2015 Birthday Road Trip Photos, Part 3 of 4: American History FW

Jailhouse Mannequin!

Indiana comes alive through all the exhibits at Fort Wayne’s History Center, except for this surly mannequin serving consecutive sentences for crimes of fashion.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

For the last few years, my wife and I have spent our respective birthdays together finding some new place or attraction to visit as a one-day road trip — partly as an excuse to spend time together on this most wondrous day, partly to explore areas of Indiana we’ve never experienced before. My 2015 birthday destination of choice: the city of Fort Wayne, some 100+ miles northeast of here. It’s home to several manufacturing concerns, one major insurance company, a selection of buildings with historical importance to the locals, and a small comic book convention I’d never heard of before this year. We checked out the area, we found ways to enjoy ourselves, we got some much-needed exercise, and we took photos.

Fort Wayne’s tourism documents pitch a number of downtown leisure options for curious visitors — an art museum, an arboretum, their minor-league baseball stadium (home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps), a museum of religious artifacts dating back to the 13th century (closed weekends, alas), courthouse tours, and so on. After much consideration and random wandering, we settled for a post-lunch tour of their History Center. My wife is a history buff. I like places made of exhibits. Best of all, it was just three blocks east of where we had lunch. Who could deny so many converging criteria?

Right this way for random historical things!

Birthday 43: a Road Trip for Comics, Art, and History

Freimann Square Park!

Freimann Square Park, an eminently photogenic city block in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

It’s that time of year again! As of today I’m now 43 years old and trying not to obsess on the fact that I know at least three different guys who died at that exact age, including a near-forgotten high school acquaintance who popped up in last Thursday’s Obituaries section of the local paper.

…CUT. Forget that paragraph. Maybe we’ll set that aside for another, drearier time. Let’s start over.

For the last few years, my wife and I have spent our respective birthdays together finding some new place or attraction to visit as a one-day road trip — partly as an excuse to spend time together on this most wondrous day, partly to explore areas of Indiana we’ve never experienced before. My 2015 birthday destination of choice: the city of Fort Wayne, some 100+ miles northeast of here. It’s home to several manufacturing concerns, one major insurance company, a selection of buildings with historical importance to the locals, and a small comic book convention I’d never heard of before this year. We checked out the area, we found ways to enjoy ourselves, we got some much-needed exercise, and we took photos.

Right this way for the things I just said there would be!

2014 Road Trip Photos #30: Roger and Me

Ebert and me!

Imagine it: a syndicated series called Ebert & Golden and the Movies. Every episode would’ve been thirty minutes of Ebert talking cinema and me nodding my head, taking notes, and silently scrunching up my face if I disagreed.

Welcome to my third annual Roger Ebert entry!

On the occasion of the noted film critic’s passing on April 4, 2013, I wrote at length about the impact he and his partner/rival/dear friend Gene Siskel had on me at an impressionable age. In 2014 I wrote about Steve James’ documentary Life Itself, which unexpectedly became a chronicle of Ebert’s final days as cancer took its toll. (We’ve also visited the Chicago theater named after Siskel, but that doesn’t count. Wrong guy.)

Here we are again with another Ebert tribute after a brief stopover in his hometown. We weren’t even supposed to be there that day.

Right this way for more of that famous thumb!

2014 Road Trip Photos #29: The Fast and the (in)Famous

Batmobile!

At conventions we’ve seen a 1966 Batmobile and one of Nolan’s Bat-Tumblers, but the Batman Returns Batmobile was an elusive quarry…until now.

Day Seven. The end of our road trip was nigh. Eight hours and 500+ miles separated us from home, but the vacation wasn’t over yet. In the past we’ve always felt let down when our final day’s stops were just for food, gas, and bathrooms. That’s no fun, memorable way to conclude your year’s best adventure. This time we founds a few notable places along the way that we’d overlooked in previous years. One of them was full of cars.

Right this way for more cars for the good and the evil!

No, YOU Are Now Leaving Chicago

Chicago Skyway!

