Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Labels:
Roadtrip
Sunday, June 26, 2011
New Hampshire to Marceline
Greetings from Utah!
I cannot believe this adventure I’ve been on this past month and a half. I brought a journal, and I’ve been meaning to update that, and blogger, along the way, but it just seems there isn’t enough time for everything! We are staying at the most beautiful campground I’ve ever seen here. So beautiful, in fact, that it is called Resort rather than campground. I am sitting by the TWO pools and TWO hottubs, enjoying the crazy weather (which is ridiculously cold at night and sweltering during the day, the latter of which I much prefer but its 6pm so I will probably start rushing back to my tent to get into layers soon). We haven’t done much here. Yesterday we explored some really cool arches and today this place is so nice we just didn’t even leave! And off to Vegas tomorrow!
From the Carolinas, we went off to New Hampshire for a few days. And after seeing the Rockies, that drive we took up Mount Washington was a joke! The elevation of standard roads around here are that high! Crazy! I got to experience Raferty’s pub which is this place where almost everything is gluten-free and it was awesomeeeeee. Four page menu- what?!?! After New Hampshire we drove to Niagara Falls where we spent the day walking around and going on maid of the mist. Dain had never been so it was pretty cool to see him snap-snaping away at all the prettiness (he sure does love that camera). We were only there for a few hours before we drove through the country over to Michigan by late that night. Customs was quite an experience. Of course we had a bunch of stuff in our car, but the guy at the entrance clearly wasn’t the most Disney-friendly man. He asked us a bunch of questions, searched through the camera to see what pictures I had taken (despite me telling him it wasn’t even on and I was asleep until 45 seconds earlier), and pretty much was just had a doucy-attitude. Anyway, he had us follow him around the corner where we had to evacuate the car with everything in it so he, and a few other officers, could search it. Meanwhile, we went inside where we were asked a bunch of questions and what not. I understand weariness with a car full of things, but the rest of the officers we dealt with at least were nice about unlike that first one, god it’s so sad when people can’t be happy. Anyway, we were let off eventually and headed through Detroit over to Dain’s family. This was my first time in Detroit, and I’m in no rush to go back. Most of the stories seemed to be quite true. The next day was his brother Avery’s graduation. He pretty much had the most creative, most amazing graduation cap I have ever seen. It was covered in pokemon cards and had a stuffed Pikachu glued to the top. It was definitely the one that stood out during the ceremony. Dain and I pretty much made him the best graduation gift ever too…I’m pretty proud.
After 2 more days in Michigan we headed to Cedar Point in Ohio. I had never been here, but of course heard of all of the coasters and was pretty excited. I left, however, much unimpressed. The staff seemed to completely hate their lives and were very rude; the park was filthy; they didn’t allow bags on certain rides and then charged $2 for one-time use locker at each ride; the $2 could only be paid in dollar coins and the park doesn’t allow any cashiers in food or merchandise, ect, to make change; line waits were inaccurate and the park itself was infested with bugs and bird poop. I guess I’ve been spoiled by Disney, because the thrill of the rides was simply not enough to outweigh all these negatives and I am in no rush to go back.
