THE QUEST FOR STUFFIES

 

There is a small arcade in a corner of Magic Mini Golf that got Ellie's attention. One of her main goals in life is to add to her enormous collection of stuffed toy animals, or stuffies to her. 

This gadget is called a claw machine. You maneuver the device over (in this case) a brightly colored octopus, then drop the claws. With luck, they close over one of the toys. The player raises the claws and moves them over a chute in the left front corner, releasing the object. The toy almost always drops loose, falling back into the pile. Ellie managed to get one but, at a dollar a pull, I'd rather not calculate its cost.                     

PLAYS BY SENSE OF SMELL

Those who are as close to dotage as I am may remember Tommy, The Who's deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard who plays by sense of smell. Well, maybe, given a big dose of poetic license. But mixing mini golf and pinball is a novel idea, except that you can't run up free games no matter how good your shot. It's always down the hole in the end.            

DARTS, ARROW, GIRAFFE

I'm sure there are several bars in the Delmar Loop that have a dart board, but none this big, or accompanied by an angel with a bow and arrow (Eros?) and a giraffe. It's a bit hallucinatory.             

MAGIC MINI GOLF

A new game in town. Locals and regular visitors know the area known as the Delmar Loop, so-called because decades ago it's where the trolley cars turned around. Now it is full of restaurants, bars, entertainment and shops. 

The newest attraction, opened just a week ago, is Magic Mini Golf. It has a most imaginative indoor course, a couple of shuffleboard courts. a tiny five car Ferris wheel and a few arcade games. There is a full bar and a stage, so I assume it was meant to pull in a young crowd for an evening's entertainment. Ellie didn't care about that part. She just likes mini golf.