Family finishes coaster vacation at Great America

Summer vacation is meant for fun. But for one California family, this summer brought the ride of a lifetime, literally.

With their final stop at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee on Thursday, the Dahlin family capped off a three-week road trip around the country visiting tourist spots and five different Six Flags theme parks on the Discover Coaster to Coaster Tour.

Originally from Southern California, Kurt Dahlin, his wife and two sons, ages 12 and 15, were granted VIP access to Six Flags parks in California, Texas, Georgia, New Jersey and Chicago.

Discover had been looking for a roller coaster enthusiast to send on the a roller coaster road trip to showcase the savings Discover provides at Six Flags parks across the country, said Matt Towson, senior manager of media relations at Riverwoods-based Discover, the official card of Six Flags theme parks.

“We were fortunate to find such a great family to work with,” Towson said.

Dahlin blogs about roller coasters and got a call from Discover about a month ago.

With his kids getting older, Dahlin thought this might be the last opportunity to take such a large family vacation, and jumped at the chance.

“I'm hoping they got an appreciation for all of the different things to see in this country and the diversity of the people we met along the way,” Dahlin said of his sons, Kyle and Aaron.

“I hope they look back and appreciate the opportunity we had and the things they saw.”

The Dahlins spent Thursday riding the Raging Bull and taking a behind-the-scenes tour of Six Flags Great America, which Kurt said was a great way to end the trip across the country.

Dahlin and his family have spent a few days in Chicago, exploring Millennium Park, riding to the top of the Willis Tower and taking in the lakefront.

Though most of the Chicago area has been reeling from the heavy storms this month, Dahlin said they were glad for the few clouds and sprinkles to cool them off during their long day at Great America on Thursday.

As a Discover cardmember and a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts, Discover covered the Dahlin family's expenses and Ford provided them with a 2011 Ford Flex Titanium for the trip.

With a few days between each theme park, the Dahlins were able to take in national landmarks and tourist locations, including the Grand Canyon and New York City.

“Seeing the Grand Canyon in person was a big moment on the tour,” Dahlin said. “You read about it, you see pictures, but it's not until you're standing there on the edge, looking down, that you realize how massive and impressive it is.”

Along the way, Dahlin blogged and tweeted updates about the trip and kept track of how much money he was saving by using his Discover card.

Check him out at http://twitter.com/#!/CoasterTour or his website, http://www.coastertocoastertour.com/.

As the Dahlins head home this weekend, Kurt said he isn't sure how he'll top this family vacation next year.

“Chicago is beautiful,” Dahlin said. “From the skyline to the people to the food, we ended on a high note.”