A sad day for the Flying W Ranch

http://www.flyingw.com/

I recall my first family trip back in the 60s.  I'm talking all three of us piled into the car, along with a tiny porta-potty for yours truly, and ventured Westward across this great country.  I remember stopping for a Dairy Queen in Kansas, visiting the Bug Museum, Cave of the Winds, Santa's North Pole Workshop near Pike's Peak, Pike's Peak itself (via the nifty tramway), and eventually Disneyland.  I was three years old and still have fond memories of that long-ago trip (even the part when I accidentally left my crayons on the back window and they melted there, decorating my Dad's car with dots of rainbow - and giving my Skipper doll's hair some unwanted highlights and lowlights).  In fact, I recall these places in vivid sense memory.  And that's really saying something, especially since many trips made in more recent years don't have that hold on my heart - and aforementioned senses.

But if you asked me to recall one place we visited most clearly, in small details of sound, smell and (Ooh Lordy!) taste, it would be the Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Show and Dinner.  The musical cowboys took the stage under an outdoor, open air structure.  They played songs like "Happy Trails" and the eerie "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (evocative both back then and now of whispy, transparent-gray cowpokes and their phantom horses).  We sat at a long, wooden table with throngs of other happy vacationers and were treated to a tasty cowboy supper of a BBQ beef brisket sandwich, baked beans (best ever, ever), buttery corn bread and tangy-sweet lemonade.  I can still remember plunking down my empty tin cup after draining it of the lemonade, wiping my mouth clean with the back of my sleeve, satisfied and full.  What more do you need while listening to cowboy crooners while a gentle, evening breeze licked up against your shins?

It's with the deepest sadness that I must report this wonderful tourist attraction is no more.  I visited Santa's North Pole Workshop's Facebook page this morning and learned that Flying W Ranch fell vicitm to the tremendously savage fires that are menacing Colorado as I write this.  I'm constructing this blog post in order to inform my readers to please pray for the families affected by this tragedy, and the business owners who've lost their beloved Ranch, which charmed folks for the past 60 years.  And, in addition, I'm urging everyone to keep prayers of protection going for Santa's North Pole Workshop, for nearby towns like Manitou Springs, for the glorious forests, and Garden of the Gods.

While writing this, I can't keep my eyes from tearing up for those ghostriders, now a sweet, disntant memory ...

The Banjo Player in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the Gemini New Moon

I love this time of year, just prior to the summer solstice, when the sun stays out so very long.  When the day just strums along like a banjo player, settin' on a front porch, pluckin' a slow, sweet tea-infused tune.  Kind of reminds me of this image from the beginning of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland, one of my favorite experiences at the park.  When night finally comes, it slowly pours in,  dappled with indigo-sapphire, glinting fireflies, a lunar reflection on the water.


The Gemini New Moon urges us to make up lyrics to that banjo tune, just for the heck of it.  And, while you're at it, stay up until it's dusk and look for the faerie folk in your backyard.  Because this time of year allows you to say what you feel, declare your exploration into the worlds of make-believe and craft your own colorwonderful possibilities.

If you've wanted to write some poetry, you should pour yourself right in - but be ready to read it aloud, with all the passion in your soul.  Walk in nature and talk with the trees.  Tell someone about your guardian angel.

Enjoy this magical, luxuriant time.  And whisper to the fireflies.

Pam Turlow "The Cotton Candy Road Trip" Suburban Sun-Times article!

http://westernsprings.suntimes.com/entertainment/13063262-421/pam-turlow-remembers-her-childhood-visits-to-kiddieland-demolished-in-2010-in-her-book-.html#.T9otLj_PH0I.facebook

Hey funkids!  I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Sun-Times Local writer Sandy Bosch for my book.  The result is a sweet article that focuses on the way nostalgia played an important role in the writing of "The Cotton Candy Road Trip".  Enjoy!

Me with the Largest Plume of Cotton Candy I've Ever Seen (Lake Compounce, CT)

VIDEO: Mister Rogers Remixed - The Garden of Your Mind

Detail from Idlewild's Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFzXaFbxDcM

Back toward the beginning of the Road Trip, I spent a magnificent day at Idlewild Park in western Pennsylvania.  One of the sweetest and most unique experiences was a visit to the Land of Make Believe - they have an actual trolley that whisks you through it and you get to meet all the fabled characters the wonderful Fred Rogers made famous.  I can tell you many tears were shed when the recorded voice of my beloved Mr. Rogers wafted through the speakers and took us along on a fairytale journey.

I counted.  It only took me 40 seconds to start crying while watching this fantastic video.

The tradition of the Conneaut Lake Park pony rides

 

http://www.goerie.com/article/20120603/NEWS02/306039870/Homestead-native-celebrates-60-years-of-horsing-around-at-Conneaut-Lake-Park

During our first visit to Conneaut Lake Park, I had the pleasure of interviewing a few of the folks who run the pony track.  The park had just re-opened after being closed for two years, and the ponies were back and ready to resume their duties as if nothing had happened.  The dedication and verve of folks like Don Weyel are remarkable and major reasons I wrote this book.  Please take some time today to read this article and support YOUR local vintage amusement park!!  Heck - take a road trip down to Conneaut Lake Park and experience the magic yourself!

Knoebel's Amusement Resort: a Veritable Smorgasbord of Smorgasbordy Goodness!

My perception of amusement park food changed for good when I visited Knoebels Amusement Park in 2010.  I should qualify that statement: my feelings about amusement park food other than Disney park food changed.  Disney parks have scrumptious food; I often revel in memories of the Dole Whip, the Blue Bayou salmon, and my new favorite beverage, the Practically Perfect Punch (because it IS).  But some other parks serve corn dogs, hamburgers, maybe some ice cream novelties, and that's about it.  And most of it isn't worth writing about. 

