Trip Report VISIONS OF STEEL & WOOD - Roller Coaster Road Trip 2018

VISIONS OF STEEL & WOOD: ROLLER COASTER ROAD TRIP 2018​

Two whole weeks of nothing but roller coasters! A dozen amusement parks! Countless multiple dozen thrills! Hundreds of miles! Eight dark rides!

Come join me, - and assorted roller coaster fanatics – on an epic journey from Michigan through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On this ridiculous roadtrip, there won’t be a single Disney or Universal theme park in view. Instead our sights are set on the opposite side of the amusement park coin, on the wondrous world of coaster parks!

Yes, it’s thrills over theming! And I couldn’t be happier! Now don’t get me wrong, I love Disney parks (I mean, obviously…I’m active on WDWMagic). But to fully appreciate Disney, I love to explore everything else available too. To see alternate evolutions on ride concepts. Historical parks which preserve what the amusement industry was like well before Walt’s revolution. Pier parks. Trolley parks. Iron parks with steel monstrosities towering hundreds of feet overhead. In this world, Cedar Fair and Six Flags are the top dogs. Parks aren’t resorts, they’re adventures. It’s tiring, it’s extreme, it’s a wholly different sort of vacation from Disney! (For that, see my Hong Kong/Tokyo TR from last year, or await my return from Shanghai in late September).

And what all destinations could we cover in a hectic two weeks?

​

Greenfield Village – A “living history” park created by Henry Ford to celebrate 19th century Americana, and an indisputable influence on Walt’s Disneyland.

Henry Ford Museum – The world class museum next door with its exceptional collection of American vehicles, inventions and more.

Cedar Point – Arguably the destination for roller coasters, and one of my three favorite parks in the world alongside Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Home to the brand-new Steel Vengeance, already perhaps the world’s best roller coaster!

Kings Island – Cedar Point’s Cincinnati adjunct, a home for many exceptional coasters in a park whose theming and organization recall Disney.

Kentucky Kingdom – A small state fair wedged in between a mall and an airport, one which has become permanent.

Holiday World – A wonderful family-run park in Indiana’s most remote corner, noteworthy for its tremendous hospitality, water park and wooden coasters.

Kennywood – A Pittsburgh trolley park which opened in 1898, and to this day retains its vintage Luna Park style charm with some modern niceties.

Del Grosso’s Amusement Park – Basically a permanent carnival which emerged alongside a pasta sauce factory.

Knoebels – Wedged in the Pennsylvania wilderness is a timewarp where the 1920s never died, lawsuits never occur, and this incredible carnie-run park rejects every lesson ever learned by Disney.

Hershey Park – For some reason the Hershey Company decided to extend their brand with a park on par with Cedar Fair or Six Flags, full of professionalism, cleanliness, and no personality.

Dorney Park – One of Cedar Fair’s neglected regional parks. It has some rides.

Morey’s Piers – A wondrously fun pier park right along the Jersey Shore, like something straight out of Bob’s Burgers!

Philly on the 4th – Celebrating our nation’s birth on its birthday in its birthplace, in a town where the locals are more concerned with Rocky.

Six Flags Great Adventure – The grand finale occurs at the best Six Flags park, the world’s largest amusement park, home to the world’s tallest roller coaster.

Joining me on this quixotic quest would be a core group of four thrill-seekers, plus other assorted buddies here and there. Among this group, I was undoubtedly the Disney Dork™, the relative coaster novice with only around 100 previously under my belt compared to the 400+ these guys could boast.

Their perspective and insight is something else, and we’ll be meeting them all as my stream-of-consciousness report continues. (To start here’s the beginning of AJ’s very own trip report found elseweb.) For now, let’s simply dive into the thick of things and get this report rolling!

 

[D Hulk]

DAY 1 – Flying Spirit Airlines to Detroit
​

The journey begins inauspiciously. I will be flying from LA to Detroit alone, ahead of my eventual travel buddies. Work schedules mean this is a tightly-planned trip, and I’m headed out a day in advance to enjoy Detroit’s bucolic scenery at a more leisurely pace.

