I think the beginning of the summer season for straight people is demarcated by the Memorial Day weekend. Well I have determined that pride weekend marks the beginning of summer for me. Boy, it was hot and fun. You know it’s summer when you see dikes on bikes, hairy drag queens, Chicago Smelts and circuit boys on every manner of float. Break out the sun tan lotion and pass me another beer because it is definitely summer. Even though it was hot as hell that didn’t stop the queens from piling onto the street to show their pride and support. I was equipped with my cheap Walgreen’s brand SPF 30. I didn’t get sunburned!

Pride was great but I also had a ton of fun at Great America the following day. I organized a little getaway with a handful of friends to GA yesterday. I had a great time riding all the new roller coasters. It has been about six years since I’ve been there so I had some catching up to do. We also hit three of the water rides and got totally soaked. It was a ton of fun. Some of those roller coasters are a little harsh on the system and rattle your head around like a peanut. I like the Raging Bull roller coaster. Very smooth and exciting ride. But my all time favorite for the past six years is without a doubt Batman. It is still number one! We also hit the new Vertical Velocity. I wasn’t very impressed with that one. It’s basically back and forth, back and forth. OK, you are going 65mph and shooting up a spiral twist on one end and you shoot backwards and straight up another 165ft track. I guess it was kind of fun. Did I mention the number of queens that were there yesterday? I thought I was still at a pride parade!