After the rain and the food you would expect us to leap right into Dollywood's rides and attractions. In fact, we more sauntered toward a ride and then stopped as an attraction was setting up. This was a music performance, three people in a small pavilion with guitars and banjos singing country, part of the Summer Celebration shows. While we like the rides, we are interested in the other stuff at parks, such as live shows. And Dollywood, as you'd imagine, has a lot of live music, though as it happens this would be the only show we'd stop and see.
The trio whose name seems to be cut off in every surviving picture I took of the show were relatives, including a son who was fifteen years old but looked half that. All pretty good, though, and as we were standing right up front through most of the show and holding each other often they talked a bit with us about where we were from and how we were liking the place. The lead singer also recommended that everyone at the show go buy a loaf of the cinnamon bread and give it to the band. So, you know, that level of corny but quite pleasant crowd work.
I'm a touch sad we didn't see more shows. The park is too much to see in even one and a third days, especially when moving from one spot to another is slowed by the atmosphere being 40 percent steam and the sun is hot enough to melt the pavement.
Heading towards the roller coasters we hadn't been on brought us past a theater promising the Gazillion Bubbles Show. And to emphasize the point they had 'bubbles' of large transparent vinyl balloons covering the front of the theater and a small seating area nearby. Unfortunately, the show was not running Monday, and if it had run Sunday we missed it. We would also see the promise of a Bubbles show at Kings Island, but it was closed that day too. ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyhugger has since learned from trip reports that the show is, apparently, not just something you might go to see out of curiosity and to sit in air conditioning when the outside is topping 1,395 Fahrenheit. It's apparently a really awesome show, the sort of thing you come out telling people you never imagined was an experience you could have. So it's nice to know that what we thought was a great day was something we should feel disappointed by.
We also walked past a glass-blowing kiln, and gift shop. It was laid out more as a line than the 19th-century factory at Cedar Point, with more ovens and ones that, if we understand the signs correctly, are at very different temperatures. There didn't seem to be a specific show going on, but there were people at several of the ovens. The glass-glowing offered the chance to get your own custom ornament, or even to have one that you did some part in. Here bunnyhugger called her parents to ask if they would want a Christmas ornament given we were already here and we could easily pick it up and bring it to them and would be happy to bring it along. Reassured that we would not be inconvenienced at all by getting something, they allowed bunnyhugger to buy one.
They also had a Christmas shop, like a little Bronner's all their own. Except so far as we know they didn't customize ornaments or we didn't look hard enough. But this is where we found actual music CDs, and bunnyhugger bought one of Dolly Parton's Christmas songs. So for everyone wondering if you can even buy new music CDs anymore the answer is sure! You just have to go to the right place, this being one of them.
bunnyhugger also got into a pleasant chat with the clerk at the Christmas shop. I want to say it was inspired by her wristlet but I'm not positive. It certainly was something she was wearing or had as an accessory. Maybe her malted-milkshake earrings.
And then, as though we hadn't seen enough distractions, we came upon bald eagles. Dollywood claims to have the United States's largest exhibit of non-releasable bald eagles, all ready for you to look at on the web or to watch being all eagle-y behind netting that seems to climb up a mountain. This took me at least by surprise; I don't remember if bunnyhugger knew we'd encounter it. At first I was impressed to see five or six bald eagles perching on a thick tree branch. And then, in one of those moments of learning to see, I realized there were many more in the trees around, and the trees around that, and even a couple on the steep, hilly ground. We estimated something like twenty or more bald eagles and that just among the ones we could see.
bunnyhugger was observing the movie and TV convention of having bald eagles dubbed over by other, more tough-sounding birds when the eagles started to make their own actual cries. And --- as I'm sure c_eagle would be glad to tell you --- they sound a heck of a lot like seagulls. I guess I get why they're dubbed over, mostly as the voice doesn't sound big enough for such large birds. Mostly we felt thrilled to have heard real actual bald eagle noises from real actual birds.
There are other birds, too, on display, vultures and African pied crows and such. These were on display in a building to the side of the bird show amphitheater. But as we were watching, park staff started putting up shutters and closing the birds off from display; apparently, early in the day as it was, they were done working and would go back to, we have to trust, regular care. bunnyhugger didn't even get to ask the black vulture to come over and let her pet them. The unexpected delight not long enough for us to tire of makes a fitting synecdoche for our Dollywood experience.
Let's look at some more museum-grade Merry-Go-Rounds:
There's replicas icthyocentaurs like this on many carousels, going for the look of these antiques. Note the many jewels in the saddle.
Here's that poor battered animal from before, seen from the front. You can see the ghost of either painting or carvings on the chest.
After the Boer War, which was a smashing great idea everyone involved liked, there was a fad for British carousel centaurs with the upper bodies of British Generals, such as whoever this guy is. They were less interested in carving a Union Jack correctly.
Ah yes, the world will not soon forget General ... Moustachey Guy.
Have you ever seen a jumping cow? Now you have; a Bayol one that operated most recently at the Eiffel Tower. The sign says it was installed for the opening of the tower in March of 1889.
Art! There's a couple stands to rub crayons on paper and make your own Merry-Go-Round Museum commemorative art. We somehow have not, yet.
Trivia: Summer 1968 analysis indicated that while the Apollo Lunar Module was capable of making an automatic, hands-off landing, the landing would result in the module overturning seven out of 100 times, and that a manual touchdown had better odds of safely landing. Source: Chariots for Apollo: The NASA History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft to 1969, Courtney G Brooks, James M Grimwood, Loyd S Swenson Jr. All six Apollo landings were manual. James Lovell has stated he planned to let the computer land Apollo 13, but circumstances kept that from being proven.
Currently Reading: Lost Popeye Sundays Supplement Volume 9: 1947, Tom Sims, Bela Zaboly. Editor Stephanie Noelle.
