Houston's AstroWorld

As some may or may not know, I grew up outside Houston in a small town (well, small for Texas) called Baytown. I was there from the age of 9 months to the age of 16. Some of my fondest memories are going to the Six Flags theme park called AstroWorld. I have this vivid memory of riding the wooden roller coaster called Texas Cyclone for the first time. I was probably about 9 or 10. I was riding with my then brother-in-law. I crouched my head underneath the cart and screamed the entire time. I have many similar type memories of having gone there over the years.

We moved back to Ohio in September of 1993. As of yet, I still have not returned to a visit to Texas. I long to do that, but it just hasn't been in the cards lately.

I am hoping to get the time off from work to go back to Ohio so I can visit my family. One of my plans is to take my nephews to Cedar Point. It's not a Six Flags theme park, but it's supposedly one of the best in the world for roller coasters. I was searching for flights today and it got me thinking about AstroWorld. So I decided to look it up on the internet just to rehash some childhood memories. Much to my dismay, I came across the official web site and discovered that it closed at the end of the 2005 season. I guess the property became too valuable and the upkeep and parking issues were becoming too much of a hassle.

This came as a total shock to me. I thought for certain AstroWorld would be there for as long as I would be around. And if and when I were ever to get back to Texas, my plan was to go visit there for old time's sake. I guess that is not going to happen.

Perhaps it is true that you can't revisit the past. I don't know. I wish there was a definitive moral to this story. Maybe the moral is don't put off visiting friends, family, and even places for too long because you never know when they will no longer be there for you to visit.