Can You Understand Me?

[austin_dern]

We were away from home Friday and Saturday, in order to stay at a hotel for Pinball At The Zoo and maybe not have to get up unspeakably early Saturday morning when we'd be hopefully getting some last-minute games in to qualify for a playoffs. Story on that to follow, though to spoil the big thing, neither of us qualified for anything.

But, since we'd be missing the mail a couple days, and it's been raining between four and 214 inches a day the past week, I had the mail held. Something about our mailbox encourages letter carriers to not just slip things in; they like to leave a little bit hanging out so any rain will get wicked inside fast.

Saturday I came home to find two pieces of (junk) mail in the mailbox, one sticking out ready for the rain that hadn't come yet. Also, Sunday, I got an e-mail from the post office confirming that my mail hold would be expiring soon.

I once more checked on the form that the mail should be kept at the post office where I will go in person to pick it up. What odds am I given that the mail will instead be left in the box?

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Since that's not much of an update how about a lot of Idlewild pictures? Thought you might like that.

At the end of the story book forest walk is this castle that we weren't sure was different from last time or what. Turns out it was new since our last visit, although nearly a decade old by the time we saw it, and was a reconstruction of a castle that used to be at the end of the fairy tale trail.

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And here's the sign explaining the castle. Duke the Dragon is, yes, our Dutch Wonderland pal, so this dates it to after when Hershey sold the park to Kennywood's corporate owners (who already owned Idlewild).

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Here's the area inside the castle, with a bunch of mock medieval-ish hose fronts and a broom that's probably not a witch's, just janitorial, but who can say for sure?

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Here's that sword you could try pulling from the stone. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't think to try pulling myself to learn what happens.

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And here is Duke in something that looks bronze-ish all right! The broom's behind him.

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Duke dolphins decorate the base of the fountain, though they weren't spitting water at this moment.

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Believe that's Raggedy Ann and Andy leaving the castle ahead of us for the gift shop.

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And there's the pair going into what I assume is a staff building. It was far enough away there was no plausibly wandering off to see what was there.

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And now let's get back to the park; here's the Loggin Toboggan, local log flume, doing good business since it was a Saturday and a 140 degrees.

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It's in a part of the park named Hootin' Holler, which has a hillbilly theme and seems like it's got that name independent of the setting of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, but you never know for sure.

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Last time we visited the park had disassembled their ... I'm going to say Spider ... ride. (There are a bunch of similar rides with names like Spider, Monster, Octopus, and so on.) Was very happy to see it reassembled and working.

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And up on a hill one of the picnic pavilions would like to take a moment to sell you a tall glass of America. What do you think?

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Trivia: Although Ransom E Olds appears to have made the first steam-powered car built in Lansing, the first steam car company in Lansing was the Lansing Automobile Works set up in 1902 by George J Bohnet and J W Post. Source: The Bicentennial History of Ingham County, Michigan, Ford Stevens Ceasar. If I'm not grossly misled, the location of the Lansing Automobile Works (219 North Washington) is currently a parking lot, like all of downtown. Anyway it didn't last long; even by 1902 gasoline engines were vastly ahead of steam and electric. Also in looking this up I learn on that same block is a Telephone Pioneer Museum I never heard of before. And I know what you're thinking and yes: Bohnet Electric is the company that sold us, and installed, our current kitchen light fixture.

Currently Reading: Michigan History, September/October 2025, Editor Kristen Brennan.

Comments

[bunnyhugger]

I pulled on the sword. It wouldn't come out but Duke said something along the lines of "good try" to me.

You're right that the octopus-like ride is a Spider. Eyerly had, I think, three models, which can be distinguished by how many cars are on each arm. The Octopus was the original and had one car on each arm. The Spider had two cars and the Monster, four.