User blogs
While going through my old stuff, I found quite a few old brochures and other old items I'd collected over the years, and decided to scan them in for posterity. Now those of you who may be interested in these time capsules to attractions past can enjoy them as well!
That WordArt is exceptional.
Notice there isn't a website listed anywhere on this brochure. They do have a Wordpress site now though, which can be found HERE. Astonishingly, their prices haven't changed at all in more than a decade. 
Today's entry is a 2007-ish brochure for Mackinac Island's "Haunted Theater".
The actual attraction was closed when I visited the island many, many years ago, but it is still operating as sort of a haunted house attraction today, and is still going strong. Both it's Yelp page and TripAdvisor reviews are very positive.
Their website can be found HERE.
No word on whether pets are still welcome.
Something I found among my old files, a "Free Child Admission" flier for Jeremy Allen's Grand Illusions magic show in the Wisconsin Dells, when it was at the CHula Vista Resort in 2009. After that, the show moved to it's own location in the Dells downtown area, where Jeremy Allen amused audiences with all sorts of tricks for the better part of a decade. Now, the Grand Illusions Theater's building is slated for demolition to make way for yet more redevelopment, which means the Grand Illusions are likely moving to an even "grander" home in the future.
This was a really (like ridiculously so) glossy card, and as such it's reflected all sorts of smudges onto the Epson V33 that aren't visible to the naked eye, and very well may just be on the scanners' glass too. Of all the scans, this was the "best" of the bunch, apologies I couldn't get it to scan in better.
A brochure picked up on a family trip to Michigan in 2007 from the "Weird Michigan Wax Museum" in St. Ignace, Michigan.
Alas, I couldn't find much more about this attraction than what you see here. According to THIS site, the place closed down sometime in 2011, and there's only a couple old Google reviews that don't tell too much about it. It seems all that's left of the place are a couple digital clippings, and this brochure.
Today's subject is a Bedford Pennsylvania Tourist Bureau classic, their bright neon brochures for "Gravity Hill", a free attraction on a rural road. It's a rather clever way to draw tourists off the main roads and off towards the hobby farms and other small-town attractions in Bedford county. I would expect the same brochures are still in use today.
The hill does have it's own website now HERE and the hill has a TripAdvisor page HERE.
I've been to this one, and it's one of the hundreds of roads out there that due to terrain and vegetation, it appears that things like water or round items roll "uphill" in a rather clever optical illusion. There are a few roads like this in every state, though very few are as well advertised as this particular stretch of road in rural Pennsylvania.
Today's subject is the Thrasher Carriage Museum, a "hidden gem" in Frostburg Maryland, featuring horse drawn carriages of a variety of ages, sizes, and uses. Their website is HERE. Their TripAdvisor is HERE.
I actually visited this museum in 2005. It's located at the end of the train line for a scenic railway, and it's one of only a handful of things to do within walking distance. It's a nice little place, and it's well signed with information so anyone can understand and enjoy the exhibits for their historical value without needing to know much of anything going into it. I recommend it if you're in the area!
Todays entry is the Spook Cave Campground, a boat tour of a cave and a campground. The brochure was picked up in the summer of 2007.
The Spook Cave has since updated it's ghost, but the tours are still on according to their website.
Today's entry is the Crossroads Antique Mall, located outside Hershey Pennsylvania. This brochure was picked up by me in the summer of 2005, though we didn't visit then. As antique malls are sort of ubiquitous travel stops, they are of course still open and operating today: www.crossroadsantiques.com
The back is curiously empty with only a simple map. Not too bad as a black and white brochure goes.
So, without further ado, the top 5 Premium Tanks I want in World of Tanks!
Number 5, the Mauerbrecher!
Yes, it's under-powered. Yes, virtually no one plays this anymore. Yes, it's basically been reduced to a bad meme, but... I still want one. I really want a trainer for the full maus crew, and though it's not a performance machine at tier 8, I've been surprised by it when I've played against it. Though it's weak spots are pretty blatant and obnoxious, the few Mauerbrecher players I've seen have become masters of wiggling around so hitting these spots accurately is difficult, even at close range. That draws in tanks that see it and become overconfident (me, in two different cases) at which point the "MB" pounds you into the dust. I thought I was invincible in my Defender- until the Mauerbrecher caved in the roof of my turret. That's when I thought "man, I think I've missed the boat on this one..." As this one debuted right at the end of 2017, it's likely to hit the scene again this year, and again in the future, so I'm sure I'll be able to get my own "MB" sooner than later.