Note, I’m just piggybacking onto this trip. It’s really the brainchild of coaster nut AJ Hummel, my occasional foe in the world of armchair Imagineering. Every year he tosses together one or several regional coaster trips throughout the U.S., and for once I’ve decided to tag along. AJ’s an engineer and he loves to over-plan – something this trip likely needed, for all the iterations it went through. Quite a change from my seat-of-your-pants international trips.

So anyway I find myself in LAX. Here I meet some Ohioans who’re actually headed west for Disneyland, while I’m journeying (partly) to their home park of Kings Island. Much conversation followed, with no one able to agree on Kings Island’s best ride. Our group couldn’t either.

I delay boarding Spirit Airlines until the last possible moment. I’m traveling with just a backpack – necessary practice for backpacking through mainland China two months from now. It’s over-stuffed, the backpack is, and likely too large for Spirit’s restrictive size guidelines…but by boarding late the flight crew could no longer seems to care about enforcing their wicked upcharges, so I just waltz on board.

The flight…seatback cannot recline, beverages never supplied. A no-frills budget flight, but by no means the worst flight I’ve done (no crash landing, for one), and really uneventful since I just slept the whole time.

And then arrival in Detroit! It’s later in the night, the sun is setting, and I have no agenda or mobility. The following morning, the fun begins. For now, I merely turn in at the airport Howard Johnson’s, which is high in the running for worst hotel of the trip. (Yelp reviews describe a local pervert with a master key.)

My lodging needs aren’t huge – a bed, toilet, AC. Access to things nearby like food, in this case a Bill Evans. Joe Evans? Bob Evans? Whatever, a regional chicken chain which I don’t recognize. I get some fried chicken from there, I eat it, I sleep through the night.

I promise, this will be the trip’s most boring, most pic-free section! Tomorrow, my friend James will be providing a pleasant pre-coaster visit to America’s oldest theme park (opinions may vary)…Greenfield Village!

(Updates to come daily, so stick around!)

 

[fractal]

Looking forward to this!

We hit up Hershey Park every year and I basically grew up on Morey's Pier.

 

[WallyWorld]

I'm in! Thanks

 

[MinnieM123]

Oh man, this sounds like a fun summer jaunt! I love coasters, so I'm eagerly waiting for the details!

 

[Zipadeelady]

I'm a Cedar Point girl!

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

DAY 1 – Flying Spirit Airlines to Detroit
​

The journey begins inauspiciously. I will be flying from LA to Detroit alone, ahead of my eventual travel buddies. Work schedules mean this is a tightly-planned trip, and I’m headed out a day in advance to enjoy Detroit’s bucolic scenery at a more leisurely pace.

Note, I’m just piggybacking onto this trip. It’s really the brainchild of coaster nut AJ Hummel, my occasional foe in the world of armchair Imagineering. Every year he tosses together one or several regional coaster trips throughout the U.S., and for once I’ve decided to tag along. AJ’s an engineer and he loves to over-plan – something this trip likely needed, for all the iterations it went through. Quite a change from my seat-of-your-pants international trips.

So anyway I find myself in LAX. Here I meet some Ohioans who’re actually headed west for Disneyland, while I’m journeying (partly) to their home park of Kings Island. Much conversation followed, with no one able to agree on Kings Island’s best ride. Our group couldn’t either.

I delay boarding Spirit Airlines until the last possible moment. I’m traveling with just a backpack – necessary practice for backpacking through mainland China two months from now. It’s over-stuffed, the backpack is, and likely too large for Spirit’s restrictive size guidelines…but by boarding late the flight crew could no longer seems to care about enforcing their wicked upcharges, so I just waltz on board.

The flight…seatback cannot recline, beverages never supplied. A no-frills budget flight, but by no means the worst flight I’ve done (no crash landing, for one), and really uneventful since I just slept the whole time.

And then arrival in Detroit! It’s later in the night, the sun is setting, and I have no agenda or mobility. The following morning, the fun begins. For now, I merely turn in at the airport Howard Johnson’s, which is high in the running for worst hotel of the trip. (Yelp reviews describe a local pervert with a master key.)

My lodging needs aren’t huge – a bed, toilet, AC. Access to things nearby like food, in this case a Bill Evans. Joe Evans? Bob Evans? Whatever, a regional chicken chain which I don’t recognize. I get some fried chicken from there, I eat it, I sleep through the night.