We have decided to camp our way through America to save some money (especially with gas prices so high), and this was our first stop. I don’t remember the name of the campground, but it was half an hour away from the park and run by one man and his wife. He was super nice and friendly and his ground was impressive. I am NOT a camper, and although I didn’t enjoy it night one (and still don’t), the clean toilets and showers helped quite a bit. The next morning we headed out to Illinois, where we were staying an hour north of Chicago, just below the Wisconsin border at the campground at Beach State Park. This campground, I will not be back at. The bathrooms were unbelievably filthy, and this is a no-go for me. They didn’t even have soap, and the showers were on timers that lasted about 30 seconds and I kept having to push the button after it kept being turned off on me. Also, the weather was freezing and wet, and 2 of 3 nights had 100 mile winds, so I’m sure this didn’t help to my unhappiness here. Chicago itself was pretty awesome. The first day we were there it was still storming, so we spent the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. I was so impressed! They had the stolen German U-Boat (505)!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus lots of other cool things, BUT THE UBOAT WAS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (again)!!!!!!! Our second day in Chicago was still freezing and raining, but less so, and we decided to rough the outdoors and walk around the city a bit. We walked through Millennium park and saw the giant bean, tried to eat at the original uno (which unfortunately doesn’t have the same menu as the rest of the chain and therefore wasn’t gluten free, so it was a fail) and just walked around Michigan avenue and what not. The other day we drove up to Wisconsin bright and early and met up with Dains friend Chris and toured the Jelly Belly factory. It’s free, and although the tour itself was unimpressive, the free samples and highly clearance-priced candy was great! Forty bucks worth of candy, but for 40 bucks we got a shit ton! After that we drove to Milwaukee where the three of us went out to eat and my new roommate come August Emma met up with us! SO exciting! Plus, there was gluten free pasta yay! After that Chris and Emma showed us some of the city and we spent a while exploring some haunted hotel called the Pfizer or something like that, which was super creepy and I felt like I was walking straight through the Tower of Terror. Pretty nuts. I was cold in Milwaukee, but dry! And I actually really enjoyed it there!
Excited to get out of that campground, we next went to St. Louis, Missouri, where we stayed at a state park 45 minutes away that was much nicer than in Illinois. Still had to bring my own soap to the sink, but the bathrooms were VERY clean and the showers didn’t turn off on me every 30 seconds. On our first day in St. Louis we drove to the Arch and the state house where we spent a lot of time just enjoying the beauty and the kindness of the people. So many people stopped to talk and we even got asked if we wanted to play baseball with some families. The state house and the fountains with the Arch in the background is an awe-inspiring site to see, and I am still gurgling over the pink water in the fountain. We eventually made our way inside the arm where we went to the top to look out. The exhibits in the arch were really impressive, and the little karts to go up the arch itself was a sight to see. They were little egg-shaped pods that not even little-tiny-five-foot-me could sit up straight in that had us all fearing for our lives. The windows up top were small, but the view was great! After we came down an hour or so later, we decided to have a picnic in the park and just gawk at the beauty surrounding us. The second day we went to this place called the City Museum, which really shouldn’t be called a museum at all. It didn’t seem like it was in the best part of town, but it was seriously incredible. It’s basically like this giant playground where you are encouraged to climb in, around and play with everything! I wish I could explain it better, but I don’t know how! We spent 3 hours building Cinderella’s castle out of sponges, we rode a mini train around a 50’s street, we took a coiled tube up and down levels instead of the stairs, we climbed in and on top of some planes for the 60’s, we painted pictures and made clay, we slid down slide after slide. We got there when it opened and were rushing to see everything when it closed, it was just amazing!! SO MUCH FUN. I really enjoyed St. Louis, and it’s on my list of places to go back to. Everyone was so friendly and everything so clean, I was beyond impressed.
After St. Louis was our long drive to Colorado, but not before a day stop in Marceline, Missouri! What can I say about Marceline other than INCREDIBLE? Walt Disney’s hometown, the place that inspired it all, the real Main Street USA, the real Main Street Emporium, the place where Disney premiered his shorts, old Disney antiques, the famous trains, Walt Disney Elementary, people who knew Walt personally. Seriously, I could’ve spent a week here, in a town that only has 2,500 people and one main street. This isn’t a place for the non Disney obsessed, but Dain and I were in complete heaven the entire time. Our day started with just walking up and down the real Main Street USA. There are Mickey signs to signal this, but any fan of the parks wouldn’t need the signs to know this is legit. We got stopped on the street by a man who introduced himself to us and started talking about the town and Disney. When we told him we worked in Florida we ended up having a long conversation with him which included him volunteering to take our picture in a variety of places with different lenses, despite the fact he had no idea how to use the cameras and had to be shown. He even pointed us to a few specific people in town to go and visit, and I immediately had this impression that this is the true small-town America – the place where everyone is friendly and everyone knows each other. As my day went on, I found this to be quite true, and Richard, our friend from the street, created a great start to the day. After exploring a few of the real Main Street stores, we came across the theater. It was clearly run down, but still operating and still open. What still amazes me is the fact that the doors were open and unlocked. There wasn’t a sole in the building, not an employee on duty, but the building was open with all the props, equipment and merchandise just sitting there, a completely trusting neighborhood in small town America. In the old-school ticket booth is a Cinderella doll, and all over the theater, both inside and out, is memorabilia from Disney’s life and career – drawings, pictures, quotes, memorials, ect. We were actually able to go inside the auditorium, and stand on the stage that Walt Disney did when he premiered some of his shorts. Of course, we have about 2490234 pictures of us in various poses here, and hopefully these photographs (many in black and white, as they should be), will always remind us of that feeling we felt when we were standing on the stage that the man who changed our worlds did. It was eerie, it was cryptic, it was inspiring. I just had a surge of love for my job and my life, the dreams that this one man, who stood right here, brought to reality. The characters that millions of people love, the characters I get to call friends, the people I get to make smile all happens because of a man who called this stage home.
