Santa Cruz Boardwalk carousel turns 100!!!

http://ap.news-journalonline.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRAVEL_TRIP_SANTA_CRUZ_CAROUSEL_100TH_TRVOL?SITE=FLDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

A 100th birthday is a big deal, but it's an even bigger deal when you're an endangered species, like a vintage carousel.  Wonderful article about a beautiful work of art!

Danger! Warning! Humongous T-rex will eat your popcorn!! And then... YOUR HEAD!

Oh, the giddy expectation one gets when planning a trip to South Dakota.  And NO trip to SD is complete without venturing to Wall Drug.

It had been 8 years since we last stepped foot onto the antique planked walkways, had a tasty cowboy lunch and 5 cent coffee.  So we were completely surprised to find a whole new area to the back of the main building, which included this guy here.

Every 10 minutes or so, he menaces, growls, smoke billows, kids drop their popcorn and run for their young lives.  I've seen it.  Frankly, I was inches away from joining them.

(BTW - I love that there's a "Wall Drug, SD - U.S.A." street sign right in front of him, so if you're rattled to your core by his roars, you won't forget where you are.  Or maybe it's for his benefit?)

Oujia, the Fortune Telling Chicken

A big, whopping "cock-a-doodle doo" nod to the Society for Commercial Archeology who happened to post this on Facebook today.  This has made my day, week, nay MONTH.  I give you: Ouija, the Fortune Telling Chicken who apparently used to crystal gaze at Silver Springs, one of the parks I visited for my book.  I'm now fueled to learn more, so here I go, wandering the Internet in search of more clucky clairvoyant info:

I found a wonderful blog about the Silver Springs area:  http://jhammer.blogs.ocala.com/10969/nohl-diving-bell-ouija-and-an-ox-cart-ride/  which boasts even more ephemera about this great Florida vintage park.  Silver Springs has been a destination for pleasure seekers for decades; this blog opens the window into its fantastical history.

Cyndi Lauper had her fortune told by a chicken.  No, really: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgSuI-ulM4w   This makes me glad to be alive.

But wait, there's more!  Musician Sean Hayes wrote a song entitle"Alabama Chicken", about a feathered prognosticator.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shayes3

And a children's book I simply must find:  http://openlibrary.org/books/OL4556195M/Clara_the_fortune-telling_chicken

If anyone has more info on chicken fortune tellers, which I'm now apparently obsessed with, feel free to drop me a line.  And yes, that means YOU, Cyndi Lauper!

The Haunted Mansion's Infamous Hatbox Ghost!

As a tot, I visited Disneyland in 1966; don't remember that trip, but saw some wonderful images in my Dad's old home movies.  Fast forward five years: my Mom and I take our "girls' only" trip to Disneyland, but we took no photos or movies.  Luckily, I was old enough to recall much of that trip and I'll be merging those memories with recent events when I write about my 2011 Disneyland trip in this forthcoming book.

But back to old home movies: what a treasure trove they can be!  For Haunted Mansion enthusiasts, a recently-found film has unearthed some of the only known images of the much-talked, mysterious Hatbox Ghost, who was only seen in the Mansion in August of 1969.

Follow the link and scroll down to the footage; you won't be disappointed!

Oaks Amusement Park and Roller Rink featured on TNT's "Leverage"

I love the clever, gentle humor that infuses the TNT show, "Leverage".  Every episode keeps you guessing, with plot twists and turns designed to simultaneously rattle and amuse.  I adore this show and its cast;  been a Timothy Hutton fan since "Ordinary People", and his co-stars are top-notch, fearless actors.

My hubby and I were enjoying this past weekend's episode, "The van Gogh Job" when I leaped forth from my comfy couch and yelled, "Hey!  That's Oaks Park!", having recently been there as part of the Road Trip   Besides a great vintage amusement park, the grounds include a time capsule of a roller rink; I recognized its charming green and white painted entrance.

The enclosed link contains a great article on the filming at Oaks in Portland, OR, which has been used as a backdrop for not one but two episodes!

I love seeing my Cotton Candy Road Trip locations up on the big (and little) screen!

World's Steepest Rollercoaster! World's Steepest Rollercoaster!

When my hubby took on the Top Thrill Dragster over at Cedar Point two years ago, I thought THAT was the most incredible, mind-boggling, "over the top" (pun fittingly perfect) coaster I'd ever seen.  Like a giant vertical zipper in the sky.  But check out this one in Japan: the "Takabisha" at Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.

Thanks to Rachel Maddow for bringing us not only thoughtful political commentary every night on MSNBC, but video of a front-seat-view rollercoaster ride that actually aged me about five years as I watched it from my office chair.

Butterbeer Revealed! Well, not completely...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/butterbeer-how-universal-_b_893654.html

In honor of opening weekend of the final installment of the "Harry Potter" films, I give you a bonus posting for the day.  And (stay with me here) it's a great article written by Jim Hill, a Disney super-enthusiast whose writings I turn to for pertinent Disney info all the time, so in a strange "scant few degrees of separation" it becomes a vintage park article!

Well, no, not exactly.  But it sure makes for good reading.  Congrats, Jim Hill, for making it to the Huffington Post website!  I have yet to make it to "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" as I've been so busy with my vintage parks, but I hope to take a swig of this frothy concoction sometime next year!