Subject: TAN: Confessions of a former DFS virgin (or: Yet Another Cedar Point DFS Report)
From: a.bradburn@sympatico.ca (Amelia Bradburn)
Organization: The Last of the Stardust Cowgirls
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that
become blurred due to lack of sleep and excessive sugar consumption.
In one Age, whatever Age we happened to be in on October 9, 1999, a
wind rose somewhere over Lake Erie, along with fog as thick as pea
soup.  And so began my trip to my first-ever Darkfriend Social.

The fog proved to be the first of many annoying events en route to
Toledo, which included being relentlessly cross-examined and having my
car searched by the border guards, getting stuck in construction
traffic on the I-75 for what seemed like hours, and being stopped by a
train that decided to stop right in the middle of the track for no
discernable reason.  But I eventually arrived at my destination, only
a little worse for wear.  I rang the buzzer and got no answer.  Rang
it again.  No answer.  Repeated this about five times, and began to
worry that I had either been forgotten or that I was at the wrong
place.  Finally I jabbed a different buzzer and--voila!  I was in.

I was greeted by Maggie and introduced to Steve Ginter and Dave
Rothgery, as well as Kenn Cavness, who was lying prone on the
people-eating couch and who still appeared to be in la-la-land.  After
a leisurely breakfast we all piled into Dave's car, with Steve at the
wheel, and headed to Sandusky, amidst much confusion about which way
we were supposed to be going.  But after many construction detours,
wrong turns, and attempts at playing chicken, we finally arrived at
Cedar Point.

Then came the big question:  what to ride first?  We hit most of the
major rides that weren't closed, and Maggie got some pictures of all
of us on the Raptor.  The park was all decked out for Halloween,
complete with fog machines, which combined with actual fog to create a
really eerie, otherworldly effect ("It's Mashadar!  Nooo!  Somebody
balefire me now!")  We ate dinner at the Boathouse, a restaurant just
outside the park.  Around 10, we left the park to search for the car,
which was not exactly an easy task.  How long *did* we spend wandering
in circles in that parking lot?

If anyone's hearing was permanently damaged by my high-pitched
squealing on the coasters, I apologize.  I should have warned you all
that I'm a screamer!

By the time we got back to Maggie's place, we were all sorta winding
down, so we just kicked back, sank into the comfy couch with Kahlua
milkshakes, and watched The Opposite of Sex.  The next morning (after
having slept like a rock) I woke up to the sound of giggling Ernie and
Alex telling me about his encounters with aliens.  Eventually we all
ended up in Maggie's room, where the kids got a well-deserved tickling
(and the waterbed decided to leak right under me!)  Maggie made us
some tasty omelettes for breakfast, and the rest of the morning we
just kinda sat around being lazy and enjoying the kids' (and cats')
antics.

But alas, morning became afternoon, and it was time for me to leave,
as I was supposed to be back at my parents' house for Thanksgiving
dinner.  So I said my goodbyes and headed home.  Fortunately, the trip
home was completely problem free, unlike the trip to Toledo.  Perhaps
spending a weekend with Darkfriends left me with the Dark One's own
luck?

All in all, I had an awesome time, and I really enjoyed meeting
Maggie, Kenn, Steve, and Dave.  I'm looking forward to the next one!

--
Amelia Bradburn
ICQ:  33990873