Olde English Village

Before leaving the park, each of us participated in panning for treasure - which had its perks I suppose.  Jenna seemed to enjoy it anyway.

     I think I enjoyed the English Village the most - perhaps I was just intrigued by the detail of the authentic looking town.  

 Aside from eating and taking pictures, I don't recall doing anything special.  Mostly took pictures and waited for Jenna as she rode the ice mountain first by herself and then with Ashley.  They also went on the "Challenge of Mandor" a target shooting ride.  

As Jenna has enjoyed doing that on video game, I thought she would enjoy the actual ride.  I think they went on that twice also.

     I think perhaps most of the pictures I took were at Olde English Village.  I was in awe of how many I was able to get without a crowd of strangers in the photo.  Jenna took pictures of every nook and cranny.  

Jenna took this picture

the most people I had in a background shot

 She took as many photos with people as she did of props only in Olde English Village; in Storybook Lane there were more props and settings than photos of ourselves.

I had taken this one and most of the ones above

Jenna took this one of Gepetto and the Blue Fairy

we ate ice cream either here or across the way

24 blackbirds baked in a pie

     Enchanted Forest closes at 5:00 at this time of year.  We headed toward the parking lot just after  4:30 and got home a little after 7:00.  It was a fun day.  But unless I go back with small children, I really have no reason to return

Tofteville Western Town and Rides

     We took pictures of the girls in front of the jail in the western town, and Jenna took some more pictures of animatronics and other creations that unfortunately came out blurred.  I believe Jenna had gone on the ice mountain ride while Roland and I walked around Olde English Town.  The girls were hungry and so we ate at the Jolly Roger Inn located in the Olde English Village and watched a water show.  

 

     Many pictures were taken before we separated ways. The Opera House offers a 30-minute showing of the history of the enchanted forest and I was interested learning about the theme park (I wasn't aware at the time that it's available on YouTube - which is great as the enviroment is not the best for hearing the sounds on the screen; there are many louder noises distracting from the film).  I did not believe that Jenna would be interested (at this present time anyway; perhaps someday)and told her that if she and Ashley wanted to go on the rides, they could meet up with us at the opera house afterward.  But first, we went and got more food - which interested Ashley much more than the rides.

 

     I had told Jenna that if she planned to ride the log flume, she darn well better wear a poncho.  There was still a chill in the air, and wearing damp clothes would not help matters.  The first time Jenna went down the flume, Ashley was not with her.  I thought she would be sad, but the souvenir picture said otherwise.  

The smile tells all.  I told Ashley that she could have had her picture taken too and so she went with Jenna as she rode for the second time.  Ashley did not care for the ride at all.  Relunctly, she also went on the ice mountain with Jenna.  They met us in Olde English Village and ended up going to Olde English Village before we made our way back to Tofteville Western Town and Roland and Jenna both participated at the shooting gallery.  

Enchanted Forest: Storybook Lane

     The "Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" shoe was the last exhibit in Storybook Lane.   

There was a line to go through the shoe. It was the most crowded of anything else we had seen all day.  Roland pointed out to the slides below, and I went away from the shoe toward the bottom of the slide to get pictures of Ashley and Jenna coming down the slide.

I don't know if the slide required the purchase of tickets or not.  We had purchased each girl an all-day bracelet to go on the rides for as many times as they wanted.  It would have been less costly just to purchase individual tickets, but we didn't know. 

     After the shoe slide, we went to the carousel on our search for the theatre.  We also passed the haunted house which hadn't opened yet or was overcrowded with other guests.  We decided that we would hit it on our return from the outdoor theatre.  The theatre skit was cute.

     The feature was "Snow White and the Seven Dorks" - a skit acted out by three people.  The "dwarves" making a cameo appearance in a clever costume of acting person in middle holding up attached dolls on the costume so it appears that there are seven.  

     Jenna had my camera, and I should have retrieved it from her.  Initially, she and Ashley sat behind us but had moved and wasn't within my reach.  I took only a few pictures with my cell phone - but it didn't capture the detail of what we saw.  (I still have a flip phone, by the way.  Don't care for the touchscreen)

     After the show, the girls returned to the haunted house.  I don't know if we got something to eat before or after the log flume. I remember taking pictures of the tombstones between the haunted house and the Tofteville Western Town.  Tofte is the last name of the park creator and his family.  You can watch their story here.  Be warned, it is over 30 minutes, but I believe well worth the watch.

I wish we could have taken Manuel instead of Ashley

     It wasn't so much that Kayla was not interested in the Enchanted Forest so much as the drive there.  Roland had asked to take off the last week of March.  It was my understanding that Kayla and her family had planned to leave their house on Friday morning on March 23 - which was the last day of school for Kayla, but not for the school districts in Salt Lake.  Their spring break did not until the following Thursday (the 29th) and so Roland had extra time off before the family arrived.

