren't disappointed.

Kennywood has been in operation since 1898. At least one of its coasters dates to 1921. Don't let the age fool you.

Actually, three of the park's five coasters are amazingly deceptive in their presentation. Jack Rabbit, Thunderbolt and Phantom's Revenge hide massive drops.

The architect who designed the Jack Rabbit in 1921 and the precursor to the Thunderbolt in 1924 used the lay of the land to disguise the drops.

In 1967, The Thunderbolt was named the "King of Coasters" by the New York Times. A casual look at Thunderbolt makes the rider wonder what all the fuss is about. Until you leave the station. And hurtle immediately down the ravine.

The coaster rumbles up the next hill, only to drop yet again. Around the curves and onto the chains for a ride up the third hill, which is the steepest. Down the rider plunges, again. By the time you arrive back at the station, you're hooked.

The same is true with the Jack Rabbit. This one has a 70-foot double dip down the ravine, giving riders serious air time.

The Phantom's Revenge is a steel coaster that was redesigned in 2001 to get rid of the unpopular loops and corkscrews of the Phantom Menace ride. Pity. At the time the Phantom Menace was built in 1991, it had the biggest drop and fastest ride on record. It still has a huge first drop, by the way, which runs between the tracks of the Thunderbolt. The coaster reaches speeds of 85 miles per hour.

Two other coasters round out this set of thrills. One is the 1927 Racer, a side-by-side experience. Unlike the Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion, the two trains are actually on the same track. Only two other "racing" coasters in the world are built the same way.

The Exterminator is a dark coaster. Riders are actually "rats" being ferreted out by human meanies. The ride has sharp twists and turns, stops and starts, and at one point the car begins rotating freely. In some ways it reminds me of the dinosaur ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. It was the only ride we had to wait longer than 30 minutes to board.

That was another joy at Kennywood. The locals complained about long Labor Day lines, but they were relatively short and fast-moving.

The park has other thrill rides in addition to the coasters. The newest is the Swing Shot, which is sort of like the Pirate Ship on steroids.

There's the King Kahuna, which takes a wooden boat-like load of people and spins them head-over-heels. There's the Wave Swing, and the carousel and the longest-running ride in the park--dating back to 1901--Garfield's Nightmare.

Of course, in 1901, it wasn't known as Garfield's Nightmare. No, this tunnel-of-love-type attraction was known as the Old Mill. Through all of its many incarnations, while all were water rides in the dark, it was never called tunnel of love.

Speaking of water, Kennywood has a raging rapids ride, a flume log-ride and a plunging water ride. Because Labor Day weekend was cold, we skipped the "get you soaked" rides.

Two rides can't be found anywhere else. One is the Turtle. The other is the Kangaroo. The Kangaroo used to be known as the Flying Coaster. Tough to describe, but a crazy roundy-round nonetheless. Same with the Turtle.

Traditional rides, such as the Musik Express and the 1918 Whip, are popular attractions, as well.

Lastly, for the true thrill-seeker, the park offers the Skycoaster. As daring as I can be, this one was even too much for me. Riders are strapped into a harness attached to a bungee cord, which is raised 180-feet off the ground and then released. Riders soar toward the ground, then swing back and forth like a pendulum. No thanks.

There is a kiddie section at the park, too, but Bob and I bypassed it. It's been a while since our children were small enough for those rides. And now, with all of the children living away from home, it's just the two of us.

Gift shops and food round out the amenities at the park.

Entrances to several rides include historic placards, detailing their story and place on the National Register of Historic Places.

A visit to Kennywood is kind of like going to visit Grandma. You may not find the newest toys, but the ones that are around are quite a treat.

As close as Pittsburgh is, and as inexpensive as the weekend was, it certainly is a treat worth repeating.

To reach ANNETTE JONES: 540/368-5046
Email: abjones@freelancestar.com