I promise, this will be the trip’s most boring, most pic-free section! Tomorrow, my friend James will be providing a pleasant pre-coaster visit to America’s oldest theme park (opinions may vary)…Greenfield Village!

(Updates to come daily, so stick around!)

Gotta love spirit airlines!

It's Bob Evans, and in Ohio, you can't go a mile it seems without running into one. My father in law loves that place way too much.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I grewup outside of Cincinnati and know Kings Island very very well. With family in Michigain I also know those spots and recently ventured to Hershey. Look forward to it. And I just love Bob Evans.

 

[D Hulk]

Looking forward to this!

We hit up Hershey Park every year and I basically grew up on Morey's Pier.

Morey's Piers was an unexpected highlight of the trip. Lots of fun, unique stuff everywhere!

I'm in! Thanks

Welcome!

Oh man, this sounds like a fun summer jaunt! I love coasters, so I'm eagerly waiting for the details!

Might start writing this assuming some Disney World fans are less familiar with coaster parks, so I love to see some other coaster nuts here.

I'm a Cedar Point girl!

Cedar Point is AMAZING!

Gotta love spirit airlines!

It's Bob Evans, and in Ohio, you can't go a mile it seems without running into one. My father in law loves that place way too much.

It was a running gag on the trip that I could never remember the name "Bob Evans."

I grewup outside of Cincinnati and know Kings Island very very well. With family in Michigain I also know those spots and recently ventured to Hershey. Look forward to it. And I just love Bob Evans.

Glad to have you. Kings Island is a really great park!

 

[D Hulk]

DAY 2 – Greenfield Village​

This morning, my friend James (er, he prefers Jim) is driving up from Tiffin, Ohio. Awaiting his arrival, I “enjoy” the free hotel breakfast. This’ll be a daily part of the trip, subsisting on the limited food options of commuter hotels. Cereal dispensers (milk sometimes available), yogurt cups, aging and haggard apples, a bagel, you’ll find some of these at every location. The fanciest spots had waffle irons, plus these really suspect egg ‘n’ Cheeze Whiz tacos. Let the pic below speak for the trip breakfasts as a whole.

And along comes Jim! Immediately we drive the short distance to The Henry Ford, a part of Michigan’s greater Ford Motors campus. Now, Jim I’ve known for a few years from Armchair Imagineering at Theme Park Insider. In 2016 we visited each other’s parks (Disneyland, Cedar Point), and had a strong friendship since. Jim’s greatest creation is a would-be theme park called Americana 1900, an immersive plunge into America’s agrarian past. Little did I know that here in Michigan, we would find the real Americana 1900!

Homemade illustration of Jim's delightful Americana 1900 theme park​

Admittedly, Ford’s Greenfield Village directly inspired Jim’s creativity. It also inspired Walt’s. For it was Henry Ford who first happened upon the idea of “historical preservation,” only as a wealthy madman he got to define it. So when Ford created the “living history museum” which is Greenfield Village, he recreated an idealized rural American community. There is a tremendous care to detail and authenticity – such as the one-to-one recreation of Independence Hall which knowingly preserves the original structure’s architectural errors – but it’s all in service of a romanticized rosy view of the past. To that end, Ford would purchase and relocate historical structures like the Wright Brothers’ bike shop, Thomas Edison’s mad laboratories, even a European ski chalet, into the perfect American town as he saw fit.

As a result of this white-washed romanticization, Ford may have inadvertently created something like the fantasy theming we know from Disney Parks. Walt would recognize this spotless, unblemished elevation of history, and he would knowingly duplicate that feeling in a wholly new format with Disneyland. And the inspiration is unmistakable. A vintage steam engine circles Greenfield Village. Early velocipedes roam the streets. A large “River of America” sits in the corner, where the park once upon a time ran a period paddle boat. Also, there’s a carousel.

But we’ve arrived well before rope drop – not that such a leisurely slice of Americana sees Disney level crowds – leaving plenty of time to soak in the campus’ leafy ambiance and enjoy the Souza musical loop at the park’s entry. Slowly it comes to life, awakened by the steam engine’s whistle. The gates open, and we cross the threshold back in time to the 19th century.

