Little Miss Muffett

I'm afraid of spiders. I've always fancied myself a modern day Miss Muffett because even if there's a small, grey, house spider in the bathroom, Ben will likely be hearing me yell, "Sweeeeeetieeeee! Could you come here, please?" and, my Knight in Baggy Sweatpants (he works from home) will be there in a flash, armed with a small Tupperware container to catch the menacing spider and set it free outside. Because Ben is the Gandhi of Pest Removers.

Miss Muffett seems quite content here in this photo from Oregon's Enchanted Forest. Perhaps she has her own Knight ever at the ready...

Sunday on the Blog with Photos!

(Carriage detail from Santa Cruz Boardwalk carousel)

"Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place, seen once, abides entire in the memory with all its own accidents, its habits, its breath, its name". - Alice Maynell

Vintage parks are places that have woven within their fibers memories sweet and tragic, their own vital breath, and names that make us recollect childhood wonder.

That's why I'm now venturing forth to park #34 in just a few weeks' time. And all on my own nickel. Because "spirit of place" is certainly real and true and palpable, deserving of our respect.

Enchanted!

This photo of Enchanted Forest Theme Park is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Fairytale dreams come true at Eugene, Oregon's Enchanted Forest. Essentially wedged into the side of a hill, it took seven years to build - from scratch, mind you. Roger Tofte had no Imagineers supplying him with specs and detailed diagrams for animatronics. Nope - the man had a vision and just built the park on his own (well, with family help and the aid of his small son's Radio Flyer).

The outcome? A thoroughly engaging, beautifully-realized park everyone can enjoy. From Storybook Lane, complete with a variety of your favorite Mother Goose characters come to life, to Western Town(with sidewalks on crazy inclines and a museum with the silliest displays you'll ever see this side of the Pecos), Enchanted Forest delights with clever details and gentle humor. There's Ye Old World Village with surprises around every corner, featuring an amazing dark ride, "The Challenge of Mondor" (which you can read about in the book you'll find in the gift shop. Yes, there's a book devoted to the ride itself!) A nifty bobsled ride and a super-soaking log flume beckon those seeking scarier thrills. And Disney's Master Gracey would be proud to call their Haunted House his summer home.

Oh - the above photo, courtesy of Tripadvisor, comes from the fantastic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs walk-through attraction, where you venture forth in search of those seven little men busy at their day job: mining for jewels. Rainbow-colored caves and stalactites and shimmering pools of water abound. Expect "oohs" and "aaahs" from young and old alike.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Enchanted Forest! So glad my Road Trip is taking two years, because if I'd have rushed my touring, I would've dismissed your park as being too "young" for my purposes.

"There used to be a huge park called Jantzen Beach. I think there's a shopping mall there now, but the carousel remains"

Just got back from Oregon with many a photo and many a story from two wonderful and unique parks, Enchanted Forest and The Oaks. But I'd be remiss if I didn't make mention of the one long-gone park every Oregonian I spoke with reminded me to research: Jantzen Beach Park. Yes, Jantzen, like the swimsuits.

The park was called "the Coney Island of the Northwest" and with good reason. When it opened in 1928, Jantzen was the largest park in the country, square footage-wise. It lasted until 1970 when a variety of bad knocks finally created its demise, including fire and flood and a roller coaster-related fatality (never a good thing). Today, only the carousel remains, situated in Portland's Jantzen Beach Super Center Mall.

Word is the carousel is haunted by the ghosts of two small children dressed in 1920s garb.

But that's another story for another day.

"Saw: the Ride" at England's Thorpe Park

I've never seen the films, but if this ride is in any way indicative of the freak fest that IS a "Saw" film, then I'll kindly say "thanks, but no thanks."

Watch this video if you dare. Seriously, it's plain out freaky. But I like the guy in the blue windbreaker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRRLhmrFUvI&feature=fvwrel

Thorpe Park opened in 1979, built on a former quarry. Not vintage, and certainly not in the States, but I just had to post the link for the coaster...

I never thought I'd get this depressed over a park, ever.

Maybe it's the weather: another delightful day of eight minutes of sun and warmth followed by slick, icy-feeling rain and gray clouds. Maybe it's the lack of v.o. auditions and work (yes, again). Can't quite be sure who or what is to blame, but it's been One of Those Days.

And this didn't help:

http://pacificoceanpark.tripod.com/

While reading up on the re-tooling of Disney's California Adventure, I came upon an article comparing the new ocean-themed section of the park with Pacific Ocean Park, an nautical park that used to live on Santa Monica Pier. Seems that most folk said it was "no contest - POP wins anyday." So I was curious and had to do some research.

Pacific Ocean Park (1958-1967) is the vintage park I never visited but the one whose demise immediately hit me deeply in the solar plexus. POP appeared to have it all: that aforementioned ocean theme right on the ocean, a wonderful mid-century aesthetic (very Mary Blairesque, which makes me want to sob right here and now), and an array of rides that rivaled Disneyland, including a magic carpet ride and a Trip to Mars ride that, when it finished spinning you into a frenzy, let you exit into a Martian landscape! (Reminds me of the "Outer Limits" episode I recently watched, "Second Chance", where folks enter a space ride only to find out that it's a lot more real than they bargained for. Sorry, if I saw this guy handing out free tickets to an amusement park ride, I'd run the other way.)

Anyway - Pacific Ocean Park closed in 1967 and then fell victim to fire in the early 70s. A few miles north of where it once stood you'll find Pacific Park which is a pleasant enough oceanside, pier park, but nothing, NOTHING, like the piece of art POP once was.

Brilliant idea for Conneaut Lake Park! Vote Daily!

http://www.refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkartisanmall
Conneaut Lake Park is on the upswing, after having a bad run of luck a few years back, when the park was closed for two years, the ballroom burned down (really wrecking the midway area), and things got so bad the park was used as a backdrop in a film depicting a post-apocalyptic world, "The Road".

Just last year, the park won a Pepsi Refresh Everything grant for $50,000 to help restore its rollercoaster. Now the park is looking to utilize Pepsi Refresh Everything again, for a really innovative idea: a fresh new use of the midway space! The trustees are hoping to win another grant in order to turn the midway into an artisan mall, featuring local artists' work. Brilliant and creative!

Vote daily to help not only the park get more business, but to encourage economic growth in the community of Conneaut Lake!