Whenever we drive home to Indianapolis on Saturday night after C2E2 or Wizard World Chicago, our last stop before returning to Indiana is nearly always for late supper at this tiny, grungy McDonald’s in the middle of the Chicago Skyway. The drive-thru serves the westbound lanes, while a handful of parking spaces are available on the eastbound side. Pedestrians have to mind the mild danger of trying to enter or exit their cars while other drivers pull in and hopefully slow down from 80 to 5 so they can pick up one of those famous Extra Values Meals that’ll provide them just enough pep to reach their hometown awake and alive.

At first we used to stop there each time because it’s the most convenient pit stop on I-90 — you literally just veer left and there it is, no languorous entrance/exit ramps to add minutes to your long night’s driving — but in recent years it’s earned the cachet of tradition. The above photo was taken from its parking lot after Wizard World Chicago 2013, one of those rare times we stayed too late for the Costume Contest and found ourselves ravenous by the time we got to “our” supper dive.

On a related note, we are now officially home from C2E2 in the middle of the night and ready to collapse. Stories to share, photos to post, exhaustion to overcome, memories to treasure, achievements to celebrate, and discussions to be had about procedural changes for future convention experiences.

Later for all that. Photo parades begin tomorrow. Bedtime now.

Chicago Photo Tribute #12: Random Reasons to Visit

Chicago Loop!

The view from the Westin along the Chicago River, with a window-washer’s-eye view of the Loop.

Chicago beckons us once more. I’m up late tonight preparing for our geek-filled journey to the sixth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, or “C2E2” to those of us who have better things to do with our free time than indulge in extra syllables. I’m roughly 60% packed, have lots more printing to do, and torn as to whether or not to bother with back issues at all this year, and working under the assumption I won’t be able to sleep tonight even if I stop typing at the end of this sentence and go immediately to bed.

Hey, look at that. Still here.

Conventions are a great excuse for us to make the 3½-hour drive from Indianapolis to Chicago, but the Windy City offers a variety of reasons to drop in and hang out.

Right this way for more pics of Chicago whatevers!

Chicago Photo Tribute #11: Hail Hydrants!

Fire hydrant!

Psychedelic nature hydrant was one of the most eye-catching of the lot, and that’s what counts. That and the capacity for fire extinguishing.

It’s that time again! At least twice per year, Anne and I travel to Chicago to attend one of their fascinating Midwest comics/entertainment convention. This coming weekend, it’s C2E2’s turn, that gala of a con that’s as close as we may ever come to San Diego. In years past we’ve shared photos from our previous visits to the Windy City, where we like to explore the surroundings beyond the shows. With Chicago on our minds once more, and with a mile-long to-do list in front of me that’s maybe 10% complete…here’s another round of Chicago photo-sharing.

Dateline: September 28, 2013. That year we made a third excursion to Chicago without a con as our excuse, this time as part of a non-geek group tour. We’ve shared a few pics from that experience previously, including our primary objective of catching a showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Before that, we spent some time walking the grounds near Navy Pier, an area enlivened with sculptures and, for some reason, lots and lots of custom-painted fire hydrants.

These are a few of the hydrants we ran across that day, all of which Anne helpfully captured on camera. I think some of them are no longer there as of this writing, so maybe some of these pic are technically collectors’ items. Enjoy!

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2014 Road Trip Photos #28: The Last Visions of St. Paul

Wabasha Street Caves: the entrance!

Welcome to the wonderful world of urban spelunking!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year from 2003 to 2013 my wife, my son, and your humble writer headed out on a long road trip to anywhere but here. Our 2014 road trip represented a milestone of sorts: our first vacation in over a decade without my son tagging along for the ride. At my wife’s prodding, I examined our vacation options and decided we ought to make this year a milestone in another way — our first sequel vacation. This year’s objective, then: a return to Wisconsin and Minnesota. In my mind, our 2006 road trip was a good start, but in some ways a surface-skimming of what each state has to offer. I wanted a do-over.

Day Six had taken us from the other twin cities of Fargo/Moorhead to a Minneapolis city park with its own 53-foot waterfall, and would end for the evening in Wisconsin. Before we left Minnesota’s Twin Cities for the year, we had one final appointment to keep on Thursday night for a tour that sounded interesting and offered limited windows of opportunity, but came with a catch that we weren’t aware of till after we arrived.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #27: The Lovely Minnehaha Shuddered

Minnehaha Falls!

