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And for those who were guessing: the next photo event is our Labor Day visit to Michigan's Adventure, meaning among other things we've got all the way to September of last year already! You know, I remember the point when society was trying to stop the pandemic when my photos here were caught up to the present day and I just didn't have anything to post, and yet here we are, me nearly a year behind again. Weird.
So I had joked that Michigan's Adventure's big new thing for the year 2023 was getting signs in but it's only kind of a joke. These were among the things put in, signs that do give you some idea where the points of interest are.
Also, this was their first year opening for a Halloween event, so they were getting decorated for it.
That's a pretty interesting metallic beast sculpture even with the steampunk ... ears? ... and stuff.
And of course it's facing off against a steampunk ... joker? Sandman? Something?
The Chance carousel doesn't care about Halloween; it's just going around in its own circles.
And here's one of those park signs I told you about! Seriously, up to 2023 the park didn't have a map like this on the grounds, but it was easy to get a paper map.
Here's the Mad Mouse coaster, seen in a rare day of operating all right.
The two evergreens planted on either side of the exit gate, even though one of them would have nothing to grow into except the track. Note that the one on the left has been cut off where it would hit the track, so it's sending out a new leader off to the side that ... is also going to hit the track. Sorry, bad luck.
Also here's another little tree growing to the side of the exit queue, itself to someday get too close to the track and learn a harsh lesson.
And here's an unexpected discovery! Outside the newly renovated and expanded restrooms (another major change at the park for 2023) I spotted this tiny mouse, behind a trash bin, trying to figure out how best to not be perceived.
Mouse kept coming close to my side of the bin and then noticing people were still there, then going out before I could get a good picture.
Mouse would also go to the far side and discover people there too. After a while of going back and forth the mouse screwed up their courage and dashed off, running into the women's bathroom. Contrary to what many cartoons taught me to expect there were neither squeals of shock from women terrified by the presence of a mouse nor people dashing out in terror. I hope the mouse didn't feel slighted by that.
Trivia: Until 1889 major league baseball allowed player substitutions only in case of severe injury, and so teams typically had a ten- or eleven-player roster. Some teams made do with nine, hiring managers or groundskeepers who could be pressed into play as emergency substitutions. Source: A Game of Inches: The Story Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball, Peter Morris. Morris doesn't say which teams hired groundskeepers with the expectation they could fill in but his work's so solid I don't doubt it.
Currently Reading: Lost Popeye Zine Volume 38: The Will of the Wimpy, Tom Sims, Bela Zaboly. Editor Stephanie Noelle.