Enter Knoebels and their wazoo assortment of Food of All Nations!  High-quality ingredients, pride in preparation and clever presentation is evident throughout the park.  And the variety!!  You could literally show up at opening, eat all day, maybe fit in a ride, and keep eating until close.  We didn't quite pull off a feat like that, but we did leave a little roly and slightly more poly.  Here's what we consumed on that fateful day:

We started the day with some potato cakes, at this man's urging.  Dig the vintage signage.  Knoebels is teeming with it:

After that, we saw that the Potato Barn was close by, boasting Tri-Taters,(little triangular fried potato jobbies),  and we're glad we took the time to check it out, because right nearby, the Food of My People, meaning the Polish people, the humble-yet-delectable pierogi:

  After a potatoey, cheesy, Poly (as in Polish, not as in vinyl) morning, we ran the park, riding ride after ride, visiting the glorious carousel museum, taking the sky ride up the side of a mountain, leaving the park hub bub behind for a tad.  But more foodie wonderfulness awaited our return.  Finally, it was time for lunch, and for that, we dove into the Food Court - World Section, and were greeted by this cheery ear of corn.

While we did not consume any corn, we did have a satisfying salad and pasta, radiatori, to be exact.  Impressive.  I mean, what other amusement park sells radiatori??  The World Food Court is impressive, with food from Asia, Greece, Mexico, Italy - on it goes.  And it's all flavorful, not fast food quality but nice, sit down restaurant quality.  Amazing.  Then, it was off to more rides, including the Haunted Mansion, which frightened me enough to seek out some of my book's signature, sugary treat:

No visit to Knoebels is complete without some ice cream, because their ice cream is some of the creamiest, most flavorful around.

(I've enlarged the above picture so you can get an eyeful of the variety you have to choose for your mouthful. Yes, you're reading that right.  Teaberry. Milky Way.  Cotton Candy, fer cry eye!  Oh, and take a look at the little girl with her pet beagle on the left side of the sign. As if the ice cream sign was personally beckoning me, from one beagle lover to another )

Here we are with our crazy chocolate peanut butter cup  and Milky Way mouthfuls.  As you can plainly see, Knoebels does not skimp on size:

Suddenly, I had a  hankering for licorice whips.  Don't know why, just did.  So I was happy to find Stony Gables, a small building formerly used as a vacation space.  It now houses a multitude of sweets, including at least a dozen different flavors of licorice whips.  I had a tutti fruiti one and got a root beer one for Ben.

So, now is the time I get to totally geek out on you.  I know you've had funnel cakes before; everyone has.  But Knoebels' cakes are dream-worthy.  And what makes the whole experience truly magical?  When you tell the sweet ladies making them that you're writing a book - and they let you inside the little building they work in and allow you to photograph them at their craft.  Sizzle, sizzle, yum, yum, YUM!:

A minute later, my baby Ben tucks in and all is right with the world..

And so our day at Knoebels came to an end, but not before taking some time to genuflect at the picnic pavilion,  decorated to look like a gigantic vintage birthday cake:

Yes, we couldn't help but congratulate ourselves at tackling the amazing food at Knoebels.  And we welcomed that nice long walk back to our car at the end of the day.


(To give you a clearer indication of their variety, you should really visit this link. Prepare to have your socks knocked off, and start your dieting NOW: http://www.knoebels.com/food.asp)

Rye Playland: playing a "Big" game!

Getting my wish from Ms. Zoltar (apparently Mr. Zoltar was out fishing - you can do that off the pier at Rye)

My hubby is always on the lookout for movies that have amusement parks as a backdrop; he knows I like them and it gives me things to blog about.  One of his most favorite films is "Big" and, when we visited Rye Playland in 2011, I learned that the beautiful park was used in the iconic Tom Hanks film.

So recently, "Big" was on TV again and Ben DVR'd a little for me, only the section when the little boy, who's denied access to a ride because he's too small, walks over to the Zoltar fortune teller (a really scary one - and I've seen plenty of those mechanical fortune tellers.  The way his eyes light up red and his mouth does that peculiar yawning open and shutting close = nightmares!) and makes his wish, "to be big".  If you're familiar with the film, you know he gets his wish, gets to be a 30-something Tom Hanks, with a grown-up girlfriend to boot, but is still a  kid on the inside.

It's pretty clear why Ben and I love this film: in some ways, we've never grown up, nor do we have any plans to do so in the foreseeable future.  Yes, we're met with grown-up challenges every single day, but when the dust settles, we look forward to playing board games, planning our next trip to Disneyland, or reflecting on our collections (Barbies for me, comic books for my boy).

Original car from the Dragon Coaster

The entrance to Rye, towering trees greeting you and providing a pleasant respite from the sun.

Here's a little photo tribute to the wonderful Rye Playland.  I ranked it in the Top 5 Parks in my book, and I recommend everyone in the greater NYC area take a day to visit this national treasure.  Due to the economy, there's talk that the park may "change" - and part of the change may have to do with rethinking it, and tearing out the rides.  If that were to happen, I may have to lead the charge, head up there, and chain myself to the Derby Racer so they'd have to bodily remove me before taking it out.

The amazing vintage carousel at Rye, my favorite of the entire Road Trip.

Back end of the Dragon (coaster)

One of the park's three, count 'em, THREE dark rides.  Did I mention I got rid of my fear of dark rides here?  Yes, I did!

Background history sign for the Derby Racer, a very rare and exciting ride, that recreates the experience of an actual horse race!