After the theater, we found ourselves in the park, which is home to the original Disneyland Railroad car. Unfortunately, the trains no longer stop in Marceline, but they do go by, about 70 trains a day I heard later on in the day. And you can get the sense of why Walt loved it so much, how 5 years here was enough to make this home. We next went to the other side of Main Street to go to the Antique store our friend from earlier Richard pointed us to. Sure enough, when we went inside and said Richard sent us, it started a long conversation. Again, small town America came to life as random people came in and out just to say hi and chat with the owner from other stores, a place where everyone knows each other. This store had an amazing collection of old Disney merchandise, and the owner let us take pictures of most of it and opened the cabinets so we could just hold some of it. She had decorations on the wall of old newspapers and photos of Walt, not for sale, but amazing to gaze at. We ended up purchasing a Mickey Mouse spoon from the 1950s, a Donald Duck short story from the 30’s (with no cover), 2 comic books from the 70’s, and a bunch of old postcards, but if money weren’t an issue, I probably would’ve left with the entire store. The sweet owner gave us a map of Marceline and pointed out everything we absolutely need to see and what order to do in, and even took us next door to see her office where animators stay when they come every year for Toonfest! I'm not sure what I can say about that since it's not public, but it was pretty damn cool. So, off we went to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, a place run by a mother and daughter team who both happened to know Walt on a first name basis! When Disney came to town, he used to stay in this family’s house, and the museum was donned with old family photographs of them and Walt. Our tour guide was the mother, who certainly does not look or seem to be the 81-years that she claims. It was amazing to look at pictures and have her point out that moment, going back to the memory and talking in such terms as to have goosebumps crawling from the emotion and the admiration. There was one other volunteer there (no one gets paid), and we had such great conversations with them as well about our lives working in Florida and our visit to Marceline and everything-Disney. They even took our picture to put on their website which was pretty cool (and which I stalked a few days later..it was really there). The museum was beyond filled with personal memorabilia, not only from the family who runs it but from Disney relatives themselves. When the youngest child of Elias Disney, Ruth, died, she left all of her belongings to the city of Marceline, something that Walt had always wanted. So there were letters from Walt, Roy, Ruth and others, old checks, old photographs, Walt’s desk from the schoolhouse (a copy of which is at Hollywood Studios in One Man’s Dream), and SO much more. There were models of Disneyland, photographs, audio recordings, toys, memories from Walt’s visits to Marceline throughout his later years, and everything else you could imagine. This wasn’t a Walt Disney history museum, it was a personal collection. We left hours later in complete awe, with more directions from the staff of what to see next.
