Miniature Golf ... with a Memorial?

Here's a game that doesn't fall into any of the categories I talked about last time.  Just when I thought I had worked out a good set of labels to help split all the subtopics.  While I have no interest at all in golf, I always got a kick out of miniature golf.  Just don't take it so seriously ... get some fresh air, putt the ball around, and enjoy yourself.

For us, half the fun of miniature golf is the meta-game of people watching.  See how many different ways other people approach the same problems.  See parents showing their kids a thing they enjoy, and how some kids love it, some kids cheat every chance they get, and there's always a kid who gives up by Hole 12 and has a tantrum.  Then there are the young couples on dates, sometimes just laughing and being supportive, sometimes more competitive and mean to each other and you wonder why they're even together.  We also saw two groups of three or four men: one group who were screwing with each other, cussing at each other, just being nasty for whatever reason; and the other group was dead serious and said nothing, as if the game meant something.

There are funny moments when a ball comes bouncing in from someone else's wild shot and they coming running across the holes other people are playing trying to get their ball.  Or the people to the right of you are telling some weird personal story that you can't not listen in on.

The game itself is trivial, with the expected ups and downs.  We each got one hole-in-one and each had a hole where we took five because it just wasn't going well.

Another thing we enjoy about miniature golf: the weird little buildings and architecture of the courses.  I assume there is a design methodology and a certain set of expectations, but it feels like there's always a windmill and a barn and some old fake buildings.  My brain gave me the image of being shrunk down to HO scale and walking around a model train set.  Or maybe we're supposed to feel like giants treading the earth?  Others give off the vibe of movie sets, where I imagine shooting scenes with miniatures.  The buildings are only 4 to 8 feet tall, and usually very well designed with some witty names of signs.  The theme of this was was Oregon Trail, so that explains a lot.

The toy buildings got us talking about a few things.  What is it about old buildings that we like so much, why is it such a rewarding quest to go to Old Town places and get photos of old buildings?  We joked about the rent ("I bet it's still $1000 a month if you can't even fit inside."), and then it got a little more serious.  Why can't we just take unused city parking lots and build dozens of 10x10 houses there to make a dent in the homeless problem?  (I have been finding a lot of YouTube videos about some of those real-life communities, some that worked out well and others than were a mess.)

Then there are the many waterfalls and streams -- they are refreshing to be around.

Anyway, we like old buildings, toys and movie sets, so, here are some of those buildings...

Mostly, we find miniature golf courses to be good-natured places, a kind an alternate reality where people are having fun.  The green are tiny, the buildings are tiny, and we feel big.  The game is minimal -- we don't even care who wins (Anne ended up winning by 3), and you can get a little exercise along the way.

On a very strange note, there was a little memorial plaque tucked away next to the 9th hole.  Why?  You know I have to find out.  It turns out it's a very sad story ... here is a tribute written by the family, and
here is a newspaper article.  One can assume that either the student once worked at this Fun Center or it was one of her favorite places.