Saturday, June 02, 2012

Anything Goes Saturday - Hither and Yon

It's time for another half-assed "Anything Goes Saturday" here on GDB!

Since 1893, people have been enjoying the sights and smells of the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm. That's in Florida, folks. And guess what, you can still observe hundreds of cuddly reptiles with their unblinking, hungry eyes. I know, I know, alligators can blink - but this one can't! Notice how Albert lets leaves accumulate on him so that he will blend in with his surroundings (I do the same thing). From the expression on grandma's face, she is not so sure she likes being this close to Albert, even when he's dead. Be cool, grandma! Favorite detail: the little girl (dressed for a Sunday outing?) happily skipping in the background.


Now we head north to Toronto, to Exhibition Place - a 197-acre that "...includes expo, trade, and banquet centers, theater and music buildings, monuments, parklands, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial, and historic sites. From mid-August through Labor Day each year, the Canadian National Exhibition is held." The CNE features "... games and a midway, among a host of attractions." So now you know! Mostly I just like this fun vintage photo of the midway; the "Kitty Kats" game to our left has a cat that reminds me of Scratchy!


9 comments:

A Canadian said...

The Toronto CNE slide shows the Red Ensign flag in use. It was replaced in 1965 by the Maple Leaf flag we know today.

The tower on the end is part of the Ricoh Coliseum built in 1921, now used for horse shows and hockey.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I bet Albert (poor dead soul) got plenty of attention from guests.

Picture this. Some goofball runs up, sticks his size 12 buster brown in Alberts mouth, strikes a fake pose of horror and yells "Honey quick take mah pitcher".

K. Martinez said...

Nice photos Major! I love the Alligator Farm image.

There's nothing like waking up to a half-assed "Anything Goes Saturday" on GDB.

Major Pepperidge said...

A Canadian, thank you for the additional info... I find the detail about the flag to be especially interesting.

Alonzo, I am ashamed to say that I would probably do that, ha ha!

K. Martinez, thanks!

K. Martinez said...

Major,

What is the main source type for your images? Is it slides? I love the image quality of the pics you post.

I notice that many of your images have rounded corners. Sometimes they have only 1 or 2 rounded corners. Does that mean you trim the image to cut out visual defects?

BTW, I enjoy your non-Disneyland postings. They provide for a nice variety and spark interest in things I’d normally pay no attention to.

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, 99% of the time you are looking at 35mm slide scans. Most vintage slide mounts masked the image so that it has rounded corners. I generally like to show as much of the original image as possible, but sometimes I do crop of bits here and there if there are problems.

It is a bit of a relief for me to NOT write about Disneyland once in a while, so I'm glad you like those posts!!

K. Martinez said...

Thanks for answering my question Major. Sometimes the slide images seem so alive, like you can step right into them.

Chiana_Chat said...

I'd be fine with some more "anything goes" / other parks / travel / vintage / Americana subject posts in the mix, Maj. I like the variety. Not only do I find a lot of vintage stuff interesting, but I also enjoy coming across something I knew little to nothing about.

David said...

I'm not sure grandma is convinced it is dead. But man, that looks cool.

The Midway is interesting to me because I love the people, all dressed in their Sunday best. I realize it was a different time, but most of what they wore was impracticable.