Our next stop was the Disney’s house in Marceline. This house is now private property, but the family that moved in about a decade ago actually decided to open up Walt’s Dreaming Tree and barn, behind the house, to the public, which apparently didn’t exist before (neither did most of the Disney memories – apparently Walt had a “Marceline project” but both he and Roy died before it could get off the ground and Marceline really wasn’t revived to Disney-funland until a bit back). The dreaming tree is clearly on its last years, but it was amazing to sit underneath it and know that this is where Walt used to sit to make his first drawings. When we came back to Marceline, he apparently always snuck back to this tree to sit under it and dream. The barn was just that – a barn, but inside were autographs from the hundreds of visitors who had come since its opening thanking Walt for his amazing gift to this world. Set up inside was also statues of what was meant to be Walt hosting a magic show for the neighbors – something which he charged them for and apparently wasn’t very successful at. Even if I tried, I don’t think I could sum up what Walt has done for me on the wall of a barn, but I didn’t try. I don’t know if I like the idea of writing all over something so sacred to me. Even though hundreds of others did, I found myself wishing that the walls were bare, like they would have been when Walt was there. Dain wrote something, however, and signed both of our names. We ran into a man who was also spending the day exploring Marceline on our way out here, the same person we had run into 3 times throughout our day. He was at his end, and he pointed us to our next destination: The Walt Disney Elementary School. God do I wish I went to a Disney school, where the walls are painted in Disney colors and characters, and the writing on the signs is in Mickey-style. We walked in with our IDs in hand ready to sign in at the front desk, but once again small town America shocked us and instead of a front desk and sign in, we were greeted with a teacher passing through the main hallway that said “Hi, welcome to Marceline!” We took pictures of everything and were able to walk around the entire school without anyone questioning why we were there and taking pictures. I’m sure it’s not the first time tourists have come in, but Marceline isn’t exactly Disneyworld where there are hundreds of thousands of people, and an elementary school isn’t the type of place I expected such non-existent security. On display was also Walt Disney’s high school diploma. He never actually graduated from high school, but the city awarded him an honorary degree. What made me smile the most, however, was pictures from the schools dedication. Walt was involved in the process and actually there for the schools dedication and opening, and seeing the photographs was amazing. Apparently, when the museum is closed in the winter the original Disney desk sits in this school.
Our last stop was the Walt Disney Park. Now, this is just a pool and playground, which is cool since community pools are a thing of the past where I come from, but there used to actually be a ride here from Disneyland. I forget the name, but there was still the track from an old car ride that Walt donated from Disneyland when it was pulled from the park. Inez, the women at the museum, told us it was gone due to lack of finding parts, so that was very sad, but they had the last one in the museum so at least we could picture what was there. Plus, the plaques from the dedication were still there which was neat. How cool would it be to have a ride from Disneyland in your towns’ park?!?!
Seven hours after arriving, we left Marceline with smiles wide as can be on our faces. We could have spent a week here, but we at least got to glance at everything which was nice. I still feel tingling sensations thinking about my trip, and cannot say better things about this tiny little town. Though only a day trip, I have 700+ pictures and still feel it’s not enough. I feel such a sense of completeness seeing where all of this came from, and my anticipation to go to Disneyland in just a few days has been escalating. I can’t wait to see all of these connections!
I’m boogled right now with thoughts and memories – enough to stop for now. But I will continue with some more hopefully soon. This adventure might be halfway over, but I’m still having the time of my life. And plus, two weeks after it ends I get to go back to Florida to spend another 5 months at Disneyworld. And then 4 months traveling the world. I’m so beyond tired, but sleep is a small sacrifice to make for the life that I am living.
I cannot believe this adventure I’ve been on this past month and a half. I brought a journal, and I’ve been meaning to update that, and blogger, along the way, but it just seems there isn’t enough time for everything! We are staying at the most beautiful campground I’ve ever seen here. So beautiful, in fact, that it is called Resort rather than campground. I am sitting by the TWO pools and TWO hottubs, enjoying the crazy weather (which is ridiculously cold at night and sweltering during the day, the latter of which I much prefer but its 6pm so I will probably start rushing back to my tent to get into layers soon). We haven’t done much here. Yesterday we explored some really cool arches and today this place is so nice we just didn’t even leave! And off to Vegas tomorrow!