Jim is an amateur historian. He loves to tell lengthy informative tales about the past. He loves to wander at a leisurely pace. For a place like Greenfield Village he’s the perfect guide.

And it takes me a while to get the gist of the place. Buildings which look off-limits to me, Jim’ll wander straight into them. And you’re supposed to! Inside, invariably, we’d find citizens in period garb, always ready to chat about their quaint old lifestyle. Heading clockwise, we first experience this in the Working Farms which are, get this, working farms. Here across 7 acres, the museum’s workers actually farm the land with 19th century knowledge and technology. Their produce is served at onsite restaurants.

At length we chatted up the housewives inside a farmhouse. They lectured on the house’s layout, its rooms for daily use versus entertaining, their heating techniques in winter, all while churning butter and whisking a daily vinaigrette. They will acknowledge the intended year, so the focus is more on edutainment (museum-style) than on pure theme park like immersion. Occasionally, Jim will correct employees’ factual errors, bless him. I’m reminded of his trip to Knott’s Berry Farm, where we spend the first 2 hours roaming Ghost Town interviewing townsfolk all while rides’ queues grew longer. Here at Greenfield, this lackadaisical pace will define the day.

Moving on, you pass through Liberty Craftworks. This is a functioning vintage industrial township. Craftsmen throughout perform live demonstrations of their trade, be it glass blowing, pottery, blacksmithing, or whatnot. Again, all curios made on the premises are sold at park gift shops – a fact the employees are glad to point out.

Further along is the Railroad Junction district, the heart of Greenfield’s functioning railway operation. The centerpiece is a massive brick roundhouse and nearby railroad turntable. The steam engines inside are genuine historical relics – as is most everything here. The roundhouse itself is an historical transplant. This form of “preservation” seemed eternally odd to me, putting historical structures in non-historical contexts, but that’s Greenfield in a nutshell.

Up next: Railroads, Model Ts and baseball! (Just breaking up the trip report for length.)

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I'm in! I live about 80 minutes from Hershey park! Love it! I've always wanted to go to Cedar point, just have never made it yet.

 

[MegRuss626]

VISIONS OF STEEL & WOOD: ROLLER COASTER ROAD TRIP 2018​

Two whole weeks of nothing but roller coasters! A dozen amusement parks! Countless multiple dozen thrills! Hundreds of miles! Eight dark rides!

Come join me, - and assorted roller coaster fanatics – on an epic journey from Michigan through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On this ridiculous roadtrip, there won’t be a single Disney or Universal theme park in view. Instead our sights are set on the opposite side of the amusement park coin, on the wondrous world of coaster parks!

Yes, it’s thrills over theming! And I couldn’t be happier! Now don’t get me wrong, I love Disney parks (I mean, obviously…I’m active on WDWMagic). But to fully appreciate Disney, I love to explore everything else available too. To see alternate evolutions on ride concepts. Historical parks which preserve what the amusement industry was like well before Walt’s revolution. Pier parks. Trolley parks. Iron parks with steel monstrosities towering hundreds of feet overhead. In this world, Cedar Fair and Six Flags are the top dogs. Parks aren’t resorts, they’re adventures. It’s tiring, it’s extreme, it’s a wholly different sort of vacation from Disney! (For that, see my Hong Kong/Tokyo TR from last year, or await my return from Shanghai in late September).

And what all destinations could we cover in a hectic two weeks?

​

Greenfield Village – A “living history” park created by Henry Ford to celebrate 19th century Americana, and an indisputable influence on Walt’s Disneyland.

Henry Ford Museum – The world class museum next door with its exceptional collection of American vehicles, inventions and more.

Cedar Point – Arguably the destination for roller coasters, and one of my three favorite parks in the world alongside Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Home to the brand-new Steel Vengeance, already perhaps the world’s best roller coaster!

Kings Island – Cedar Point’s Cincinnati adjunct, a home for many exceptional coasters in a park whose theming and organization recall Disney.

Kentucky Kingdom – A small state fair wedged in between a mall and an airport, one which has become permanent.

Holiday World – A wonderful family-run park in Indiana’s most remote corner, noteworthy for its tremendous hospitality, water park and wooden coasters.

