Captain Anne has the bridge.
Sure, Vermont was our target destination, but the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour might’ve been the stop on our itinerary that we were most excited to see. The town of Ticonderoga seemed an odd location choice, as opposed to a large city or squarely in California, land of ten thousand entertainment tourist attractions. But inside those doors and on those resurrected sets, all questions about the outside become irrelevant while you’re exploring this full-scale, familiar TV world.
Of course we couldn’t contain all that space goodness to a single chapter.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
Since 1999 Anne and I have taken one road trip each year to a different part of the United States and seen attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. We’re geeks more accustomed to vicarious life through the windows of pop culture than through in-person adventures. After years of contenting ourselves with everyday life in Indianapolis and any surrounding areas that also had comics and toy shops, we chucked some of our self-imposed limitations and resolved as a team to leave the comforts of home for annual chances to see creative, exciting, breathtaking, outlandish, and/or bewildering new sights in states beyond our own, from the horizons of nature to the limits of imagination, from history’s greatest hits to humanity’s deepest regrets and the sometimes quotidian, sometimes quirky stopovers in between. We’re the Goldens. This is who we are and what we do.
For 2022 we wanted the opposite of Yellowstone. Last year’s vacation was an unforgettable experience, but those nine days and 3500 miles were daunting and grueling. Vermont was closer, smaller, greener, cozier, and slightly cooler. Thus we set aside eight days to venture through the four states that separate us from the Green Mountain State, dawdle there for a bit, and backtrack home…
The recreated bridge of the Starship Enterprise was particularly thrilling, as such things go. It’s the last room on the tour because it’s the one room where everyone wants to linger, take in the details and hope the guide won’t make them leave.
All those bridge computers that Starfleet personnel had to learn how to monitor and interpret back at the Academy.
Spock usually hogs this end of the bridge, which I’m guessing gets all the latest tech upgrades first.
The screens contain info of varying levels of usefulness. I suspect one of these fields is lying.
Every room was like that, really — shelves holding replicas of their appliances and tools, walls bedecked with random sci-fi fixtures meant to feign wiry utilitarian decor, and the occasional Easter egg.
Dr. McCoy’s collection of barbaric antiques and a space vitrine of knickknacks that include a pair of trumpet mutes.
Is it a space vault door or a space MRI machine? Whatever its purpose, it appeared in episodes and therefore is brought to life.
Potted houseplants of the FUTURE!
A celebrity guest who was so impressed with the wall comms once slapped one hard enough to snap its button off.
A 3-D chess set in the briefing room, where neither of us got a wide shot.
A Vulcan lute covered with cast autographs on the back.
Our tour guide shows off some flags. This Federation example is based on Cuba’s own.
The little info chips or disks or whatever, which were all around in the early episodes.
Back in the day, prop masters couldn’t just go buy everything they needed at Hobby Lobby to kludge up some space gear.
Look closely at the fine print affixed to one WARNING sign and you’ll find no survival rules, only Elvis lyrics.
Even before the tour, the front lobby is a small in museum itself, packed with Trek wonders — some merch you can buy, some vintage merch beyond your price range, and a selection of genuine props and costumes from the show.
Some of the smaller items not up for bid.
Mego figures and other collectibles now worth a fortune.
Vulcan accessories from “Amok Time”.
Nomad from the episode “The Changeling”, which spooked me as a tyke.
Balok’s fake avatar from “The Corbomite Maneuver” who frequently cameos during the Star Trek end credits.
An adult Gorn mask from “Arena”, as opposed to the newborns we’ve seen in Strange New Worlds.
Someone had to have defeated Mirror Universe Kirk in mortal combat to bring back this trophy.
Costumes from the traumatizing “The Way to Eden” — Tongo Rad and Hippie Girl #2.
Nods to the other Trek series were few, but here’s Dixon Hill pipe.
Eventually we left this shrine to the future, rejoined the present, and headed down the road for a rendezvous rooted in the American past…
To be continued!
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[Link enclosed here to handy checklist for other chapters and for our complete road trip history to date. Follow us on Facebook or via email sign-up for new-entry alerts, or over on Twitter if you want to track my faint signs of life between entries. Thanks for reading!]
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 
My little Trekkie heart might burst with excitement if I were to go on this tour!
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It isn’t a convenient trip to make, but it’s a total blast!
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