From the Carolinas, we went off to New Hampshire for a few days. And after seeing the Rockies, that drive we took up Mount Washington was a joke! The elevation of standard roads around here are that high! Crazy! I got to experience Raferty’s pub which is this place where almost everything is gluten-free and it was awesomeeeeee. Four page menu- what?!?! After New Hampshire we drove to Niagara Falls where we spent the day walking around and going on maid of the mist. Dain had never been so it was pretty cool to see him snap-snaping away at all the prettiness (he sure does love that camera). We were only there for a few hours before we drove through the country over to Michigan by late that night. Customs was quite an experience. Of course we had a bunch of stuff in our car, but the guy at the entrance clearly wasn’t the most Disney-friendly man. He asked us a bunch of questions, searched through the camera to see what pictures I had taken (despite me telling him it wasn’t even on and I was asleep until 45 seconds earlier), and pretty much was just had a doucy-attitude. Anyway, he had us follow him around the corner where we had to evacuate the car with everything in it so he, and a few other officers, could search it. Meanwhile, we went inside where we were asked a bunch of questions and what not. I understand weariness with a car full of things, but the rest of the officers we dealt with at least were nice about unlike that first one, god it’s so sad when people can’t be happy. Anyway, we were let off eventually and headed through Detroit over to Dain’s family. This was my first time in Detroit, and I’m in no rush to go back. Most of the stories seemed to be quite true. The next day was his brother Avery’s graduation. He pretty much had the most creative, most amazing graduation cap I have ever seen. It was covered in pokemon cards and had a stuffed Pikachu glued to the top. It was definitely the one that stood out during the ceremony. Dain and I pretty much made him the best graduation gift ever too…I’m pretty proud.
After 2 more days in Michigan we headed to Cedar Point in Ohio. I had never been here, but of course heard of all of the coasters and was pretty excited. I left, however, much unimpressed. The staff seemed to completely hate their lives and were very rude; the park was filthy; they didn’t allow bags on certain rides and then charged $2 for one-time use locker at each ride; the $2 could only be paid in dollar coins and the park doesn’t allow any cashiers in food or merchandise, ect, to make change; line waits were inaccurate and the park itself was infested with bugs and bird poop. I guess I’ve been spoiled by Disney, because the thrill of the rides was simply not enough to outweigh all these negatives and I am in no rush to go back.
We have decided to camp our way through America to save some money (especially with gas prices so high), and this was our first stop. I don’t remember the name of the campground, but it was half an hour away from the park and run by one man and his wife. He was super nice and friendly and his ground was impressive. I am NOT a camper, and although I didn’t enjoy it night one (and still don’t), the clean toilets and showers helped quite a bit. The next morning we headed out to Illinois, where we were staying an hour north of Chicago, just below the Wisconsin border at the campground at Beach State Park. This campground, I will not be back at. The bathrooms were unbelievably filthy, and this is a no-go for me. They didn’t even have soap, and the showers were on timers that lasted about 30 seconds and I kept having to push the button after it kept being turned off on me. Also, the weather was freezing and wet, and 2 of 3 nights had 100 mile winds, so I’m sure this didn’t help to my unhappiness here. Chicago itself was pretty awesome. The first day we were there it was still storming, so we spent the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. I was so impressed! They had the stolen German U-Boat (505)!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus lots of other cool things, BUT THE UBOAT WAS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (again)!!!!!!! Our second day in Chicago was still freezing and raining, but less so, and we decided to rough the outdoors and walk around the city a bit. We walked through Millennium park and saw the giant bean, tried to eat at the original uno (which unfortunately doesn’t have the same menu as the rest of the chain and therefore wasn’t gluten free, so it was a fail) and just walked around Michigan avenue and what not. The other day we drove up to Wisconsin bright and early and met up with Dains friend Chris and toured the Jelly Belly factory. It’s free, and although the tour itself was unimpressive, the free samples and highly clearance-priced candy was great! Forty bucks worth of candy, but for 40 bucks we got a shit ton! After that we drove to Milwaukee where the three of us went out to eat and my new roommate come August Emma met up with us! SO exciting! Plus, there was gluten free pasta yay! After that Chris and Emma showed us some of the city and we spent a while exploring some haunted hotel called the Pfizer or something like that, which was super creepy and I felt like I was walking straight through the Tower of Terror. Pretty nuts. I was cold in Milwaukee, but dry! And I actually really enjoyed it there!
