johnsontrio said:
Bermuda Dreamer, I find it so hard to believe that an uninvolved party would find this one post out of all the posts on all the message boards out in cyberspace. This whole thread is so obscure, hardly anyone has read it and even fewer responded. Take a look at the numbers for most posts on this board and see how many viewings and replies there are on average.
You come across as a shill. Maybe you are just a Grandma, missing Disney, and making the most out of Crossroads Village, but I find that hard to believe. If it's true then I apologize. If it's not true, then you should promote your Mom and Pop County Park in an honest and straightforward manner. How is it that you, as a newcomer to Michigan, know the details of the economic transactions between CV and Thomas the Train? Why would you happen to talk with other visitors about the other train cars being heated when your caboose ride was plenty warm and being cold was obviously not a concern of yours?
Could you please clarify this for me? Amy
Hi!
First, I came across the post because I was doing a web search for Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad. My husband, our daughter and I have been in Michigan since 1999, so I'm not that new here. I live at the eastern end of I-69 on weekends and work near the middle of I-75's run north through the mitten during the week, so I travel through or around Flint at least twice a week. I'm active in an art guild in Detroit so that adds another two or three round trips through Flint most months. I am about as un-grandmotherly as they come. If you knew my real name and ran a search on me you'd see that I have expensive artwork in a gallery and that a strange assortment of recipes has been posted in food groups under my name. (BTW, I didn't post any of them.) If you knew me you would know that I consider myself an artist first and a grandmother not at all; I just happen to have a grandson.
Since this is about me, I lived in Florida for most of my life in small towns, middle-sized towns, and urban sprawl areas. I've also lived in (clockwise) Louisiana, Texas, California, Michigan, Virginia, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico so my view isn't very parochial. I have an eclectic educational background and considered getting a master's degree in economics but instead worked on a doctorate in infant psych. I abandoned that degree when it became clear that my husband's work would move us all over the country. Due to that moving around and my diverse educational background I've worked in a variety of non-profit and for-profit companies, doing educational and psychiatric research, technical writing, video production, MR/MH evaluation and rehabilitation, midwifery, photography, and a few other things. My husband has an MBA and works as a CFO; I currently work with the design, fabrication and installation of museum exhibits throughout the world.
My grandson is a Thomas fan and I researched possible Thomas outings this time last year. I expected to have to go out of state to see Thomas and was truly surprised to find that he would be at CV&HR. Up to that point I had seen the highway signs for CV&HR and had looked for the park once pre-grandson (I love trains) without being able to find it. (I think the signage is horrible.) As my daughter would tell you, I will talk to anyone about anything. During our Thomas trip I talked to a park employee about my surprise that Thomas was there. He told me that it was a big financial risk for them but he thought it would be successful. If so, they would do it again. If not, they would get past it and just do their regular park activities.
I thought my "review" was pretty negative. I doubt any place would like to be referred to as a "mom and pop" establishment. "Mid-century modern" works well for descriptions of homes and furniture but it leave something to be desired for a theme park. Of course, CV&HR is not a theme park, just one of many parks in Genesee county.
Aha! That was my major point: CV&HR is not a theme park. It pales dramatically in comparison with big attractions. The rides are not exciting (although the vintage carousel is very fast; that just makes me queasy...) and the decorations and "docents" are not sophisticated. If you know what you are getting it is neat. If you are expecting the wrong thing it would be a major disappointment.
I referred to the fact that the first holiday train ride of the night would be conducted in enough light for you to see the forest but be in too much light for the lighted decorations to show up well. This was an expensive event for two geezers and a three-year old and we waited for the third train of the night. The three-year old wanted to ride in the caboose. That meant that we had to be first in line; only about 10 people get to ride on the caboose on a first-come first-served basis. So, while my husband and the kid sat on the platform for 45 minutes to hold their place in line I wandered around. This is a friendly type of place and I heard people talking, asked questions, and interacted. That's where I heard about the heated cars. I could do some research and see if they truly are heated and when they were restored but I really don't care about those details. (I did learn in the search that I mentioned in the first paragraph that Genesee County has more acres of park than any other county in Michigan. That may give you a clue to the rural character of the county.)
Yes, I miss Disney but I'll be going there again in February. I expect most of my time in this group to be spent preparing for that trip. I don't have any idea of what sort of attraction between here and central Florida might compete with Disney; I doubt that any can. Meanwhile, since CV&HR is so convenient for me I'll probably cough up $5 for a car ride through the park to see the lights one Monday night between now and Christmas. Just like I'll probably cough up even more money between now and Christmas for similar rides through other decorated local attractions in the towns in which I live and work and travel. (The lights in the two parks on both sides of the main bridge in Bay City are worth a drive and they are free if you don't count driving costs!)
BTW, I have heard that there is a train that visitors can ride somewhere near Birch Run and that it is a lot cheaper than CV&HR. Does anybody who is paying attention to this thread know anything about that train?
I don't consider myself "just a grandma" but I'm certainly not a shill. I could have written a glowing, misleading review if that were my intention.
back to work,
BD
