Monday Mugs || Riders Ready

“I’m gonna ride the rapture!” Eight-year-old me proudly announced my summer plans. It would be my first time to Cedar Point with my family; it was a semi-regular summer destination, being only three hours south of us. And when you’re eight and have brothers who like to tease, you may or may not get confused about the words rapture and raptor. Heh.

I remember a few clear moments from that first trip to “America’s Roller Coast”: I bit my tongue on the Blue Streak, sitting next to my brother for my very first roller coaster ever (because rides can only get better after you’ve ridden the Blue Streak). The terrifying click-click-click-click-clicks of the climbing train, anticipating the Raptor’s first drop. The whirring of the Witch’s Wheel, a smaller ride-turned-physics lesson on G-force. The train ride through the woods with my mom, who came to hold hats and sunglasses and step through most of the coasters to wait as we rode. Riding from sun up till sun down. Best day of my eight-year-old life.

The last time I was there, I realized Cedar Point was grossly underrepresented in my mug collection; I didn’t have one. I bought one, only to have it crack within a few months of using it. Poor guy. So when I found this rare, vintage Cedar Point mug at the local thrift shop for only 50 cents, well, I had to. It harkens to eight-year-olds and family vacations and perfect summer days.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to that strip of realty in Lake Erie. I’ve walked countless miles around the park and through line mazes. I’ve seen rides get built, torn down, even rebranded (this one used to be the Mantis). I haven’t ridden every one, and I probably won’t. But my favorite is still the Raptor. Maybe someday I really will ride the Rapture. With a higher climb and smoother flying and no stomach-swallowing drop. Best. Day. Ever.

Monday Mugs is where I tell the stories behind my coffee mugs. Each one holds a story (and coffee, of course) of somewhere I’ve been or something I’ve seen. The photos are my actual mugs, not lookalikes found online. So grab one of your own mugs (fill it with coffee first) and hear the stories of mine. And don’t forget the cream and sugar.