Hit the road and visit a vintage park this Spring Break!!

Can't wait until Memorial Day to visit an amusement park?  Well, have no fear: there are plenty of awesome parks open at this very moment!!  You can, of course, read all about these particular parks in my book, "The Cotton Candy Road Trip" https://www.createspace.com/3840248 , but here's a mini travelogue for a trio of great parks that are definitely worth a Spring Break journey!!:

Out in the great Northwest?  Sidle on down to Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon: http://enchantedforest.com/ .  Built by one man and his family, this park is super for all ages and boasts some of the most brazen uses of creativity on a shoestring you'll ever see.  Witness these photos and, remember: it was literally built by hand by one man and his family (with no prior art or Disney Imagineering experience):

 

The Hansel and Gretel witch house, covered in evil yumminess..

 

A psychedelic choo choo for the kiddies.



 

My hubby, who apparently was the "crooked man" they were looking for.


 

 

Now, if you're out near St. Louis, point yourself toward Branson to enter the rootin' tootin' world of Silver Dollar City.  A recipient of the Applause Award for "one of the world's best theme parks", Silver Dollar City is excited to announce a new coaster for this season, the daring wooden ride, Outlaw Run!  It's not too often that a park opens a new wooden coaster, so this is really a thrilling development.  Plus, a wooden coaster fits in well with the rustic, Western vibe of the park:  http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park.aspx

From the park's website: feast your eyes on the awesomeness!!

My hubby and a potato swirl on a stick!  Silver Dollar City has inCREDible food!!
 

 

 

But maybe you're one of the lucky ones, out in Florida, or vacationing there and, by golly, you're interested in a little of vintage "Old Florida"?  Look no further than the Other Silver Park I highlighted in my book, Silver Springs in Ocala.  Part amusement park, part zoo, Silver Springs is famous for its crystal clear springs and glass-bottom boat rides.  Plus, various television shows and movies were filmed there, including the old Johnny Weismuller "Tarzan" flicks: http://www.silversprings.com/

One of the park's friendly inhabitants.

The scenic view from the tippy top of the Lighthouse ride.

If you ever have any questions about a road trip, how to fashion one of your own, please feel free to contact me anytime.  I love answering queries about how to design a trip you and your family will cherish forever.

Oujia, the Fortune Telling Chicken

A big, whopping "cock-a-doodle doo" nod to the Society for Commercial Archeology who happened to post this on Facebook today.  This has made my day, week, nay MONTH.  I give you: Ouija, the Fortune Telling Chicken who apparently used to crystal gaze at Silver Springs, one of the parks I visited for my book.  I'm now fueled to learn more, so here I go, wandering the Internet in search of more clucky clairvoyant info:

I found a wonderful blog about the Silver Springs area:  http://jhammer.blogs.ocala.com/10969/nohl-diving-bell-ouija-and-an-ox-cart-ride/  which boasts even more ephemera about this great Florida vintage park.  Silver Springs has been a destination for pleasure seekers for decades; this blog opens the window into its fantastical history.

Cyndi Lauper had her fortune told by a chicken.  No, really: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgSuI-ulM4w   This makes me glad to be alive.

But wait, there's more!  Musician Sean Hayes wrote a song entitle"Alabama Chicken", about a feathered prognosticator.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shayes3

And a children's book I simply must find:  http://openlibrary.org/books/OL4556195M/Clara_the_fortune-telling_chicken

If anyone has more info on chicken fortune tellers, which I'm now apparently obsessed with, feel free to drop me a line.  And yes, that means YOU, Cyndi Lauper!

Looking back, taking stock, giving thanks...

It's been quite a year. I've had the honor to visit a number of parks across the country and get the word out about my book on a Pittsburgh area radio station. There's so much more ahead, but at this dark quiet Advent time, I think a look back at what I've seen would be quite fitting.

Silver Springs in Florida, "Nature's Amusement Park". While strolling through the area, I kept getting met with images of folks back in the 1950s who enjoyed the park in a different way than today's crowd. The place was exotic and rather dangerous back in the day. Imagine a typical 50s family, mom in crisp cotton and kids and dad decked out in their madras, dad with Kodak camera, kids with the Brownies, snapping pictures of creatures they'd never seen before. A safari of sorts only a few hours away from their space age, tri-level homes.

