It was a long and stormy night. . . I mean, a long and stormy day. Just weeks after Bowling Green was hit with flash floods, Beech Bend Amusement Park treated the ACE Midwest Region to a day of unparalleled hospitality. Forty-five ACE members from 13 states showed up to rumble with the Rumbler, chase the Wild Mouse, take on the monsters of the Haunted House, and enjoy all of the other rides that Beech Bend has to offer. Due to the rain, the coasters were not able to run during the morning ERT session. Therefore, we rotated between rides such as Dodg'em Cars, Flying Bobs, and Carousel, all of which can be operated in the rain due to being covered by shelters.

We enjoyed several games and contests throughout the day. Shelly VanMeter won the Beech Bend Bash Olympics, a competition of our favorite amusement park games. For lunch we enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken and all the fixins provided by Roy's BBQ. During lunch, we played Bash-A-Palooza, a competition similar to the hit game show "Minute To Win It" involving various contests utilizing ordinary household products. This competition was played in rounds, eliminating one person each round. Liz Werth outlasted all others to become the winner of Bash-A-Palooza.

We were treated to a magic show by Dinky Gowen who, of course, managed to pull Paul Blick and yours truly into his act for some silly fun. See www.ACEmidwest.com for some unforgetable pictures. We also had a private concert by Elena Korol, the second runner up in the 2009 Beech Bend Super Star Talent Show.

The rain lasted most of the day, but it didn't dampen our spirit. Then late in the afternoon, the clouds parted and the sun came out and we enjoyed several hours of fun with the park to ourselves. Several members took advantage of our good fortune and got an impromptu mini-marathon on Kentucky Rumbler by continuing to ride lap after lap without leaving their seat. Tom Holbrook completed the most laps for the day with over 80 laps on the coaster.

As a goodwill jesture because of all the rain we endured, we all received complimentary admission tickets for a visit to the park later in the season to enjoy the park on a brighter day.

We would like to thank Dallas Jones, Charlotte Gonzales and the rest of the Beech Bend staff for their down home southern hospitality, and for making a dreary and rainy day a memorable one.

Be sure to check out the video below and also the photos in our photo gallery.