     He wanted to do something special with Jenna and asked her to invite a friend that we might take with us to the Enchanted Forest.  She had asked one friend who initially said "yes" but then had to tell her "no".  She then decided to invite Ashley, whom I had never heard her mention before until that week as she had been invited to Ashley's birthday party.

     Problem with many of Jenna's friends is not knowing the parents and if they would allow us to take their child with us to another county.  Kamie's mom would in a heartbeat, but Kamie seems to always cut their playdates short as she has been experiencing health issues.  It is hard enough fulfilling plans at home - let alone on the road.  That was probably not a good idea.

       Annette and Jenna had enjoyed each other's company two years ago, but not anymore.  I may have suggested her if it wasn't for her meddlesome and rather insecure mother - who at one time did seem to like us.  But the last time we took her on the road her mother had a fit.  It was the last time Annette and Jenna got together and Kylee is always busy.

     I drove Jenna to Ashley's house to meet her parents who seemed more than okay with our taking Ashley with us.  But then Ashley seemed to want to back out.  I told Jenna that she should contact Manuel - which I wish would have been my thought in the first place.  The entire point of taking a friend was so that Jenna would have someone to go on the rides with.  Manuel would have done that with her and they both would have enjoyed themselves - or so I believe.

          I'm not saying that Ashley didn't have a good time, or that I have anything against her.  I don't really know her still.  She seems like a nice girl.  She actually reminded me a lot of Jenna's friend, Savannah, and I caught myself nearly calling Ashley that at least three times.  Savannah may have been a good choice too, but Jenna says she doesn't know how to get a hold of her now.  But then again, I think Ashley may have displayed more enthusiasm than I have ever seen Savanah do.

     Our family had never been to the park before, and so we were not sure what to expect - though I had looked it up online.  In my mind, I had compared the descriptions to Pioneer Village section of Lagoon, an amusement park located in Farmington, Utah, as that is what I am familiar with.  While Lagoon offers many rides, there really is not a huge selection of rides in the Pioneer Village part of the park.

  

     Enchanted Forest seems to be divided into three main sections: Story Book Lane, Olde English Village, and Tofteville Western Town. 

      We started out on the left side of the castle exploring Story Book Lane.  Jenna and Ashley took several pictures of each exhibit as they walked the lane.  Jenna went into the "hole" where Alice fell

entering the hole - the dark part of the picture

and we met her further down the lane coming out of the keyhole.  

she walked through the keyhole to exit

I think she's really too tall for many of the exhibits but enjoyed anyway.  I think Manuel would have as well.  Ashely had started following her but turned back and met us on the trail.  I believe Manuel would have stayed with her and kept that beautiful smile upon his face.  I rarely ever see him without his fabulous smile.

     Jenna said her favorite exhibit was the crooked house.  Ashley went in with her but I did not.  It's challenging enough for me to stay balanced on the "switchback" trails.  Most amusement parks seem level, but there was definitely climb to this one.

September is Better Than March

          Bill got some really great pictures of the animals when we had gone to Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon.  I'm happy that he was able to see more than I had when I went with them on March 30 this year.  I thought the activity among the animals had been much more impressive in September 2015 - the year we had moved here - the year I had gone with my brother, Corey.  Of course we gone at lunch time and had the honor of witnessing several animals being fed (Cats and Bears are kept behind fences whereas most of the other animals are free to roam) and this year we had gone early in the morning when the animals weren't quite as active.

          I really wanted pictures of us rather than use up my battery for animals in the distance.  The greatest part of the safari this time was watching the ostrich determined to block our path and hold up a line of cars

 

we couldn't go around it

did make it's way around the car eventually

Kayla in the back of our car

I don't know how many more cars behind the camper

          We also had the option of feeding one group of animals;  I didn't remember that even being an option when Corey and I went.  I had turned my head away from the window momentarily and when I turned back, I had this view right in my face:

        We had initially planned on leaving the park to get some lunch but as there was a giant hole in the van window, it was suggested that the rest of us go feed the kids (and ourselves) while Bill took the van somewhere to take care of the problem.  Most had been finishing up his or her lunch when Bill finally joined us.  Luckily he had not even had to leave the lot, but was assisted by some workers from the safari who lined the back window with a couple of cardboard boxes.

          The walk-thru part of the attraction also seemed to have added features that either weren't there in 2015 or perhaps I was just oblivious to them.  Roland had paid for all of us to ride the train.  The train was designed for small people and runs in a figure eighth. I would have rather spent the money on allowing each of the kids (Jenna included) to ride the camel.  But we didn't know any better.

      

          I thought we could do another drive-thru after lunch, but Kayla and Roland were very tired.  We put Roland and three of the  kids in our car to go home.  Kayla, BJ and I went with Bill to Roseburg so that he could get the window fixed but ended up having to return by himself on Monday.

          We did not leave the house on Saturday or Sunday;  watched Conference (or tried to) and played games and visited with one another.  Made it more relaxing.  It was so good spending time with them again.