Day 3:

When you last heard from me, I said that I would be visiting a “most unique / unusual” museum. As it turns out, I was a little off base. Despite its name, Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum is more of an arcade than a museum. They have about 10 pinball machines and a whole lotta ticket / redemption games. That said, they do have a serious collection of old, weird, coin-operated stuff. For example, you could drop in a quarter to watch little wooden figures “torture” other little wooden figures in a mock-up of the Spanish Inquisition. Nobody expects this sort of mechanical mayhem. There are also countless scales, fortune tellers, circus scenes, and more. All waiting for a coin to get plopped in so they can do their stuff. I had planned to get pictures (maybe even video) of some of the more interesting ones, after lunch. I spent the morning playing pinball.

Unfornicately, my arms were fiercely aching after a relatively short time leaning on / playing one of my favorite pinball games (Revenge from Mars). And after lunch, my whole body felt weak and tired. So, I headed back to the hotel and called it a day.

Day 4:

This was to be the first of two consecutive days of railroad museums. Day 4 was set to be the “Steam Railroading Institute” in Owosso. To be frank, I don’t know why I added this to my itinerary. I remember having it listed as an alternative activity, but I don’t recall why I promoted it. Regardless, here’s my review:

Something gave me the impression the visitor center was closed and that it was a self-guided walking tour kinda thing. You might expect (as did I) that the name of the joint would translate to a good variety of steam locomotives on the ground. Not so. They certainly have the most prolific collection of mid-20th century passenger cars I’ve ever seen, but (at least externally) this seemed like a case of quantity over quality. I made my way to a roundhouse at the end of the property. That’s where I learned the visitor center was actually open, and you’re supposed to sign up for guided tours. I was allowed to join a tour in-progress. On this tour I learned the “Steam Railroading Institute” only owns one working steam locomotive, and one that is undergoing a very lengthy rehabilitation. I also found out the reason for the huge passenger car collection is that the working steamer pulls excursion trains on a regular basis.

After the tour, I checked out the displays in the visitor center. Almost all of it centered around the Pere Marquette Railroad. So, unless you’re already near Owosso and are itchin’ fer a train ride, or you have a special interest in the Pere Marquette Railroad, you can skip the Steam Railroading Institute.

Day 5:

Another day, another railroad museum. Or so I thought. Right before I left the hotel, I realized I hadn’t taken my bedtime meds the night before. I knew this meant I would be in bad shape for most of the day, but I didn’t know how bad. I went ahead and took the GoCovri dose I should have taken the night before, but I knew it wouldn’t take effect for several hours. I proceeded to the town of Durand, where I located a popular local eatery to have blunch. I ordered biscuits and gravy. As I ate, I became increasingly hunched over. I had to put up a conscious and physical effort to keep my torso upright. It didn’t work. By the time I finished my biscuits, I was bending so badly that I could have snorted the gravy. But it was sausage gravy, so I opted not to.

I made the short drive to the railroad museum, and walked to a historical marker about 50 feet from the building. This walk left my whole body feeling weak and tired. I decided to try taking a nap in the car. After watching three trains go by on the active tracks that run next to this old station, I fell asleep for a solid two or three hours. When I awoke, I found myself almost incapable of movement. I absolutely could not muster the strength to get up and go inside. I didn’t even feel like I had the strength to drive! By this time, the museum was nearly closed. After several minutes of ensuring I could move my arms and feet well enough to drive, I drove slowly and carefully back to the hotel. Near the end of the drive, the GoCovri finally kicked in and suddenly, I was fine. I have since added a nightly alarm to my phone to hopefully make sure I don’t forget the bedmeds again.

Next time: I finally get to use my camera with my new eyeballs!