Ever been to the Mystery Spot? Ever been gypped at roadisde tourist traps? Been to Cap'n Wackyland yet? Sounds like something worth discussing on our message board.
Ah, it's summer. When people decide to venture out of their nice, air-conditioned huts and brave traffic, polar ice cap melting heat, giant insects and the siren song of weird, weird tourist stops:
Why go?
Weird cheesy things that don't appeal to a lot of people.
I'm not saying this to make myself seem "hip" or "alternative" or
"post-modern" or anything like that.
It's not some whole obsession with kitsch, I just seem to enjoy things that
are a bit old and sometimes run down. So, naturally, I love roadside tourist
traps. When I was a kid, I'd dream of visiting Wall Drug or the Corn Palace,
but never got there. I used to read as much as I could about them, like most
of my other childhood obsessions (Ask me about the Edmund Fitzgerald,
nuclear war or tornadoes sometime).
Anyway, that's what got me to the Mystery Spot in St. Ignace. My girlfriend
and I had gone to my cousin's wedding in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and
once you get close to the Mackinac Bridge, you start to see signs with these
huge white and red question marks, advertising a magical place where gravity
is in flux and the laws of physics have taken a holiday.
There is no way in hell I could resist that. I'd seen the pamphlets in
restaurants on that rare occasion when my parents made a stop anywhere on the way up to see relatives in Petoskey ("Come on, come on, I want to get there before six!"). There were never any photos, but the descriptions conjured up images of people floating in the air, balls rolling uphill, people sitting in chairs upside down, the whole thing. Now, I was the adult and I decided when and where we stopped on the trip.
Either that, or you may just be curious. Whatever.
Is it a mystery?
It's a tiny house built on a slant. If that has destroyed your preconceptions about the very physical laws that govern our universe, then I am truly, truly sorry.
If you mean something that will confuse really, really dumb people, then, yes. it is a "mystery." Take this exchange, for instance-
WOMAN WHOSE SON IS STANDING AT AN ODD ANGLE FROM A TABLE: Okay, Mikey, hold still. Mamma's gonna take your picture. (Turns to Mystery Spot Tour Guide) Will the Mystery Spot show up on film?
MYSTERY SPOT GUIDE: (pause) Yes, it should show up just fine, ma'am.
The sad thing is, I'll bet he gets asked that quite often.
Is it a spot?
Can you recommend a good family doctor in the Lansing area?
Is the Mystery Spot a good value?
Are you sure there's nothing weird about it?
LINK: These folks have a theory behind the phenomenon.
The Mystery Spot, St. Ignace, MI
I like weird stuff.
Low-key advertising
Well, that depends upon one's definition of "mystery." If you mean a puzzle not easily figured out, no.
Yes.
Is the 'Mystery Maze' across the road worth it?
In the 70s, before science cracked the "mystery"
Sure, it's only $1.75 extra, but I saw a 5-year old come out of it in two minutes, so it can't be much of a mystery, either.
Of course.
William J Swords, DO.
4265 Okemos Rd Ste H, Okemos, MI
(517) 349-3444
Unimpeachable as a physician.
Sure. If you're in the neighborhood and you have some extra time, why not? the best value is in the gift shop. The T-Shirts are cool, and you can get a pack of postcards for a buck or so, because the guy who owned the place in the 70s ordered far too many and they're still trying to get rid of them.
Well, I've been about a foot and a half shorter ever since, but that's probably just a cold.