Kiddieland's German Carousel on Ebay!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kiddieland-German-Auto-Carousel-1950s-Museum-Quality-/320674607341

I buy the Powerball twice a week.  I mean, someone has to win it and it might as well be me.  Because I've got plans.  Big plans.

One of those plans has to do with this particular Ebay auction.  I urge you to click on the link above and feast your eyes on the crowning jewel of the rides which ran at my beloved Kiddieland for decades, the German Carousel.  Kiddie-sized, colorful, rarest of the rare.  To scan through all the photos in the Ebay listing is like entering the time tunnel back to your childhood, where you could amble onto one of the mini sportscars and pretend you were Speed Racer.

So, please send all the positive vibes you can for this ride, that it ends up in the right hands, with someone who truly treasures it and will care for it for decades to come.  Like me.  If I win the Powerball this Wednesday, I will purchase this carousel (there - you have it in writing) and gift it to the first park that can prove to me it will give it a good forever home.

Knoebel's, are you reading this???  Del Grosso's, would you be interested???

Happy 4th of July!!

May you all have a safe, happy, fun-filled 4th. May you experience no rain, be stung by no bugs, and wear the amount of red, white, and blue that appeals to you.

I was going to upload an appropriately patriotic photo: the miniature train from Del Grosso's Park, all decked out in the colors of our flag, but Blogger is being stupid.

Sty tuned: in the next few days, I have new photos from Conneaut Lake Park!

My CafePress store, The Vintage Amusement Fun Shop, is up and open for business!

Who wouldn't want this cutie emblazoned on a t-shirt, a mug, a mousepad, even your underwear? Actually, if you purchase an item with the image of the Devil's Den devil on it, proceeds will go directly to the reconditioning of Conneaut Lake Park's Blue Streak rollercoaster!!

Items in the store presently are culled from images I've taken at Kennywood, Del Grosso's and Lakemont. And the Conneaut Lake beauty pictured above. I also have my book's title, "The Cotton Candy Road Trip" available on everything from sweatshirts to Sigg water bottles.

Check back often as I'll be adding more designs in the coming days:

http://www.cafepress.com/vintagepark

Happy Good Luck Elephant!

I just love old-fashioned ride vehicles. While visiting the parks, I always seek out the kid-sized cars, planes and assorted animals with the most character, the ones who have the years behind, the ones that are clearly filled with wisdom. Look at this spunky pachyderm. You can just tell he's given decades of giggly fun.

A little "head's up" - I intend to set up a CafePress store with items featuring photos I've taken whilst Roadtripping. Once I launch said store (the proceeds of which will help me fund my Roadtripping)I believe I shall call this ride vehicle from Del Grosso's "Happy Good Luck Elephant", a festive little amusement-parkish Ganesh.

Imagine this little fella adorning a sweatshirt, or perhaps a mousepad (will the "mouse" frighten him? One wonders).

Teaberry

Del Grosso's Amusement Park in Tipton, PA serves teaberry ice cream.

For those of you who live in the East Coast, or at least closer East than West, this is no big deal. You can probably jaunt on down to the local grocer and snatch up a pint of this licoricey goodness whenever the mood strikes. But for this Chicago girl, teaberry ice cream is an enigma, a mysterious taste sensation, mixing the aforementioned licorice with a hint of cinnamon, laced with vanilla smoothness, in a salmon-pink blush.

For those of you jsut itching to revel in the uniqueness of teaberry, here's a recipe to try. I have not tested it, so you're flying without a net here -- often a great place to be. Let me know what happens...

TEABERRY ICE CREAM

1/2 lb. teaberries, soak in milk overnight
3 heaping tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. flour
3 qts. milk
5 eggs
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar

Place in a double boiler and cook until it thickens. Remove from heat and add: 2 tbsp. vanilla
Cool ingredients. Place in your ice cream freezer and freeze.