Excited to get out of that campground, we next went to St. Louis, Missouri, where we stayed at a state park 45 minutes away that was much nicer than in Illinois. Still had to bring my own soap to the sink, but the bathrooms were VERY clean and the showers didn’t turn off on me every 30 seconds. On our first day in St. Louis we drove to the Arch and the state house where we spent a lot of time just enjoying the beauty and the kindness of the people. So many people stopped to talk and we even got asked if we wanted to play baseball with some families. The state house and the fountains with the Arch in the background is an awe-inspiring site to see, and I am still gurgling over the pink water in the fountain. We eventually made our way inside the arm where we went to the top to look out. The exhibits in the arch were really impressive, and the little karts to go up the arch itself was a sight to see. They were little egg-shaped pods that not even little-tiny-five-foot-me could sit up straight in that had us all fearing for our lives. The windows up top were small, but the view was great! After we came down an hour or so later, we decided to have a picnic in the park and just gawk at the beauty surrounding us. The second day we went to this place called the City Museum, which really shouldn’t be called a museum at all. It didn’t seem like it was in the best part of town, but it was seriously incredible. It’s basically like this giant playground where you are encouraged to climb in, around and play with everything! I wish I could explain it better, but I don’t know how! We spent 3 hours building Cinderella’s castle out of sponges, we rode a mini train around a 50’s street, we took a coiled tube up and down levels instead of the stairs, we climbed in and on top of some planes for the 60’s, we painted pictures and made clay, we slid down slide after slide. We got there when it opened and were rushing to see everything when it closed, it was just amazing!! SO MUCH FUN. I really enjoyed St. Louis, and it’s on my list of places to go back to. Everyone was so friendly and everything so clean, I was beyond impressed.
After St. Louis was our long drive to Colorado, but not before a day stop in Marceline, Missouri! What can I say about Marceline other than INCREDIBLE? Walt Disney’s hometown, the place that inspired it all, the real Main Street USA, the real Main Street Emporium, the place where Disney premiered his shorts, old Disney antiques, the famous trains, Walt Disney Elementary, people who knew Walt personally. Seriously, I could’ve spent a week here, in a town that only has 2,500 people and one main street. This isn’t a place for the non Disney obsessed, but Dain and I were in complete heaven the entire time. Our day started with just walking up and down the real Main Street USA. There are Mickey signs to signal this, but any fan of the parks wouldn’t need the signs to know this is legit. We got stopped on the street by a man who introduced himself to us and started talking about the town and Disney. When we told him we worked in Florida we ended up having a long conversation with him which included him volunteering to take our picture in a variety of places with different lenses, despite the fact he had no idea how to use the cameras and had to be shown. He even pointed us to a few specific people in town to go and visit, and I immediately had this impression that this is the true small-town America – the place where everyone is friendly and everyone knows each other. As my day went on, I found this to be quite true, and Richard, our friend from the street, created a great start to the day. After exploring a few of the real Main Street stores, we came across the theater. It was clearly run down, but still operating and still open. What still amazes me is the fact that the doors were open and unlocked. There wasn’t a sole in the building, not an employee on duty, but the building was open with all the props, equipment and merchandise just sitting there, a completely trusting neighborhood in small town America. In the old-school ticket booth is a Cinderella doll, and all over the theater, both inside and out, is memorabilia from Disney’s life and career – drawings, pictures, quotes, memorials, ect. We were actually able to go inside the auditorium, and stand on the stage that Walt Disney did when he premiered some of his shorts. Of course, we have about 2490234 pictures of us in various poses here, and hopefully these photographs (many in black and white, as they should be), will always remind us of that feeling we felt when we were standing on the stage that the man who changed our worlds did. It was eerie, it was cryptic, it was inspiring. I just had a surge of love for my job and my life, the dreams that this one man, who stood right here, brought to reality. The characters that millions of people love, the characters I get to call friends, the people I get to make smile all happens because of a man who called this stage home.