Hershey Park in PA. A chocoriffic wonderland -- the closest thing we'll probably ever have to Wonkaland.

Dorney Park, with a vintage carousel Ben remembered from his childhood back in Ohio. It had been transplanted at Dorney years ago. Ben's realization that it was indeed his childhood carousel was one of my most treasured moments thus far in my Cotton Candying.

Knoebel's. May just be my most favorite park to date. It almost taunts other parks in my mind, daring them to top it. They're remaking the Riverview Flying Turns ride, for cryeye!

Hoffman's Playland - small but sweet. The perfect park for a family treat (pardon the rhyming, but it just seemed right. You'd rhyme too if you visited Hoffman's).

Seabreeze Park -- the story behind its carousel is quite inspiring. Getting to venture INSIDE said carousel was magical.

Darien Lake in upstate New York has a wonder wheel-style Ferris wheel and an ancient plaster octopus in the lake. It's got a lot of "new" to it, but when I found these vintage touches, it made the park spring to life for me.

Arnold's Park -- A park that's had many a setback, but has always come back improved and saucy. Plus they have a rock and roll museum on the premises. I mean, come ON.

At this point in the year, it seemed that karma or the spirits that be or what have you told me that I needed to slow down or take stock or not be so cocky because they sent an actual flood which smacked us down about five grand. And so the Cotton Candying stood still for several months until...

Children's Fairyland! A fantastical storybook-themed park that holds true to its history. The puppet theatre alone is worth the journey.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk: a haunted mansion with some rocking FX, fried Twinkies and chocolate-covered bacon. These are a few of my favorite things. Oh -- and sea spray.

Silver Dollar City - where you can have a country Christmas with all the trimmings. And succotash. Can't forget the succotash.

Gotta thank God and all my angels and my Mom who sits on my shoulder from time to time for the drive and energy to continue the RoadTrip. And my most heartfelt thanks always goes to my sweetheart, my personal angel and playpal - my husband Ben, without whom none of this would be a reality. None. Not a stitch.

I must also thank all the people who generously contributed to my Kickstarter campaign, to help offset some of the travel expenses for next year's Cotton Candying. You are my spankin' new angels and I gratefully acknowledge you all!

It's been a tough year, especially with the aforementioned flood, but also career-wise (extreme highs and the quietest of lows) and Dad's health, which has made my focus stray a bit to say the least. But looking back and taking stock of my journeys I must say I accomplished all I set out to do, with a few exceptions. And what awaited me in the months after of the flood, when I really had no more funds for RoadTripping? One of my most favorite roles and shows to date: Drowsy in "The Drowsy Chaperone".

So it's Advent. And I'm amassing lists of all I've surveyed, embracing and keeping that which is good, and letting go of what has proven hurtful. Anticipation and wonder and love = good. Fear = bad and hurtful.

I suggest you give it a try, too. And a very blessed Advent season to you.

"I'm the pink flamingo on the lawn of life."

I'll give full credit where it's due: one of my best friends, Gail, is a pink flamingo enthusiast and my title line here is her credo. It speaks to her uniqueness and her willingness to stand out in a crowd. Gail is a truly original, inventive person with a bubbly gusto for life.

Her love of the tropical bird comes, well, I'm not entirely sure how it developed, but it's been a throughline for her as long as I can recall; Gail and I go back over twenty years. I've been a willing enabler in her quest for all things Groovy and Flamingoey: Gail has an eclectic collection of Flamingo statuettes, glassware, jewelry, and a retro 50s wall mirror(which would go well in Don Draper's foyer), formerly my Dad's.

Silver Springs' very own flamingo family is pictured here, in all their sunset-tinged glory.

Silver Spring History Museum

Located among some cozy shops and a really kickin' little cafe (that serves up a tasty BBQ chicken sandwich) lies a museum of memorabilia and artifacts focused on Silver Springs' history. Therein you can learn all sorts of nifty stuff about the park, the glass bottom boats, the springs and the numerous commercials, TV shows and feature films that were shot there.

