Day 35 – July 23, 2019

We studied the weather report before we went to bed. There was a 99% chance of rain for this morning.

We are obviously part of the 1%, because at 8 am there is no rain in sight.

We had one day remaining on our Busch Gardens tickets. And Brett texted me that they were going back to the park, too. Perfect! We are there.

Wait, did I mention that the temperature was seventy-five blissful degrees? Oh yes it was!

We rode Apollo’s Chariot twice.

As we were headed for Verbolten, who should we find but the Hartys.

Meg the coaster queen was looking for someone to ride with. Ashley and I happily accepted the assignment.

We entered Verbolten’s empty queue. Meg and Ashley took the first row and I took the second. We had a wonderful ride.

Upon returning to the station, we noticed no one in line. We requested a second ride which was granted.

This time, the three of us had the entire train all to ourselves. Clearly the park was even more empty today than it was yesterday.

Within 2 hours, we rode the major coasters a total of 9 times. I also rode the drop tower and we even took a ride on the train.

Before we departed the park around 1:30, Brett and Jeanne offered to let us stay in their beautiful home in Charlotte. We excitedly accepted. The only problem I see is that they may have trouble kicking us out!

We gassed up the van, ate a quick lunch, and we were back on the road around 3:00. Our goal was to make it to Charlotte within 5 hours.

The start of the drive coincided with the start of the rain. The rain was persistent but not really hard. We just took our time.

We eventually made it to the other side of the storm. But the drive took longer than we had hoped. We pulled into the Hartys driveway around 9:45.

We last visited the Hartys in 2007. I forgot what a beautiful home they have.

We were greeted by the door cat.

Ashley almost lost her mind. Now it’s going to even harder to get rid of us.

For the first time in over a month, we are staying in a home. And it is heavenly.