After the theater, we found ourselves in the park, which is home to the original Disneyland Railroad car. Unfortunately, the trains no longer stop in Marceline, but they do go by, about 70 trains a day I heard later on in the day. And you can get the sense of why Walt loved it so much, how 5 years here was enough to make this home. We next went to the other side of Main Street to go to the Antique store our friend from earlier Richard pointed us to. Sure enough, when we went inside and said Richard sent us, it started a long conversation. Again, small town America came to life as random people came in and out just to say hi and chat with the owner from other stores, a place where everyone knows each other. This store had an amazing collection of old Disney merchandise, and the owner let us take pictures of most of it and opened the cabinets so we could just hold some of it. She had decorations on the wall of old newspapers and photos of Walt, not for sale, but amazing to gaze at. We ended up purchasing a Mickey Mouse spoon from the 1950s, a Donald Duck short story from the 30’s (with no cover), 2 comic books from the 70’s, and a bunch of old postcards, but if money weren’t an issue, I probably would’ve left with the entire store. The sweet owner gave us a map of Marceline and pointed out everything we absolutely need to see and what order to do in, and even took us next door to see her office where animators stay when they come every year for Toonfest! I'm not sure what I can say about that since it's not public, but it was pretty damn cool. So, off we went to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, a place run by a mother and daughter team who both happened to know Walt on a first name basis! When Disney came to town, he used to stay in this family’s house, and the museum was donned with old family photographs of them and Walt. Our tour guide was the mother, who certainly does not look or seem to be the 81-years that she claims. It was amazing to look at pictures and have her point out that moment, going back to the memory and talking in such terms as to have goosebumps crawling from the emotion and the admiration. There was one other volunteer there (no one gets paid), and we had such great conversations with them as well about our lives working in Florida and our visit to Marceline and everything-Disney. They even took our picture to put on their website which was pretty cool (and which I stalked a few days later..it was really there). The museum was beyond filled with personal memorabilia, not only from the family who runs it but from Disney relatives themselves. When the youngest child of Elias Disney, Ruth, died, she left all of her belongings to the city of Marceline, something that Walt had always wanted. So there were letters from Walt, Roy, Ruth and others, old checks, old photographs, Walt’s desk from the schoolhouse (a copy of which is at Hollywood Studios in One Man’s Dream), and SO much more. There were models of Disneyland, photographs, audio recordings, toys, memories from Walt’s visits to Marceline throughout his later years, and everything else you could imagine. This wasn’t a Walt Disney history museum, it was a personal collection. We left hours later in complete awe, with more directions from the staff of what to see next.
Our next stop was the Disney’s house in Marceline. This house is now private property, but the family that moved in about a decade ago actually decided to open up Walt’s Dreaming Tree and barn, behind the house, to the public, which apparently didn’t exist before (neither did most of the Disney memories – apparently Walt had a “Marceline project” but both he and Roy died before it could get off the ground and Marceline really wasn’t revived to Disney-funland until a bit back). The dreaming tree is clearly on its last years, but it was amazing to sit underneath it and know that this is where Walt used to sit to make his first drawings. When we came back to Marceline, he apparently always snuck back to this tree to sit under it and dream. The barn was just that – a barn, but inside were autographs from the hundreds of visitors who had come since its opening thanking Walt for his amazing gift to this world. Set up inside was also statues of what was meant to be Walt hosting a magic show for the neighbors – something which he charged them for and apparently wasn’t very successful at. Even if I tried, I don’t think I could sum up what Walt has done for me on the wall of a barn, but I didn’t try. I don’t know if I like the idea of writing all over something so sacred to me. Even though hundreds of others did, I found myself wishing that the walls were bare, like they would have been when Walt was there. Dain wrote something, however, and signed both of our names. We ran into a man who was also spending the day exploring Marceline on our way out here, the same person we had run into 3 times throughout our day. He was at his end, and he pointed us to our next destination: The Walt Disney Elementary School. God do I wish I went to a Disney school, where the walls are painted in Disney colors and characters, and the writing on the signs is in Mickey-style. We walked in with our IDs in hand ready to sign in at the front desk, but once again small town America shocked us and instead of a front desk and sign in, we were greeted with a teacher passing through the main hallway that said “Hi, welcome to Marceline!” We took pictures of everything and were able to walk around the entire school without anyone questioning why we were there and taking pictures. I’m sure it’s not the first time tourists have come in, but Marceline isn’t exactly Disneyworld where there are hundreds of thousands of people, and an elementary school isn’t the type of place I expected such non-existent security. On display was also Walt Disney’s high school diploma. He never actually graduated from high school, but the city awarded him an honorary degree. What made me smile the most, however, was pictures from the schools dedication. Walt was involved in the process and actually there for the schools dedication and opening, and seeing the photographs was amazing. Apparently, when the museum is closed in the winter the original Disney desk sits in this school.
