We receive a nice email occasionally from a coaster-enthusiast friend named Mike. It's always great to hear from him.

His latest missive brought tears to our eyes.

Here's Mike's story:

When I was about age 6, my biological family and I were separated by the decision to give me up for adoption.

I had four cousins and a younger half-sister I never saw again for nearly 30 years until this year.

Thanks to the powers of the Internet, Facebook, and lot of luck from Above, I was reunited with all of them!

I got the chance to see my sister in NYC during a taping of the Rachael Ray Show (which aired nationwide October 13).

^ Rachael Ray, Mike's sister and cousin, plus his wife, Tammy.

But the icing on the cake was the fact that 2 of my cousins, Ryan and his sister Renee' were only a few short hours north of our favorite park, Holiday World! So, the decision was made to make a whole day of it there, and it was WONDERFUL!

^ What was old... that's Mike in the front row, far left. Next to him are cousins Renee' and Kristie; back row, cousins Eric and Ryan (in the white shirt).

^ ...is new again! Cousins Mike, Renee' and Ryan reunite this month at Holiday World.

Thanks Holiday World, for being THE perfect place for me to reunite with my family, AND giving us a chance to reconnect and make up for lost time!

Sincerely,     Mike, and my cousins Ryan and his sister Renee' 

As the mom of three boys, I learned long ago to gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

Those rosebuds are precious, be they squishy hugs, sloppy kisses, whispered I-love-yous, or silly photos.

And some of those photos that capture the true, rascally essence of a child will be treasured far more than the, well, picture-perfect ones.

Meet Avery Lee:

This tiny tot is from Louisville and is now nearly four years old.

Her mom told us Avery Lee loves to make silly faces. So her photo in front of our Santa statue is just that.

And that silly face earned Avery Lee a place among our Facebook Fan Page Photo Contest winners. She and her mom just won two tickets to come back for another visit next year.

Do you have some special photos from a past visit to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari? Become a Fan on our Facebook page and upload them. (You must be at least 13 years old and not a park employee or relative of one.) Who knows? You just might win two tickets.

...and the chance to make a silly face while you're having your photo taken at the Santa statue.

I wanted to thank everyone at Holiday World for a great day on Saturday, October 10th.

My family and I came down from Indianapolis for one last visit in 2009. We had a great day, made even better by the fact that the youngest of our coaster enthusiast family crossed the magic 48-inch mark.

Brenden crossed the mark back in July at his five-year checkup. Once the nurse said his height, his eyes lit up and he said, "Now I can ride the big coasters at Holiday World!"

Our first stop of the day was at The Raven. After the ride attendant checked his height and gave him a high-five, we were off. The giggling and laughing started on the first drop. By the time we got to the lake turn, Brenden had his hands up. I had my arm around him to make him feel a little safer, but I still couldn't believe it when he had his hands up.

Here is a picture of Brenden giving his opinion of The Raven.

I asked him if he wanted to go ride the "Holidog coaster." He said "No, I'm too big for that now." (Although, he did ride it later in the day.)

We rode all the other rides that he is now tall enough for: The Legend, HallowSwings, Liberty Launch and The Voyage. He also rode Turkey Whirl with his sister, which was a relief to the stomachs of both me and my wife.

Overall, he rode The Raven, The Legend, HallowSwings and Liberty Launch two times each, and The Voyage once. It was just too cold to try Pilgrims Plunge.

He loved all the coasters, although he says The Voyage was his favorite (Like father, like son.)

Now that the whole family can ride the coasters, we are looking forward to many more trips next season.

Rob B.
Plainfield, Indiana

This afternoon, our staff got to sample all sorts of foods (many deep-fried) that vendors are hoping we'll add to the parks' menus in 2010.

The vendors set up booths in Plymouth Rock Cafe' and opened the doors at lunchtime; enthusiastic munching and lobbying quickly ensued.

What better time to shoot a video?

Before viewing this amateur video, please note: We are a theme park, not an acting studio. We're not a film-editing studio, either.

Well then. Do you now have low expectations? Please lower them a bit more before watching. As our 2009 TV commercials clearly stated: We're a dorky bunch.

Not to worry, healthy soups and salads were part of the Food Fair, too.
 

We are fast approaching what is probably the huggiest weekend of the year.

It's closing weekend . The last two days of the season.

And Brendan is going to make this one last.