A few hours’ drive southeast from Fargo/Moorhead brought us right back to the Twin Cities, where we did lunch and had two more sights to see before exiting Minnesota for the year.

Through no conscious intent, many of our to-do list stops for our seven-day vacation comprised man-made structures, companies, businesses, and other unnatural things — memorials, sculptures, State Capitol domes, foodstuffs, and so on. Nature was present in the background, but in a state containing a reputed 10,000+ lakes, we weren’t veering out of our way for specific natural wonders nearly often enough by the average traveler’s standards.

That brings us to Day Six and Minnehaha Falls.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #26: Voyage Like a Viking

Hjemkomst!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year from 2003 to 2013 my wife, my son, and your humble writer headed out on a long road trip to anywhere but here. Our 2014 road trip represented a milestone of sorts: our first vacation in over a decade without my son tagging along for the ride. At my wife’s prodding, I examined our vacation options and decided we ought to make this year a milestone in another way — our first sequel vacation. This year’s objective, then: a return to Wisconsin and Minnesota. In my mind, our 2006 road trip was a good start, but in some ways a surface-skimming of what each state has to offer. I wanted a do-over.

We knew Day Six would be our last day in North Dakota and Minnesota for the foreseeable future. Based on our preconceptions, pop culture history, and the accents of people I used to know in the area, we figured we ought to visit at least one attraction with vaguely Scandinavian influence before heading back to the Midwest.

Behold: the majestic Hjemkomst!

Right this way for more Viking-style pics!

Easters with Wolves

Easter Bunny Interview!

Dateline: the Saturday before Easter 2008. My family and I took a trip beyond the confines of Indianapolis into other parts of the state for a most unusual holiday event. Our Master of Ceremonies: the Easter Bunny! Everyone likes the Easter Bunny, right? Sure, the weather was ugly and conducive to death of cold, but that didn’t stop the Easter Bunny from his appointed rounds. Here he makes his grim march to the playing field.

Dead Bunny Walking!

The Bunny conscripted some little helpers into his service. Under his strict tutelage, his disciples milled about the land, planting and stashing his dyed Easter eggs here and there and everywhere.

Easter Bunny in Charge!

Once their task was complete, Lord Bunny and his li’l henchbunnies evacuated to a minimum safe distance…

…and out came the wolves.

...and Out Come the Wolves

Right this way for a look back at Indiana’s Wolf Park!

2014 Road Trip Photos #25: An Evening Stroll Through Downtown Fargo

Fargo Billboard!

To me, this is cooler than any billboard in my hometown.

Day Five’s return trip from the nuclear missile command center back to Fargo was draining and featureless. Our evening plans took us to the complete opposite of that: Fargo’s cozy, artful downtown. Lots of brownstone buildings from times past redone at ground level with contemporary storefronts, hiding the occasional flourish here and there, all largely deserted on a Wednesday evening. The whole place was practically ours.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #24: American Doomsday Machines

Bunker Entrance!

Down here in the bunker, during Armageddon you might not have needed 3 million SPF sunblock.

Conscious survivors of the 1980s remember the uneasy Cold War days, when tensions between America and the USSR were at their peak. Each side had their credos, their agendas, their grudges against each other, their spies, their cross-purposes, and their active, massive, scary nuclear arsenals in case the other side got any deplorable ideas. Movies like WarGames, Fail-Safe, The Day After, Dr. Strangelove, and 60% of all post-apocalyptic sagas mined our fears of mutual assured destruction for cautionary tales, humanist allegories, and disturbing visuals, all the more frightening to us youngsters because we couldn’t be sure that the adult politicians in charge wouldn’t do something stupid and trigger the end of the world.

Both countries still have their differences today, but relations aren’t at anywhere near the same state of hateful paranoia, so everyone’s cut back on their standby nuclear stockpiles. Out in the middle of the North Dakota flatlands, there’s one distant, decommissioned hideout codenamed Oscar-Zero where the U.S. military once stationed a handful of men 24/7 to oversee the controls and prepare to throw the world’s deadliest switches in case the American President declared Game Over.

Today you can bring in the whole family for a visit. There’s a guided tour and a gift shop.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #23: North Dakota Flatland Interlude

Tractor!

