Going to ask if you know What's Going On In Olive and Popeye? Did Emi Burdge leave the strip? January - March 2026 offers my first all-2026 story comic recap so please enjoy that. And once you're caught up on that strip, please consider more of Exploration Island at Dutch Wonderland, last July:
Well, the Turnpike ride was not closed, and we went for a tour. Here's a car that was not ours. Earl Clark, you won't be stunned to find out, was the guy who originally built the park; the Clark family sold the park to Hershey only in 2001.
The Turnpike (now) winds its way around Exploration Island, on the outside of the river. Yes, there's bridges involved, don't worry about the topology.
Oh hey, cows! Like, real actual Pennsylvania cows, enjoying the actual river that's outside the land outside the fake river that makes Exploration Island the kind of island it is!
Also, there's that cow statue again! Plus boaters. Plus emergency fire extinguisher capacity.
The park's original Turnpike had been closer to the front of the park, in some of the space Merlin's Mayhem is now. I don't know whether any of the cars they have now were used on the original ride.
The sign suggested we might find a Mayhem figure or sign or something, but if there was one, we didn't spot it. The sign might also be a friendly wave to older parkgoers who remember the Turnpike's old location.
Food at the next (and first) exit, eh? Maybe. ... I don't know how long the Turnpike ride is, but rounding it up to three miles seems plausible.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyhugger is ready.
It's unfortunate the speedometer is no help figuring out the ride's length here.
And we are thanked for visiting Exploration Island! You can see food just past the bridge, on the left.
Noticed at the bumper cars that the manufacturer was Lusse and they got a Ford stamp. I don't know if this is actually important but it seems like the sort of thing that someday, someone will be glad to know about Dutch Wonderland's bumper cars in 2025.
One of the things we absolutely, positively had to ride: No not the Flying Trapeze. The Dutch Wonder House! Do you see what makes it such a wonder?
How about now? You see what's wonderful now? The house tumbles around, it's great! (It's an optical illusion, yes, but a great one. There's not enough parks that have one of these.)
Trivia: Queen Victoria's opening of the British Parliament in February 1876 was the first time she had done so since the death of Prince Albert. In her speech she announced a bill to add to her Royal Style and Titles, that would declare her Empress of India. Source: The Invention of Tradition, Editors Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger.
Currently Reading: Inspired Enterprise: How NASA, the Smithsonian, and the Aerospace Community Helped Launch Star Trek, Glen E Swanson.
