Richard Moreno/For the Appeal Part theme park and part oceanarium and wild-animal park, Six Flags Marine World offers chances to get close to nature, such as the Lorikeet feeding exhibit.
Recently, my family and I rode Medusa, survived Roar, fed nectar to lorikeets, shook hands with Bugs Bunny, petted a dolphin, and learned that African elephants have bigger ears than their Asian counterparts.
And we accomplished all of it in one day.
The place where all these amazing things happened was the Six Flags Marine World theme park in Vallejo, Calif. (about four hours west of Carson City via U.S. 50 and I-80).
Six Flags Marine World, which covers some 140 acres, is a combination wildlife park, oceanarium and theme park. It has 35 rides, including a half-dozen high-speed roller coasters and more than 35 animal attractions.
I first visited the park nearly 20 years ago, when it was known as Marine World-Africa USA and didn't have many rides. However, it has evolved and expanded into a facility with so many attractions that it is nearly impossible to see and do everything in one day.
During our visit, my daughter and her three friends immediately jumped into the line for the first ride they saw, Monsoon Falls, a flume-type ride that culminates with a drop over a 60-foot waterfall. The result is that riders get completely soaked by the end of their run.
From there, the four girls wanted some high-speed action so strolled over to Vertical Velocity, billed as the West's first suspended, spiraling impulse coaster. The ride, which rises to 150 feet, uses an electromagnetic propulsion system to launch riders from zero to 70 mph in less than four seconds.
Next stop was Roar, a classic wooden roller coaster that drops you about 10 stories (at the beginning!) before racing through a series of banks and loops at more than 50 mph.
Being a fan of roller coasters, I joined the girls on this ride, and soon found myself in a 12-passenger coach that was whipping up, down and around the 3,467-foot-long attraction. We flashed through six reversals, made 22 crossovers, shot through a 200-foot tunnel, and experienced a 180-degree spiraling drop that seemed to suspend us in the air.
It was great.
After a break to watch the seal lions (there were some cute babies), stroke the back of a stingray (felt like rubber), and watch the dolphins play, the girls headed to Medusa, one of the park's signature rides.
Medusa is the tallest and longest roller coaster in Northern California. This modern-style metal roller coaster carries riders through more than 3,900 feet of twisting track and seven inversions (including what the park calls the Sea Serpent, a set of back-to-back loops).
Not wanting to be considered a coward, I joined the girls. After we were securely strapped into our seats, we began a rapid ascent, followed by a severe drop that lifted us into the air. We continued through a series of corkscrew maneuvers at speeds of about 65 mph.
While the ride's specs say it lasts three minutes and 15 seconds, it seemed a lot faster - and much smoother than I had anticipated. In fact, once we had returned to the ground, the girls ran back into the line.
We took a break for lunch and plotted out the rest of our day. The girls wanted to catch the elephant show, see Shouka the killer whale, and ride Boomerang (a supercoaster that flips riders upside down through several large loops), Kong (a high-speed looping coaster on which riders are suspended from harnesses) and the Tasmanian Devil (a swinging ride that sends riders in circles inside a sliding, saucer-shaped disk).
So we rode them all, as well as several other rides and attractions.
Life-size cartoon characters wander throughout the park. We encountered Bugs Bunny, Batman and Robin as well as members of the Justice League such as Wonder Woman and the Flash.
While I thought the girls would eventually tire, they never really did. In fact, the only reason we finally left was because the park began to close down the rides at about 9 p.m.
I guess we'll just have to come back.
Six Flags Marine World is open daily between late May and late September, and on weekends in the spring and fall. Hours are from 10 a.m. until about 9 p.m. (later, on some days). General admission is $51.99 (48 inches or taller) while children are $29.99 (under 48 inches). Note, however, that discounted ticket offers can easily be found online and through various auto clubs and other organizations. For information, go to www.sixflags.com.
• Richard Moreno is the author of "Backyard Travels in Northern Nevada" and "The Roadside History of Nevada."