2005

Volo, Illinois & Owatonna, Minnesota

Guy Trips

We were on our way back from a comic book convention in Chicago. No one really wanted to make any stops, and I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. But I had heard of this auto museum in Volo, about two hours outside of Chicago. We've been burned on these things before, for instance, when we went out of our way to see the largest ball of twine in the United States, it turned out to be only the largest ball of cotton twine in the United States.

Anyway, we stopped, but the boys didn't want to go in to the unassuming buildings. So here I am, leading them -- they don't know where -- and they're whining. But ahead and around a corner, I spy the shimmer of the Batmobile, the real one ...  then the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and the Back to the Future DeLorean ... the Dragula -- and I know it's going to be OK.

I pointed-out these marvels of pop culture and all of the sudden it wasn't "I don't want be here," anymore, it was, "how long are we gonna have to stay in this boring place." How quickly their attitudes pick-up, eh?
 

The Dragula

 I have four favorite Munsters episodes, the one where the "Standells" were the stars, the one where "Zombo" was the star, the one where the "Fregosi Emerald" was the star, and the one where the "Dragula" was the star. They go to Fatima for the grotto; this is what I came to Volo for.

Here's Rudy by the Dragula.
 

The Batmobile

I told Luke that Adam West, who played Batman, was a smoker, and that if he looked in the Batmobile ashtray I bet he would find a couple of old cigarette butts.

So he leans in and opens the ashtray. I guess there are security motion sensors and this loud buzzer goes off and a security guy comes out and tells us that we're not allowed to, and here is the actual quote, "change any pre-set radio stations, open any ashtrays, loosen any lug nuts, or look in the seat cracks for change that may have fallen out of celebrity pockets." He added that this applied to not just the Batmobile, but also to the General Lee and the Bluesmobile. Fun-sucker!

Cows Gone Wild!

So how do you spend Spring Break with two guys too young to take to Cancun? Owatonna, Minnesota, of course! 
 

Owatonna

Here are the Spring Break revelers in the hotel's water park. We stayed in a gargantuan room with a hot tub and chilled-out in the tub while watching TV (at full blast to hear it over the rumblings of the hot tub jets). I also recall something about starting the jets before the tub was filled and the water shooting across the room. Sometimes you don't want to go into details -- besides, I'm sure they're insured for that kind of thing.

Mace Windu City, did you say?

No, Mason City.

What do you do when you run out of fun stuff to do in Owatonna (that would be after 15 minutes)? You drive down to Mason City to look for a mall to hang out in.

Apparently there was a bounty on Luke, Boba Fett tracked him down to this mall in Iowa, so we had to get out of there faster than Han Solo made the Kessel Run.