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Yep, Helen was nice-like 50 years ago when it first got transformed into an Alpine village. Not much has changed since then and we now avoid it like the plague. I refuse to even drive thru the town unless absolutely necessary.
Speaking of Smokey And The Bandit-I once had the "pleasure" of riding that deathtrap of a rollercoaster at the old fairgrounds a few months before it was torn down for the end of the movie. Scariest ride I've ever been on! The damn thing swayed like 5 feet as it went around the curves and I swear my growth was forever stunted afterwards! Nothing since has terrified me even close to that one ride!

Oh, man, since we got caught in that traffic coming into town during Oktoberfest, we learned early that you avoid it like herpes during the fall/winter months. It’s beautiful, but don’t risk your life unless it’s spring. I’m American but born of German heritage, a lot of off-the-boat German Lutherans in my bloodline only going back a couple of generations, raised hearing German spoken and eating a lot of German food, but it’s a circus up there. I’ve always wanted to visit the Old Country, but not in it’s current incarnation. My dad even spent most of his off duty hours staying at our Uncle Karl’s farm when he was stationed there in the 50’s. Our family surname was ubiquitous in the area back then.