Bay Beach

Our recent trip to Green Bay wasn't all hospitals and worrying. We arrived the day before Max's test and spent a wonderful afternoon at Bay Beach. I had never been and wasn't sure what to expect...I couldn't have been more delighted. Bay Beach is an amusement park with a miniature train, carousel, Ferris wheel, wooden rollercoaster (the Zippin Pippin), bumper cars, bumper boats, pony rides (PONY RIDES!! I can't remember the last time I saw pony rides), and myriad other carnival rides. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what makes the place so charming. Its location, in a public park situated on the shore of Lake Michigan? The old-timey feel of the place? The ride tickets for a quarter? The total absence of booths full of crappy toys that entice the most well-behaved children to beg, plead and whine? The 250lb, ponytailed, be-earringed, total stoner dude employed as conductor on the mini train? The history of the Zippin Pippin as Elvis's favorite roller coaster?

Regardless it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.