This sweet little fellow's aunt entered this photo in our Facebook Fan Page Photo Contest. They win two one-day tickets for 2010.

Looking good for this weekend. A bit chilly (around 60), but sunny skies. And the leaves are starting to change colors. Just lovely...

And one final reminder that the lowest prices for 2010 Season Passes are offered through this Sunday, October 11, at midnight. After that, the discount isn't quite as deep.

Wildebeest awaits...

Of course we're all hoping Wildebeest will be the "hot" new ride of 2010...

But this hot?!

More...

So...what happens when you win big at Holiday World?

So big that you can't fit the prize in your car?

Happened this weekend. After quickly assessing the options ("Either we take the kids and leave Nemo, or..."), they headed back to Guest Relations.

Enter Eric.

Would Eric make arranges for Nemo to swim home?

Well, of course. To the Indy area? No problem...

How much could it possibly cost to ship a fish? What would we have to pay ... scale?

Well, Eric may have tipped the scale trying to weigh the gill-den fishy.

Next, he appealed to our staff with the following email:

Are you going to Indianapolis in the next week? If yes, read on. If not, feel free to stop here and click delete.

I’m trying to find a way to get an oversized package to a family just south of Indianapolis. The family won a large Nemo fish at a game, but was unable to fit it in their vehicle. The family thinks it’s a keeper, though. We (Guest Relations) promised to ship them the fish if they will pay for the costs, but it looks as though it will cost upwards of $100 due to the size. Sounds a little overboard if you ask me. It must have broken their scales. If you or someone you know is planning to cruise up to Indianapolis soon and might have space available in your vessel for a ridiculously sized fish, please let me know by the end of today. 

Hakuna MaTuna, Eric

Eric is happy to finish his fish tale: he hooked a driver quickly and Nemo's transport to points north will no doubt go swimmingly.

It's one extreme or the other around here: moon dust or mud.

This week, it's dusty as all get-out up at the Wildebeest construction site. Next week (if the long-range forecast proves true), the mud'll suck the boots right off your feet.

But for now the sun is shining and the concrete is flowing.

This is the Wildebeest control building. Or will be.

It'll house the "brains" of the operation. (No, I'm not moving my office down there, but thanks for the thought.) According to GM Mike, the control building will contain the main electrical power system, the ride's computers, the conveyor control system, and controls for the ride's sound system.

And here's the start of the pump pit.

Four 100-horsepower pumps will find their home in this building. They'll keep the water flowing througout the world's longest water coaster.

Meanwhile, a crew from ProSlide is pre-assembling the slide pieces. If you drive to the park this weekend, you can see the humongous yellow-and-red tubes from Highway 162. (Be sure to have a designated driver watching the road; it's easy to get distracted when interesting stuff is going on during construction season.)

Somehow, we've come to the final weekend of the season for Splashin' Safari. Already.

Should be a great weekend to grab enough rides on Bakuli, Zinga and ZOOMbabwe to hold you through the long, cold winter. May -- and Wildebeest -- can come soon enough.

Here's our calendar for the rest of the season; Holiday World stays open during the beautiful fall weekends through October 11.

The first of many deliveries from up north just arrived.

They were hauling 'glass.

Fiberglass, that is...

For Wildebeest.

As you can see on our Wildebeest animation, most of the ride is yellow, with red accents.

Here's another view of the delivery.

Our IT team has already moved the "PlungeCam" over and re-named it the Wildebeest ConstructionCam so we can watch this 'beest grow in the coming months.

Most families, when they take a photo of multiple generations, are sitting on a comfy sofa at grandma's house

...or maybe in front of the old oak tree in the backyard of the family's homestead.

But not Ruth's family.

When she sits still long enough to have her picture taken with her daughter Becky and grandson Caleb, her son-in-law had better be quick on the trigger with his camera.

That's Ruth in the middle.

Her son-in-law is Tony, our director of maintenance. That's his wife, Becky, on the right; the third generation is their son Caleb.

Tony told us at staff meeting yesterday that Ruth rode The Voyage a few years ago and the family decided she should only ride the milder rides (or, milder still, just watch the shows) this year, since she's turned 78.

She promised to behave.

All told, Ruth rode 11 rides. She had a blast.

She never did sneak on Voyage, but she did manage to try out our new ride before calling it a day. (That's Ruth and her friend Janet waving at us from the very back.)

So...what do you think? Will we see Ruth riding Wildebeest in May?