I've been thinking about this movie all day today.  What would be think if we had no idea that a solar eclipse was coming?

I have always been a huge fan of the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.  This has to be one of the funniest bits I have ever seen on the show.

I have always thought that this design set was way ahead of its time.  While the engine room of the first season looked cheesy, the revised version still looks good today despite being 50 years old.

I finally got around to posting the Central Freight Lines XML documentation on the website .   It was brought on by the acquisition of Wilson Trucking.  I noticed that they had the specifications and service descriptions for all of their services already online.  It turned out to be fairly simple and clean looking.  I hope it helps out anyone who happens to be looking for it.  

One hot summer day we decided to spend a few days at North Jellystone Park in Burleson, Texas.  It is less than an hour and a half drive so we thought it would be a good place to stay for a while. So we booked a couple of days online and heading over there one Wednesday morning.
 Pirate’s Cove is the water park adjacent to Jellystone; they are separate but joined at the same time.
 
Their website www.northtexasjellystone.com reveals a lot of information about the parks.  We started first to look for lodging and they have several different types of cottages to choose from.  They all sleep 6-8 and have an upstairs loft with two queen sized beds.  There are also apartments and bunkhouses at affordable rates.  The room we selected was call a premium luxury cottage and I highly recommend staying in that type of unit.  It came with a king size bed, two bunk beds in the corner, a Jacuzzi bath tub and separate shower along with a small refrigerator, microwave oven and coffee maker.  The accommodations were very luxurious and we definitely made the right decision.

Upon our arrival we went to the main office and picked up our welcome packet and wrist bands.  Earlier I told you that North Jellystone and Pirate’s were separate yet connected.  Guests of Jellystone received deeply discounted admission to Pirate’s Cove.  In fact, they were running a buy one/get one free ticket.  There were only three of us; if there had been another one in our party the additional person would have received a free water park pass.  If you are a guest then you can come and go as often as you please through the day.  Which is a good thing: we were there around 11:30AM during August in North Texas and check-in time is not until 3:00PM.  To anyone who has ever lived or visited here during this time I do not have to tell you how hot it can be.  Afternoon highs were just above 100 degrees. We would have been sweltering if we had to hang around the park for over three hours without taking a dip.  The late check-in time is one of the few things that I did not enjoy about our stay.
 
We also decided to rent a four person golf cart.  I can tell you that it was well worth the cost.  They were even running a special buy one day get the next day free.  That was a good thing because it is normally $80 per day, which seems to expensive.  It was so much fun riding around the park to the various places.  The roads are nice and private and exclusive to the guest only.  There is even a special parking area right by the entrance to Pirate’s Cove for the golf carts.
Speaking of the water park, we decided to drive our cart over there and see what was going on.  At that time (a little before noon) an open karaoke session was in progress.  The main attractions are the two giant slides that you can see driving down the interstate.  The steep blue one has six lanes and you can really build up a lot of speed when crossing the “finish line”.  The orange and yellow one is called the “Kamikaze” and it takes you down a VERY steep incline all the way down until the near bottom.  There were also a couple of spiraling slides that spin you around and around before dumping you into a pool.  The Lazy River is a window stream about three feet high.  There are pool jets along the way that push you down the river.  A lot of people were renting inner tubes or other floatation devices to casually float along from beginning to end.
 
At the other end of the water park is another pool area with slides and fountains.  This are was suited mostly for smaller children or a wading area but still looked quite nice.

When we were staying during the summer they were having a Tuesday and Thursday
Jellystone Park itself has a number of activities for people of all ages.  We did not attend all of them, but here are some of the major ones:

Air Zone Inflatables – quite a few inflatables for the kids but several were not in serviced and most of them looked old and dirty.

“Hey,Hey,Hey” Ride – prepare to get wet because the park attendants and fellow guests will spray you with garden house as the tractor and trailer drive by.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VE7VCVvQM

Other activities include:

• Fire Truck Ride
• Laser Tag
•  Candy bar Bingo
•  Lost Maze
•  Paintball
•  Swimming Pools (two in Jellystone Park outside of Pirate’s Cove

All in all, we had a wonderful time at Jellystone/Pirate’s Cove and are planning to visit again one day.   Here are a few tips I can pass along to anyone planning to go there:
 
1) Join the Yogi Club Membership.  Registration is free and they will send you emails every few days with discounts.  We used a coupon and promotional code to get 50% off the golf cart rental and nearly 50% off the lodging.
 
2) Rent a golf cart.  Not only is it great fun but is invaluable driving around the park.  You can walk everywhere but it takes a while and can be brutal in the afternoon heat.
 
3) Plan your stay in the middle of the week when you can.  Rates go up significantly during weekends.
 
4) Visit during early summer instead of mid to late.  The August heat can be quite unbearable unless you are in the water park or the swimming pool.
 
Thanks for reading.  – Grady Christie