Our last stop was the Walt Disney Park. Now, this is just a pool and playground, which is cool since community pools are a thing of the past where I come from, but there used to actually be a ride here from Disneyland. I forget the name, but there was still the track from an old car ride that Walt donated from Disneyland when it was pulled from the park. Inez, the women at the museum, told us it was gone due to lack of finding parts, so that was very sad, but they had the last one in the museum so at least we could picture what was there. Plus, the plaques from the dedication were still there which was neat. How cool would it be to have a ride from Disneyland in your towns’ park?!?!
Seven hours after arriving, we left Marceline with smiles wide as can be on our faces. We could have spent a week here, but we at least got to glance at everything which was nice. I still feel tingling sensations thinking about my trip, and cannot say better things about this tiny little town. Though only a day trip, I have 700+ pictures and still feel it’s not enough. I feel such a sense of completeness seeing where all of this came from, and my anticipation to go to Disneyland in just a few days has been escalating. I can’t wait to see all of these connections!
I’m boogled right now with thoughts and memories – enough to stop for now. But I will continue with some more hopefully soon. This adventure might be halfway over, but I’m still having the time of my life. And plus, two weeks after it ends I get to go back to Florida to spend another 5 months at Disneyworld. And then 4 months traveling the world. I’m so beyond tired, but sleep is a small sacrifice to make for the life that I am living.
Labels:
Roadtrip
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Whoa.
My life is a complete whirlwind. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I am currently in the upper parts of New Hampshire, writing this in the midst of a trip across the country. After 11 days in Florida, we traveled to Atlanta, Charleston and Raleigh. After a mere 36 hours at home in Boston, we left again for Maine, then off to New Hampshire. In a few days, we are heading out to drive to Michigan (via Canada), then to Cedar Point, Chicago, St. Louis, Marcelene (Walt Disney's hometown and the inspiration for Main Street USA!), Denver, Vegas, California (Disneyland!), The Grand Canyon, Dallas, New Orleans, Nashville, Washington D.C, Hershey Park and New York City. The plan is to arrive back in Boston in the last days of July, and head out to Florida for the DCP about 2 weeks later. I am already beyond exhausted, but this is an unbelievable adventure.
I am currently in the upper parts of New Hampshire, writing this in the midst of a trip across the country. After 11 days in Florida, we traveled to Atlanta, Charleston and Raleigh. After a mere 36 hours at home in Boston, we left again for Maine, then off to New Hampshire. In a few days, we are heading out to drive to Michigan (via Canada), then to Cedar Point, Chicago, St. Louis, Marcelene (Walt Disney's hometown and the inspiration for Main Street USA!), Denver, Vegas, California (Disneyland!), The Grand Canyon, Dallas, New Orleans, Nashville, Washington D.C, Hershey Park and New York City. The plan is to arrive back in Boston in the last days of July, and head out to Florida for the DCP about 2 weeks later. I am already beyond exhausted, but this is an unbelievable adventure.
Labels:
Roadtrip
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