The Verona Vortex, that is. It seems that no matter how many times I go to Verona, I always end up taking a wrong turn or two, a wrong street here and there. I can get out of town with no problem, but getting in is the challenge. Still, it was worth it to fight my way through the Vortex tonight. Nothing like a carnival to say, "Welcome to summer."

I wandered through the midway for a while with R and A, checking out the scene and getting a feel for the place. Then A and I rode the ferris wheel. We had just reached the apex of the ride while waiting for the last riders to board when I confessed, "I'm terrified of heights." Of course, this set us both giggling like madwomen for the rest of the ride. The fear of heights is part of what makes the ride what it is, making the animal brain squeal, "I shouldn't be here! I'm falling!!" while the rational part of the brain sits back and enjoys the view and the sunset.

For our second ride, we chose the Tilt-a-Wirl--always a favorite of mine. The ride lasted quiet awhile, and our trend of laughing like idiots continued unabated. We began the trip trying to get the capsule to shift into cirles, but by the end we were too weak with laughter to do much more than lean our heads back and attempt to stay upright. We screamed like monkeys, partly from the excitement of the spinning, and partly from the laughing. Halfway through, just to be wicked, I brought up a joke. A told me I was mean. Maybe I am.

The Tilt-a-Wirl man didn't take our tickets, so we had enough left for one more ride. I was tempted to head for The Zipper (definitely the carnival ride with the best double entendre for a name), but A would hear none of it. Instead, we chose the "Magic Carpet". It turned out to be a little too boring for me, and at the same time a little too much for A's stomach, which seemed to be on a delayed reaction from the Tilt-a-Wirl. However, that didn't stop us from belting out a Disney tune on our way around.

Just after we got off of the final ride, the first of the fireworks display began. It was quite an impressive show. Of course, it is impossible to watch a nice set of fireworks without grinning like an idiot, which the three of us did, heads tipped towards the sky and eyes wide.

This is why we can tolerate winter in a place where the weather actively tries to kill you. We put up with the bitter because we know that the sweet will follow. Welcome to summer, my friends. I'm ready for some more cheesy local festivals.