You know you’re truly on a road trip through the most peaceful parts of the American heartland when you can take photos while you’re driving without frightening your spouse to death.

We realized during the planning stages that Day Five would have some of the longest, potentially least exciting driving stretches of the entire trip. We’d already spent four hours on the road from the Twin Cities to Fargo before lunch, but we had another destination on the afternoon itinerary, some ninety minutes further still.

We’d seen the beautiful sights of South Dakota on our 2009 road trip, but this was our first time stepping into its upper twin. Both were granted statehood on the same day in 1889, but the parts we saw didn’t look much alike.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #22: Platter 9 from Outer Space

Space Aliens!

Day Five took us to Fargo around lunchtime. Down the street from the Visitors Center was a restaurant that really spoke to us despite their authentic translator problems.

Right this way for your featured selections from the sci-fi food club!

2014 Road Trip Photos #21: Fame and Fargo

Chuck Yeager!

General Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the speed of sound. And he’s been to Fargo.

Day Five brought us to a state we’d never seen, a town I’d known only from a movie, and some familiar names we didn’t expect to greet us.

I-94 West through Minnesota takes you to the twin cities of Moorhead, MN and Fargo, ND, two cities in different states with very different levels of popularity, all thanks to Hollywood. A few miles into North Dakota, a quick stop at their Visitors Center is all it takes to connect with big-name actors and personalities. One or two of them are even from Fargo.

Right this way for hands across Fargo!

2014 Road Trip Photos #20: Monkey Donuts and the Rest Stop Lake

Mojo Monkey!

Two of the four creations we sampled at Mojo Monkey Donuts in St. Paul: Hanna Banana and the Maple Bacon Bar. (Click to enlarge! That way you get even more donut!)

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Each year from 2003 to 2013 my wife, my son, and your humble writer headed out on a long road trip to anywhere but here. Our 2014 road trip represented a milestone of sorts: our first vacation in over a decade without my son tagging along for the ride. At my wife’s prodding, I examined our vacation options and decided we ought to make this year a milestone in another way — our first sequel vacation. This year’s objective, then: a return to Wisconsin and Minnesota. In my mind, our 2006 road trip was a good start, but in some ways a surface-skimming of what each state has to offer. I wanted a do-over.

My wife and I awoke on Day Five in St. Paul a little grateful that our lodgers did not offer the sort of free continental morning snacks we’re used to seeing in our hotels every year. Being deprived of this standard money-saving amenity forced us to hunt for breakfast options in our surroundings, preferably on the imaginative side.

Right this way for more donuts and Minnesota greenery!

MCC Llooks Back at the Llamas of Our Llives

Llama!

“Yep, that’s right. I’m a llama. You know you love me!”

For those just joining the internet today: hearts and minds across America were swept away by the spellbinding spectacle of a pair of lively llamas on the loose in Phoenix who apparently came from nowhere, took a while to run down, and by the end of their escapade had become the heartily hailed heroes of a thousand news sites that were bored with covering the whole “net neutrality” thing. Internet freedom was out; llama freedom was in.

I may have missed out on today’s llama craze, but I’m okay with that. This wouldn’t have been my first llama rodeo. Our family has encountered these affable animals on two of our previous road trips. Those Arizona lawmen may have struggled to keep up with their quarry, but it’s been our experience that llamas aren’t that hard to catch if you go meet them where they like to hang out.

Right this way for – you guessed it – llamas!

2014 Road Trip Photos #19: Twin City II: Minneapolis

Mary Tyler Moore!

Mary Tyler Moore takes a nothing day and suddenly makes it all seem worthwhile in front of the still-open Macy’s at 7th and Nicollet.

After spending the first several hours of Day Four walking around downtown St. Paul, we crashed at the hotel for a while. As someone who hates naps, that’s hard for me to admit, but it had to be done. We needed to recharge for the sake of our evening plans, for which we’d be driving into downtown Minneapolis to create a fun bookend effect for our day in the Twin Cities.

That evening we tried something we’ve never done before on vacation: a formal anniversary dinner.

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2014 Road Trip Photos #18: Twin City I: St. Paul

Dino Prince!

Many Minnesota travelers dream of seeing Prince, but no one would think to look for him on the back of a dinosaur. It’s the perfect hiding spot.

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