Kennywood – A Pittsburgh trolley park which opened in 1898, and to this day retains its vintage Luna Park style charm with some modern niceties.

Del Grosso’s Amusement Park – Basically a permanent carnival which emerged alongside a pasta sauce factory.

Knoebels – Wedged in the Pennsylvania wilderness is a timewarp where the 1920s never died, lawsuits never occur, and this incredible carnie-run park rejects every lesson ever learned by Disney.

Hershey Park – For some reason the Hershey Company decided to extend their brand with a park on par with Cedar Fair or Six Flags, full of professionalism, cleanliness, and no personality.

Dorney Park – One of Cedar Fair’s neglected regional parks. It has some rides.

Morey’s Piers – A wondrously fun pier park right along the Jersey Shore, like something straight out of Bob’s Burgers!

Philly on the 4th – Celebrating our nation’s birth on its birthday in its birthplace, in a town where the locals are more concerned with Rocky.

Six Flags Great Adventure – The grand finale occurs at the best Six Flags park, the world’s largest amusement park, home to the world’s tallest roller coaster.

Joining me on this quixotic quest would be a core group of four thrill-seekers, plus other assorted buddies here and there. Among this group, I was undoubtedly the Disney Dork™, the relative coaster novice with only around 100 previously under my belt compared to the 400+ these guys could boast.

Their perspective and insight is something else, and we’ll be meeting them all as my stream-of-consciousness report continues. (To start here’s the beginning of AJ’s very own trip report found elseweb.) For now, let’s simply dive into the thick of things and get this report rolling!

Following along...grew up/still live right outside of Pittsburgh...VERY familiar with Kennywood with the occasional Cedar Point and Kings Island!

 

[jaques21]

this is awesome!

 

[TheMouseFan]

I'm in! We were just at Kings Island yesterday! I look forward to hearing your thoughts! I prefer Cedar Point, but KI is much closer.

 

[D Hulk]

I'm in! I live about 80 minutes from Hershey park! Love it! I've always wanted to go to Cedar point, just have never made it yet.

Following along...grew up/still live right outside of Pittsburgh...VERY familiar with Kennywood with the occasional Cedar Point and Kings Island!

this is awesome!

I'm in! We were just at Kings Island yesterday! I look forward to hearing your thoughts! I prefer Cedar Point, but KI is much closer.

So cool to see so many folks close to these many great parks!

A quick question: Has anyone else here managed to ride Steel Vengeance yet?

 

[D Hulk]

A Lazy Afternoon in Greenfield Village
​

The day is heating up – damn that eternal Midwest humidity! – and more townsfolk are out performing their old-timey ways. Dapper gents ride their horseless bicycles. A fleet of Model T Fords is parading the streets, ferrying guests. Heading down Main Street (U.S.A.?), we reach the Model T depot, which boasts a covered queue and raised platforms for efficient loading. I’m very much reminded of Disneyland’s Main Street Vehicles, but with greater efficiency and authenticity.

We board our carriage effortlessly and are soon whisked away on a whirlwind tour of Greenfield’s entirety at a whopping 20 mph…and mind you, in these 100-year-old cars that speed feels quite reckless. And they corner better than many modern cars! The Model T fleet is in exceptional shape – understandable next door to the Ford factory. Rides are all up-charge, mind you (we have wristbands for the day guaranteeing unlimited rides), but a worthwhile experience.

Further we explore the assorted city blocks, past the noteworthy historical structures. Little “streetmosphere” scenes are enacted by costumed performers. A park schedule lists similar shows throughout the day, all meant to further recreate that circa-1900 feeling.

Next up is lunch in the Eagle Tavern. The date inside is 1850, and that extends to everything – the candle lighting, communal table setting, and menu. I order my pre-Civil War pork chops. It is your classic “meat & potatoes” meal, very basic and robust. The complimentary breads are my favorite bit, especially the cornbread.

Following lunch, more exploration. We head down the Porches & Parlors district, the residential area. Each house represents a different aspect of old American life, from a famous poet’s middle class house to a freedman’s antebellum hovel. In many of these are more amiable historical performers. If not, prerecorded speakers carry the original inhabitants’ words.

