Let the fun begin.....
Today was full-tilt Oddasee fun time. No serious medical museums or emotional interaction with strangers. There were no scary dummies (well a couple of dolls on one automaton would qualify -- I told you they were following us), historical institutions or cemeteries. Instead, we visited two places that were simply about play.
1. The Carver Toy Museum
This building was crammed with toys from floor to ceiling. From tiny treasures to full sized cartoon characters along with masks and pedal cars galore. The place was one big nostalgia festival. Mr. Carver also gave us a peek at a few cars and trucks from his collection. The lower floor is filled with coin operated "ride toys" -- you know, the kind found in the front of grocery stores and lining the walls of many malls, especially in the 50s and 60s. We also got to play some arcade games from days gone by.
Members of Susan's family came along for this particular Oddasee ride; so to speak. Everyone of us uttered the words, "I had one of those when I was a kid," over and over again. It was a blast reaching back to the "good old days". Fun fun fun and way cool. Note: the last few pics are of Susan and her wild time on the dromedary toy of her dreams. You will see her casually sitting atop the mighty mechanical beast. Then when the two quarters brought the creature to life, she was one giggling "camelaroo". Sadly all things come to and end and after the metal bucker came to a halt, the most challenging aspect of this activity was dismounting her now dormant steed -- actually she seemed to be enjoying the saddle-horn more than the ride itself.... Hmmm? Yee Haw Habib!
2. Duck Pin Bowling
In an authentic old corner building in Fountain Square near downtown Indianapolis, we went into a time-warp. The building houses a hotel, cocktail lounge, apartments, rooftop restaurant, 50's bowling alley and the target of our next Fun Fest, a genuine duck-pin bowling alley. This blast from the past was opened in 1928 and remains much the same after all these years. What is duck-pin bowling you ask? Well, it is very much like bowling with a few significant differences. One, the pins are half the size. Two, the balls are a quarter of the size and have no holes. The lanes are pretty much the same as in traditional bowling. Scoring is the same except that you get three throws per frame with the last one not counting towards strikes or spares in the next frame.
Susan's brother, Eric and sister in-law Marilea, joined us in the silly competition. It was much tougher to "mark" in any given frame. The small balls and pins are challenging. Putting a spin on the ball, R. was starting to get the hang of it but his big score was a whopping "80".
The room and equipment were fantastic. Aside from the new table tops, the decor was pure vintage. There were cases filled with duck pin memorabilia, old shoes, pins, shirts and very old photographs. The curved wood seating was fantastic and the old cigarette machine (25 cents) looked as if it still worked (now a non-smoking venue). One print featured women from a 1898 poem that celebrated early bowling female prowess.
"Truth" -
When Phyliss bowls
with graceful art,
She makes assault
upon my heart.
The pins go down.
With equal ease
She brings her lovers
to their knees.
All this on the fourth floor with mostly natural lighting; a living bowling museum. Sadly the 50s alley in the basement was closed but supposedly just as remarkable.... drat.
However, the duck pin alley was the main goal...... It was a blast man! A grand time was had by all. We wished we had time to play more games as we all thought we were "starting to get the hang of it." Oh well, another time.... off for dinner in a deconsecrated church and a walk along the revived canal.
Day 75 really was just good old fashioned fun. Here are a few pics.
Love and embroidered shirts,
Striker (aka - Rodney) and Born to Bowl Betty (aka - Susan)
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