Number 4, the Großtraktor (Grosstraktor) Krupp!
Ah, the G. - Traktor... it's at tier 3, it has a weak gun, it has soft armor, it has low mobility. It is rarely seen because it is trash that is pretty much never sold. But, though I can't really explain why, I do want one. It's such an oddity, and such a rarity that I'd like one to tool around in "for the lols" if that makes any sense. I've got a few tanks, (the Turan, Sentinel, and TOG II all come to mind) that I play almost entirely to be silly in, WN8 be damned, and there is something kinda cathartic in that. To add a tank to my collection that is basically impossible to do well in, but still throws people for a loop because of how strange it is, well, that sounds like a lot of fun to me.
Number 3, the AMX M4 mle. 49 Liberté (Liberte)!
This one is more of my bad timing, and being broke part of the time. When the Liberte debuted (alongside it's non-nationally painted twin) Wargaming was kind enough to give them out as a rental to players to try out, as people were really on the fence about the idea of a French heavy tank being any good. Bear in mind, the AMX-50 drum-loaders were the best we had at the time, and they were ambush predators, not brawlers. At any rate, I got my rental of the Liberte, loaded into a few games, and gave it a spin.
I'm not sure if it was my connection, the matchmaker, the alignment of the stars, or what... but I didn't do well. In fact, after suffering ammo-racks, fires, and multiple downed crewmen, I was worried the tank was a dud. I looked to the other Liberte drivers around me, as there were many trying out their rentals as I was... it wasn't a pretty sight. It seemed no one could play the tank well, and I chalked it up to the tank being terrible, and never played it again.
Flash forward to September of 2017, and I had the pleasure of visiting a friend, and playing WOT with them locally (I'll let you sound off if you so choose sir). This gentleman wasn't a fool like me, and realized the Liberte's potential- he had bought one. He let me take it for a spin (with his 4-skill French heavy seal-clubbing crew no less) and I got a steel-wall on my first time out in it. I played another few rounds on his account, and a terrible cloud descended on me. What had I done? I had of course realized the Liberte wasn't terrible in the weeks and months following it's initial release, but playing those couple games really did open my eyes as to how absolutely broken the tank was in the right positions.
...of course, the next time the Liberte was offered, it was rather expensive, and I didn't have the money. Then when it was offered at Christmastime, I passed in favor of the other deal, which knowing Wargaming, I'll probably never see again. Will I get the Liberte? I guess that depends on if Wargaming chooses to sell it again, and if it's locked behind a massive bundle paywall- though I like to think we'll see it yet this year. Hopefully not right after all my bills come due...
Number 2, the Panzer 38H!
The tier 2 mini-maus, the Panzer 38H is just the French Hotchkiss H35 tankette, but in German markings, but... oh man, the armor, the gun, the crew... it's a dream machine for whoever's driving it, and a nightmare for anyone up against it. I remember many a game at tier 2 where half the team would be unable to penetrate the Panzer 38H's, even with premium rounds because their guns were just too weak to do the job. Even my reliable curb-stomper the FCM-36 couldn't out-swing the Panzer 38H. Even with gold rounds you weren't guaranteed to do much of anything to it... well, except make it angry! I think this has been on my "wish list" since the very beginning- I don't know that I'd even play it much, but to have the tank that kicked my butt so many times in the past seems sort of cathartic.
Number 1, the BT-SV!
It's fast in a straight line! It's armor is almost invincible! It's gun is terrible! It's a meme machine that runs on dreams, and only players who are super-old-school have this thing. As such, it's almost never seen in the wild- and when it is, it's planted squarely above the hole where the seals come out of the ice. Much like the Panzer I.C, I think this one is probably more fun to drive around in than to fight with. The fact it can go super fast in a (relatively) straight line, while also sporting enough armor to keep you alive while doing it... I don't know, the troll-level antics you could get up to could be tons of fun. It's tier 3, it's not like anyone is playing seriously at tier 3 anyway- I sure don't!
So, that's my list of tanks I want! Is it a good list? Tell me in the comments why or why not, and if you've got any tips, feedback, or suggestions, I am all ears! Thanks so much for reading!
