Traveling Tales

Jimmy's work schedule typically keeps him buried in games, meets, and matches. During the summer, however he gets some breathing room and took advantage this time around to travel with his girlfriend, Rachel, instead of to her. Here is an interview with Jimmy about his summer trip.


1. You do a lot of traveling back and forth to Iowa to see Rachel. Did you two plan a trip for the summer together, or did you go somewhere on your own, like your sisters?

Rachel and I planned a summer roadtrip to Michigan to visit her family. We went up there for Thanksgiving and had fun, but it was cold. I wanted to go back when it was warmer, so we thought a summer trip would be the best idea. I also wanted to visit Cedar Point, a very popular theme park, in Ohio and we agreed to use the roadtrip as our avenue for going to the park. Rachel and been there before but she loves roller coasters, too, so she was happy to go there during our week-long trip to the north midwest. She also wanted to see her family and friends in Michigan, because her family might be moving back to Iowa, so this might have been her last trip to Michigan to see her (extended) family.

Rachel wins air hockey, 7-2!!!

2. Is Cedar Point known for any attraction in particular?

To my knowledge, it isn't known for any 1 ride, but it is known as the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World". It has around 14 or 15 roller coasters in the park. The 2 most popular rides are Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. Millennium Force is similar to the Mamba at Worlds of Fun, except the first drop is 310 feet instead of the Mamba's 210. It's also an 80-degree angle drop - kinda scary but soooo much fun! The Top Thrill Dragster rockets the riders out of the gate at 115 mph then straight up 200 feet with a twist and straight down with another twist. Unfortunately, we didn't ride the Dragster because the line was more than 2 hours all day. If you love roller coasters, you need to visit Cedar Point, it's freakin' awesome!

Waiting in line....for the metal detectors.

3. Did you drive straight to Michigan and back or were there any detours?

We pretty much drove straight to Michigan from Kansas. However, on the Saturday we left, we stopped at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I had been up in it once about 20 years ago and about the same for Rachel, so we wanted to go up now that we might remember this visit. Unfortunately, it was a super busy Saturday and the line was 2-3 hours. So we headed out and went to Michigan. We are planning on going to St. Louis in October to go up the Arch.

The Arch - Gateway to the West

4. Was it strictly a "visit with family" trip or did you two see any sites in Michigan?

Our visit was mostly a visit the family trip, but we did stop in Ann Arbor on our way to Cedar Point. We stopped by the Michigan football stadium, "The Big House" which holds nearly 109,000 people. The stadium was locked up but I could walk up to the gate. I'd like to see the inside sometime but I still enjoyed being that close. The cool thing about it is that 90% of the stadium is built below ground level.

5. Tell us a bit about Rachel and her family. She attends school in Iowa, correct? Where does her immediate family live? Was it her extended family that lives in Michigan?

Rachel also has a large family, like ours. They are a Dutch family and a lot of families in Iowa and Michigan where they have lived are also Dutch. Rachel is attending Dordt College, yes its called Dordt, haha. It's a private school, similar to Baker. She is majoring in Spanish and hopes to be finished in December 2011. Her immediate family lives in Holland, Michigan, which is the home of famous Tulip Festival. She has 1 older sister, 1 younger brother and 2 younger sisters, which is the nearly the same as me. Her family has lived in Iowa, Michigan, Ecuador and now Michigan again. They are considering moving back to Iowa though. They are a very nice family and have been super nice to me since meeting me.

6. Are there any other sites or attractions you or Rachel recommend?

Timber Town is a great attraction, especially for children. Rachel and I both enjoyed it but we're both big kids at heart! It's a huge wooden playground area that has dozens of physical activities. It's also great for playground tag where the ground is out of bounds. It's located in the town adjacent to Holland, Zeeland.

Timber Town