I'm a big fan of paper ephemera. Housed in a number of glass display counters are a variety of pamphlets and signage from days gone by that really capture the essence of the Springs a half-century ago and even longer than that.

http://www.silversprings.com/heritage.html#1

"The greatest show that was ever afloat..."

"All aboard, all aboard
On the glass bottom boat
It's the greatest show that was ever afloat
Take a ride on the tide with the guide and see
The way out wonders of the deep blue sea"

From the 1966 film, "The Glass Bottom Boat" (lyrics by Joe Lubin, sung by the delightful Doris Day)


Few rides are more inviting, exciting and relaxing simultaneously than a glass bottom boat ride. Silver Springs Park basically invented them, so we knew we were in for a treat when we boarded our first of two glass bottom boat rides that day, this one lead by Captain Dale, who originally hailed from Chicago (I could pick off his accent, sharp as a scythe, in a nanosecond. When you grow up South Side in the depths of that dialect, you can almost smell it, and it brought to my senses Niki's hot dogs and fries).

Clear natural springs feed the river and the proof is in the viewing. It's like riding the submarine ride at Disneyland, only this is REAL. Real water plants and fish and turtles and an occasional alligator. The fish in the photo were lil' dickens, darting around and about, a jolly lot.

The view is tinted in tourmaline -- exquisite.

Enjoying the view...

Silver Springs park in Ocala, FL doesn't resemble an amusement park as much as a nature conservancy. But it does have some rides, more than two, so it fits the bill for my book.

The view above is from our car in the Lighthouse ride, a part gondola/part Ferris wheelish jobbie that hoists you well above the trees. The breeze was warm, the waters below even bluer than the skies.

It'll swallow your entire head!

I'll admit it -- I'm not this huge fan of the state of Florida. Please don't send me nasty letters and packages of rotten citrus fruit; everyone's entitled to their tastes. I'm just way more a Western Side of the Country girl. Florida for me has Disney and the center and as far as I'm concerned, I can take a plane to Orlando, board the Giant Mouse Bus, and get whisked away to Epcot and that's all I really need to see of the state.

Well, I'm here to tell you right now: I've been converted. At least a little. For right now (I'm still not willing to admit an entire conversion. I need to be gentle with myself here.)

Silver Springs in Ocala, Florida is a wonderland of nature's best show-offs. Glittering crustal clear springs, towering trees bedecked with Spanish moss. And animals -- some very rare animals.

Pictured here is the Cuban crocodile, one of a large selection of 'dile and 'gator species who inhabit the park. Behind glass. Thick glass. HIGH glass.

After visiting each one, I would say, "I respect you. I wish you nothing but good. Please don't eat my head."

Well, I'm here typing, so it seemed to work.

"Sea Hunt" -- scuba for the manly man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alm4qh3hUWQ

Oh heavens, I'm getting the vapors! Lloyd Bridges was SO MANLY in these old "Sea Hunt" episodes. Do yourself a favor: this is a 9-minute clip from Youtube -- at least watch the very beginning. It's got that "manly man doing manly things" vibe so very typical in the depiction of 50s TV heroes. Grrrrrrr..... GUSTO!

"Sea Hunt" was filmed in part at Silver Springs Park in Ocala, FL -- my next park to visit for the Cotton Candy Roadtrip!!

Wonder if I'll see any of these swarthy scuba types, spitting into their scuba masks, "thwacking" on their scuba hoods.... oooooh.....

Putting it Together

Lots of things go into putting together your plans for a trip. The booking of flights, renting of cars, packing of clothes, buying of Earplanes. With Dad in the condition he's in, there's even more detailed planning. He's now officially a candidate for assisted living, although we have to get him completely assessed by his MD before he can be moved to the assisted living quarters at his retirement home.

Part of us feels very selfish about even going on the trip that's, oh, just around the corner. But life doesn't really come with a crystal ball and since I'm no Mystic Meg (although I've been told I look like her. Maybe that's the picture I should use as my Facebook profile, as this week is apparently "Doppleganger Week" where you're supposed to post a picture of someone people say you look like), I have no way to know if Dad will be stable while we're away, or if all systems will fail simultaneously.

So we pray, we hope, and we bring in the artillery.