My favorite is the fellow playing as a 1906 U.S. Forest Service ranger. I am formerly a Forest Service firefighter, so I have much love for this historical topic. Soon I’m joined by a firefighter from the local forest preserves, and we proceed to tag team the reenactor with questions he cannot quite answer. Some of his tools were anachronistic. He had trouble starting his campire. Doubtlessly Greenfield abounds with similar minor inaccuracies, ones I wouldn’t notice, and I feel like a heel critiquing the pseudo-ranger. The whole area simply feels authentic, in a romanticized way, temporarily transporting visitors to the 19th century, and that is an invaluable feeling.

Along march many mustachioed gentlemen in knickerbockers. They’re followed by motley musicians in derbies, monocles and spats. It’s time for the afternoon baseball game! (Weather permitting, but Michigan’s daily hellacious thunderstorm wouldn’t arrive ‘til later.) So we – and by “we” I mean “everyone there” – retired to the back acres under a shaded knoll to enjoy a live ballgame played gloveless with 19th century rules.

Did you know they have whole leagues of old-timey baseballers?! The visiting team (woefully outmatched by the hometeam) bused all the way in from, like, Cleveland. A bearded man in a seersucker suit and pork pie hat acted as emcee, explaining for all the oft-unusual rules. For several innings, Jim and I enjoyed the game. We sipped vintage beers…mmm! At one point the steam train passed by and practically ran over the baseball (and the right fielder), resulting in a home run. The day’s most memorable experience, and easily the most relaxing moment of the entire trip.

Moving on before the game would conclude, we toured additional historical structures: The courthouse where Lincoln practiced, the labs where Edison invented, the covered bridge where the Headless Horseman assassinated Ichabod Crane. We watched a performance of slave tales. Watched mad inventors in Menlo Park. Back on Main Street we stopped for frozen custard – a bizarre East Coast delicacy which is like a silkier frozen yogurt – which we enjoyed while watching a Victorian clockwork animatronic. Horses passed by pulling carriages.

Then, with time fleeting before the 5 PM close, we boarded the Greenfield Village Railroad for a grand circle tour of the grounds. Following that, simply to kill the remaining 10 minutes, we window shopped. Saw glass trinkets and an assortment of oddly-flavored fudges. Having finally grasped the “walk through any doorway you please” rule, I discover the rule’s limits when I immediately barge into a shop’s backstage. Oops!

That covers a complete day at Greenfield Village, opening to close. Jim and I both dillydallied at points, so we didn’t cover everything, but we saw most. With lots of daylight remaining – and with me still on West Coast time – we took a lengthy dinner at a local Ford-themed sports bar. Vintage vehicles suspended above the servers. Doors with gas pump handles. A vast menu of fatty foods. I settled on the patty melt burger with truffle fries. I forget what Jim ate.

Evening spent at a Comfort Inn, which easily sits on the top tier of the trip’s hotels. With lots of time before sleep, and no nightlife in the area, we watched Jaws on TV. That movie never gets old!

Next time we’ll visit the Henry Ford Museum and meet up with the rest of my travel mates!

 

[D Hulk]

DAY 3 – The Henry Ford Museum
​

Today is a big day! Jim and I will be meeting up with AJ, Josh, Kevin & Evan at the Henry Ford Museum, touring that, splitting up, reconnecting, then driving down into Ohio for a jam-packed evening of roller coasters at Cedar Point.

So let me slow down and introduce some characters. Jim aside, everyone is a Californian. Josh, AJ’s younger brother, currently lives in one of the Carolinas…the northern one. He drove out solo, and even took an extra day to visit Michigan’s Adventure. That was a park we’d tried scheduling for the trip, and never successfully.

Meanwhile, AJ, Kevin & Evan all flew out from LAX on the overnight red eye. Josh got ‘em at the Detroit airport, and minutes later they’re meeting us at the Henry Ford. Due to the complexities of ticket sales, Jim and I are limited to the Museum today, while the other four rush off to see the higher-priority Greenfield Village first. They’ll tour is much, much faster than Jim & I did, more in-keeping for their shared attention spans.

