A needed correction on that ``Hey, pinball friends!'' guy from the other day. It wasn't someone who had quarreled with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyhugger about trying to keep from getting an infectious, sometimes disabling, occasionally fatal disease. Different guy, although one that did have a ridiculous online fight that didn't quite reach the ``dead to me'' point, though not for want of trying.
``Hey, pinball friends'' guy was rather the stage father of one of Michigan Pinball's set of very young yet crazy good players. He'd had an extended fight with her about whether it was even permitted under International Flipper Pinball Association rules to have a sanctioned tournament at a place where minors, such as his son, who had no interest in attending her charity tournament and did not after all, might not be able to attend. (If our local barcade sees an under-age person, such as his son, after 9 pm they get really tense, and it's hard to get a tournament done by 9 pm.) He was wrong, but also unwilling to take the word of anyone who knew the rules for that. It was a nasty scene, reaching the point where he declared in Facebook that yes, he would rather charity tournaments be cancelled than to force the three or four really good under-drinking-age competitive pinball players to forfeit their matches after 9 pm. At some point apparently everyone in the world told him he really needs to sit down and shut up and hope this all passes.
And he has, although he still likes to pop up and explain rules incorrectly to bunnyhugger. But the venue fight seems to have died down and if he's willing to let it drop then, fine, drop it.
So now let's get back to a double dose of Gilroy Gardens photographs. But first, have you wanted to see my review of the Popeye and Son episode The Girl From Down Under? Sure you do. That review is right here. Learn her astounding secrets whether or not you watch the cartoon!
Now back to Gilroy Gardens, here starting from after the boat ride.
Another of the Circus Trees. This one, I believe, is Chain Link, also called 3-2-1.
Slightly more dramatic angle here of Chain Link.
This one's a pretty decent view of that astroturf stage with the fenced-off area mentioned earlier.
Now we're looking here at some of the kiddie rides. Much of the park is kiddie rides, but you'd barely know that from my photographs.
More kiddie rides. These suggest many Herschell-Spillman rides but the park seems like it should be too new for that. But someone must make new old-style firetruck rides, right?
Back to the carousel for a fresh ride. Also admire that dragon-lion chariot there.
Ilions Supreme Carousel operator's station, including the scripts for loading, slowing down, unloading, and downtime. I can't get enough of this stuff.
Quick look at the rounding board and the many lights of the carousel.
Turning away from the carousel for a moment lets us get a view of this Circus Tree, Spiral Staircase #2, as well as the obscured train station.
But that is literally just turning away for a moment, as the ride gets back to going and we get this action scene.
Standing horse on the outer row as the ride slows down.
And here's bunnyhugger riding her pick of horses.
Trivia: The second EVA during Skylab 4/3 was on Christmas Day 1973, to take photographs of Comet Kohoutek before perhelion, using the extreme ultraviolet camera, the coronagraph contamination experiment, and the X-ray/ultraviolet solar photography experiment. The EVA lasted six hours 54 minutes. Source: Skylab: A Chronology, Roland W Newkirk, Ivan D Ertel, Courtney G Brooks. NASA SP-4011.
Currently Reading: Michigan History, January/February 2024. Editor Sarah Hamilton.
