At the end of the summer, we went to Palace Playland* at Old Orchard Beach. Before you think we’re completely insane (Old Orchard Beach’s motto seems to be: Where Everyone is A Little Bit Misshapen, and Some People Are Noticeably Drunk), let me tell you that Henry is a carnival ride nut and we hadn’t gone to any sort of county fair, and somehow Palace Playland seemed like a nice end to the summer. The children had a great time, and didn’t seem to notice any of the other people. Henry went on all the scariest rides he could, and Eli drove a long-haul trucking ride (I think it was called “Convoy Race”) six times. At the very end, Zuzu finally got to go on a ride, too.
Boy, oh, boy did she ever love the carousel. When it was over she clung on to that golden pole with all the strength she could muster, and absolutely wailed when we peeled her off.
*I like the missing word on the tagline on the Palace Playland website. It says, “New England’s ONLY Beachfront Amusement.” As if, in all of New England, with its thousands of miles of gorgeous coastline, Palace Playland is the only thing worth doing. Or the only thing that’s amusing, I guess.
Too funny! We couldn’t get Annika OFF the carousel fast enough!
We used to go to Maine every summer and the night at Old Orchard Beach was the highlight! Don’t burst my bubble, I didn’t notice the misshapen and drunk people either! (I’m sure it hasn’t changed that much in 30 years…)
I used to have a favorite horse on that carousel, I’m pretty sure it was white with lots of flowers on it. And the clowns with the waters guns, fill up the balloon to win a prize? And you didn’t mention the bumper cars, are they still there or too old school now?
Sigh. Good times.
Love the pic of Zuzu, she looks so happy.
Remember when you were riding the carouselas a child and reached over to pull the horse’s tail in front of you and it came off?
Jessica, I’m sure it’s exactly the same. Yes, bumper cars, though we stayed off those. There are probably a few new rides but I bet most of them are the same. The funniest is the French Canadian fun house. It’s pretty much your basic fun house, with an Aladdin theme, and everything written in French. It was a bit of a mish mash.
Nora loves carousels too- she used to ride on the horses but then suddenly got scared of them and will only ride on the seats- in my lap. She even made up her own sign language sign to ask for a carousel ride (large circular twirl of the index finger). There was a carousel in every mall in southern CA so she got to go often when we lived there.