Himalaya Ride

The "Himalaya" was a carousel-style ride at Salisbury Beach on Massachusetts' northern shore. You sat in a carriage rather than on a carved fantasy animal. The carriages went round and round a track which undulated up and down, like stylized mountains,  hence the "Himalaya" title. At first you and your fellow riders were lifted up and down in a slow pace, but as the ride went on, it went faster. Finally the ride operator said over the P.A. system, "And now we're gonna go round REAL REAL FAST!" At this speed the riders would get tossed all over, which was the point of the ride, getting lifted up and down. The "REAL FAST" call was one of the most beloved traditions of Salisbury Beach. This ride has disappeared along with the rest of the amusement park but is still preserved in this video on

YouTube. 

My slide of my Himalaya drawing is so faded that I am lucky to get any image out of it at all. But you can see the extravagant graphic of the "Himalaya" title as well as the red fin decorations and the shabby plaster "castle" to the right. Someday I'll find my original art for this. I wish these seaside amusement areas still existed, rather than packaged resorts and theme parks. 

"Himalaya" was brown ink and watercolor pencil on Bristol board, 14" x 11", late 1980.