WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Keeping up with Steve Hall is a fruitless endeavor if there ever was one, especially when he and his wife Lauren arrive at a beloved landmark in Williamsburg.
“Busch Gardens. 100% I’m in,” Steve said. “It's great. We come here every year. I love coming here.”
The man who remains a kid at heart, can’t contain his giddiness.
“I love to watch him because he gets so excited,” Lauren said.
No need for GPS because Steve knows the layout of every, twist, tumble, and turn of the park by heart.
And he should. The Chesterfield man started working at Busch Gardens when the park opened in 1975. Back then, Steve was earning $2.25 an hour all while making lifelong memories.
“It was fun. Really fun place to be,” Steve said. “Everybody worked out here that summer. Everybody.”
Steve moved on from his part-time job after graduating from William and Mary but left his heart behind. Nostalgia has a way of pulling you back to another time.
“The old days. The good old days,” Steve said. “When we started here it was a little place. But now it is huge. And everything is just perfect.”
Steve and Lauren welcome their annual stroll down memory lane.
“We get here when the park opens and we stay till it closes,” Lauren said.
Their visits always fall on July 18 for good reason. Steve celebrates his birthday at Busch Gardens.
“It's my favorite thing every year. So, here we are,” Steve said. “I look forward to every ride. You know they’re thrill rides. And I still get the thrill.”
It is an annual tradition stretching back decades.
“50 years later I still have the thrill and I love doing it,” Steve said.
This year Steve is turning 70 years old. With such a milestone birthday, Lauren floated the idea of marking the occasion elsewhere.
“Oh, forget it. He doesn’t talk about anything else,” Lauren said. “I suggested to Steve a number of things we could do for his 70th birthday. We could take a cruise. We could go to the islands. So many choices that would be fabulous. And he said, ‘Nope. I’m going to Busch Gardens.'”
Busch Gardens President Kevin Lembke is rolling out the red carpet for the VIP with a long park pedigree.
“How could you break the streak? After 50 years I mean come on,” Kevin said. "You’re going to do 49 years and then head somewhere else? He made the right decision and we love it.”
This half-century-old tradition shows no signs of ending.
“The Loch Ness Monster,” Steve said. “That was one of the originals here.”
“I love to see him enjoy this place. It is so fun and he has a great time,” Lauren said.
Steve Hall is the birthday boy who can count on his wish coming true year after year after year.
”It is so much fun and it has always been fun,” Steve said. “The day it is not fun we’ll walk away but I don’t see that happening. You know it's just been my life here.”
Watch Greg McQuade's stories on CBS 6 and WTVR.com. If you know someone Greg should profile, email him at greg.mcquade@wtvr.com.
EAT IT, VIRGINIA restaurant news and interviews
