A few specific, minor boo-boos Opening Day:
We got to Stop 2 @ 7:40; the first tram didn't run till almost 8:20--I have never seen the first tram so late in the morning. Several people decided to walk; my wife and I were at the point of walking ourselves till the tram came into view.
There was no Opening Ceremony because of the rain; several citizens said this was SOP, and we had seen it before. Still, it was disappointing but hardly a crusher.
My wife, the pin trader, found no one to trade with Saturday--nobody had pins on that we saw. So she is prepared for our next trip (having bought several).
The Pickers and Frisco Jack complained that several chairs had disappeared out of the cabin, and that left a lot of folks standing.
I really like listening to Frisco Jack, but, Saturday morning, most of his half hour was a canned commercial for the seaon.
The Great Stuff:
Sitting in the cabin listening to the Pickers and watching the audinece participation reminded me that the core of SDC is still there. There is still a place for friendly folks, no electronic amplification, wood smoke, Ozark woods, and common faith.
We really like the commedian/magician. And I say this despite the fact that *I* was the one who had to catch the bowling ball and was brought up on stage to help for one act, not because of it.
My wife and I talked to him for a while after his show, and I really like his plug for fostering children in need.
The train was running 4 cars; the revised skit was interesting. No Yankees or Indians; there's a new danger. Also, Raphie was not going after "coppers and daughters," which makes sense as Ralphie was a woman. This didn't bothe rme in the least. There were plenty of hard, deperate woman in those days. The new woman conductor, however, I am not so sure about but for ONLY this reason: it breaks theme. She's a great kid and looks to know her stuff pretty well for this very early point in her career, and I am more than sure she can do the job. It's probably just the re-enactor in me. #13 was dressed up all pretty.
As a matter of fact, there was fresh paint in quite a few places, so they didn't worry only about Fireman's Landing. Many signs look fresher, and some of the paint on the fences and streets was new. They replaced part of the depot's floor, from just inside the gates out to the edge of the platform, with some of that new plastic wood. I don't mind the replacement, but I would prefer wood ;-) I know the reasons why not, but still. . . .
Fireman's Landing really cleans up the waterfront. I'm not sure it's much more SDC than GG, but it is prettier and cleaner! No kids with us this past weekend--and we don't have any more ankle-biters, anyway--so I didn't hang around in there long. The little ones ought to really love it! The rebadged toy store is a little easier to get around it, but it has been reduced in size and carries less stock.
We were walking around river front when a citizen came up to my wife and asked her if she had any money. Puzzled, she replied that she did, and he asked to be adopted! I told him I didn't mind--we needed another kid at home to help witht he chores and work on the place--at which point he claimed child abuse and begged to be released from the contract.
All good fun--it was great to see a random citizen getting to the fun!
We visited the Pottery, and I happened to be looking at their new featured items, a serving bowl and a chip-and-dip tray. The latter would be really useful to us! As I read the big display sign, however, I noticed that it was referred to as a "ship and dip tray." I pointed it out to my wife, and she called one of the clerks over, who got a big kick out of it. I wonder if they will reprint or make a game of it.
We snagged a free sample of taffy by getting to know one of the gals working at Phoebe's. It was great to be recogized by folks at Mollies and elsewhere. We didn't catch up with Terry, however.
The crowd was small, which made getting around a snap. HFE might have been hoping for more numbers, but we were happy.
All in all, it was one of the best days we've every spent at the city--and that's saying something. Sure, not all the stores were open, but we weren't really shopping. We were there mostly for the atmosphere, and it was present in spades.