Friends and relatives who live nearby are being encouraged to just drop by his place and say "hi". So much of his condition can't be alleviated, but what can be lessened is any boredom he might feel; restlessness has never been his buddy.

Folks will stop by and update us on his mood, how he's "seeming". And besides our posse, we also have the incredible staff at the Arms who keep him comfortable, safe, and secure. Sure, you could say they're being paid to do so and they are, but their heart is undeniably in it. You can tell in the way they communicate with him, with us.

"No, you two go on and enjoy your vacation. Dan is in good hands. I'll watch him myself! Just try keeping me away from him!" said one of Dad's healthcare workers, a sassy lady who goes from sweet to jalapeno in a nanosecond.

So our visit to Silver Springs is days away. And then onto the Disney Cruise and ports sun-worhippy, pineapple-scented, and marine blue.

We both need it. And Dad will be fine. We must take this opportunity, embrace it, run with it -- because we don't have the ability to do our scrying, to find out what Dad's health will be like in even a month or so from now.

Deep breath. A smile. Smiling is good for you, clears out the dustbunnies in your soul.

Okay. Now the only worry I have is how very outdated my swimsuit is. And the fact that in just a few short days, I'll be SEEN in a swimsuit, period.

Learned something new today.

Visited my chiropractor today. I call this magic-maker Dr. CrackyBacky, alhtough he has a different name for Muggles. At any rate, visited him today for my monthly adjustment. I have a monthly visit ever since December 2008, when I pulled out my back, midback all the way down to my coccyx, when I made the unfortunate decision to wrap Christmas gifts while sitting on the hardwood floor. Part of my wrapping activities included stretching way over to the right in a rather gymnastic fashion for a spool of ribbon. Then approximately half an hour later, I picked up my dainty beaglette, a mere 19 lb. dog. But my back was already compromised, so something blew, popped, went kaflooey -- I yanked my crank, experiencing the worst imaginable pain for days. Since then, I have a delicate midback, which I add to this list of spinal maladies: an always crunchy neck (from a rear-end car accident almost 30 years ago. And WRITING), and a crazy coccyx, made all the crazier from the time I landed smack on it while performing in a production of "The Nerd" back in the early 90s. It was the "Jump real fast on just one leg!!" part of Act II. They had waxed the floor but didn't bother to tell us actors.

So. What I learned today is that if you have a delicate back, you should not think about taking a ride in a power boat anytime soon or ever. As Dr. CrackyBacky put it, "Imagine you go to sit down and someone pulls the chair out from under you. Now imagine you land on a pillow. But imagine this chair gets pulled out again and again and again. That's riding in a power boat on the ocean." So when we do go on our cruise, I'll be hiking, Ben will be skipping merrily on the ocean like James Bond on that power boat.

Before we go or on our cruise, we'll visit Silver Springs Park in Ocala, FL. They have a glass bottom boat ride that I'm really excited about trying. Since I possess my very own glass bottom (of sorts), rides with a little less bump and jostle suit me just fine (another reason, a practical one, for not writing a book that's primarily about rollercoasters. Plus there are enough adrenaline junkies out there to do it for me).

Now pardon me while I crunch my neck from side to side, alarming the people sitting nearby at the coffeehouse. Maybe I should start carrying around pretzels to mask the sound...

A wintery day with thoughts of ports southeastern...

Okay then. It's winter, most amusement parks are closed right now, and I haven't got a bucketload of money to just trapise off and visit any at this moment in time. But I'm quite excited to be planning a visit in Florida at the end of the month (part of a swoop down to Sunny Land that also includes a much-anticipated cruise on the Floating Mouse House, one we've had booked for 2 long years)to Silver Springs in Ocala, FL. Known as "Nature's Theme Park", Silver Springs dates back, well, you could actually trace it back to the 1870s when a fellow fashioned a glass-bottom boat and gave boat rides in the area. Silver Springs also has some Hollywood glam connected with it, as the backdrop to the old Johnny Weissmuller "Tarzan" movies AND (get this -- get a load of the way coolness)the 50s TV show "Sea Hunt" was filmed there, starring the weatherblown-yet-sexy Lloyd Bridges. Silver Springs is now a National Landmark and that's a big plus in keeping it around for years to come.