Kingda Ga. It’s a name that strikes fear in meek mannered DelGrosso’s amusement park lovers, but a name that brings a smile to the face of hardcore rollercoaster-ists. My face had a fearful smile. Josh, my son was just all smile.

One of the great joys of my sabbatical grant is the opportunity to take each of my kids on a one-on-one trip. I let each of the kids choose where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Josh knew right away…an amusement park. So he did the research, figured out what park had the most roller coasters, what park had the biggest, tallest, fastest, scariest roller coaster. He settled on Six Flags New Jersey. Home of Kingda Ga.

It’s really a rocket coaster, more so than a roller coaster. Hydraulic motors launch the train from zero to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. And you need the speed because by the time you have hit full speed, you are going straight up… 456 feet — about 45 stories tall. Then you crest the hill and you head straight down 456 feet! I’m not sure which part was more exciting, zero to 128, straight up, or straight down.

Actually the best part was watching my son. I love it when my kids step forward, exercise a little courage, and take a risk…even when the risk is an amusement park ride. There is just something about overcoming fear. See the reality is everybody experiences fear…courage is not the absence of fear…it is stepping forward in spite of fear. Any fears you need to step into?

I’ll be honest, Josh whupped me when it came to coasters, I think he did about 16! So here are a couple of videos, maybe they’ll inspire you a bit..because if my 12 year old son can do it — no actually if I can do it — maybe you can too. First watch the youtube video of kingda ga. Then watch the video of Josh getting ready to go alone. Three times was enough for me.