So it’s a half day more with Jim exploring acres of aisles of automotive, inventions, relics, effluvia, and odds ‘n’ ends. The Henry Ford Museum! The place is sprawling, but throughout the focus is on American technological innovation. Call it a counterpoint to the agrarian world of Greenfield, a world which Ford and his like-minded tinkerers successfully eliminated.

​

Beginning on the museum’s far end, you’ll find the vehicles. Trains first, representatives from every era. Then the automobiles, again with all eras covered. They have Model Ts (naturally), rocket cars, a Weinermobile, even the infamous Edsel. There’s a section of presidential cars, including the one which successfully drove Kennedy across Dallas.

Another section is dedicated to flight. Many old vintage airplanes abound.

A section on 19th century engines. They have a Corliss engine. Massive steampunk machines the size of warehouses, most of them still functional. These things are freaking massive, the sorts of things they’d premiere in pre-modern World’s Fairs, evidence of technology’s swift evolution and its swift impact.

Other exhibits: Furniture. Math. Farming equipment.

One section was devoted to Civil Rights. It included the Rosa Parks bus, which you’re allowed to enter. Out of respect I tried to avoid Parks’ seat by moving a few rows back from the driver but, whoops, turns out I sat exactly where she did!

Possibly the coolest thing in the museum was the Dymaxion House. This is Buckminster Fuller’s very first attempt at designing a more efficient home, a prefab metal monstrosity which could be erected in days. Its circular layout and use of space both feel like interesting failures, revolutionary ideas which never completely worked…but which led to greater future creations. It felt like a cross between the Modernist homes of Mies van der Rohe and a cabin on the Hindenburg.

Better still, perhaps, was the temporary exhibit on Charles & Ray Eames. At least I thought so; no one else seemed to care particularly. But I consider the Eames to be the greatest 20th century designers (they more or less defined the field of all-purpose “design”). Take their brilliant Eames chair, the chair every Ikea seat wants to be. Take their lovely Case Study House – an iconic modernist design which staunch traditionalist Jim cannot love. Or their brilliant short film Powers of 10. Between the Eames and Bucky nearby, we have the thinkers who largely defined the look and philosophy of early EPCOT Center!

For lunch, it was time for another authentic vintage American meal! Contrasting with yesterday’s 1850 supper, today we’re zipping forward to the go-go 1950s, to Lamy’s Diner. Once again, this is an authentic period structure relocated and repurposed. The menu is period appropriate. (The prices aren’t.) First I tried a 1950s milkshake, which involves chocolate syrup and fizzy water. With it I had authentic 1950s meatloaf, which we’ll learn soon enough might’ve been a big mistake with so many crazy coasters in my near future. (It might’ve been a mistake anyway; my tummy was gurgling well before Sandusky.)

Around this time AJ’s group returned from their speedy Greenfield tour. They began roaming the Museum. I’d seen it all by now – didn’t find the Museum quite as enveloping as Greenfield – so I just sort of wandered a bit.

​

Jim would be heading home to Tiffin soon, to meet with a friend from Colorado. (More on this later.) And once AJ et al were done with the Museum, all five of us would pile into Josh’s cramped sedan. The destination? Cedar Point. The driver? Me, as the most rested.

Up next: Ohio’s Rockin’ Roller Coast!

(For AJ’s perspective on this same adventure, plus some helpful insights from Jim, see his trip report here.)

 

[Spash007]

About 3 years ago I had the pleasure to go to a wedding at the chapel in Greenfield Village. Lovely venue, but appropriately warm in June. We then toured around the grounds for their wedding pictures, before going to the Henry Ford Museum for the reception. I wish we had more time to see Greenfield Village, but it was amazing from the parts we did see.

 

[D Hulk]

About 3 years ago I had the pleasure to go to a wedding at the chapel in Greenfield Village. Lovely venue, but appropriately warm in June. We then toured around the grounds for their wedding pictures, before going to the Henry Ford Museum for the reception. I wish we had more time to see Greenfield Village, but it was amazing from the parts we did see.

Greenfield Village is lovely, worth spending time at. They were having a similar event at the chapel while we were out there. Couldn't get close enough to see for sure, could've been a wedding. There were vintage 40s and 50s cars parked around the chapel.

 

[MinnieM123]

OMG! What an amazing trip so far!! More, please!