11/28/06

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

You get 10 bonus points if you sang that! LOL!

The reason I'm in such a Mister Rogers mood is that I think I'm slowly turning into him. Now before you head for the hills thinking I'm a man trapped in a woman's body, let me explain...

Over the weekend, I caught myself coming in from outside and taking off my rubber boots, putting on my tennis shoes, taking off my coat and putting on a hoodie hat I wear around the house. As I zipped up, I couldn't help but sing, "Let's make the most of this beauuuuu-tiful day."

And there it was.

I laughed a little giggle and hoped that no one heard me. I'm just waiting for the trolley to come and take me away to the land of make believe... Oh, wait! I may be there already!

In all seriousness, our family did actually go through Mister Rogers' Land of Make Believe once. In Ligonier County, Pennsylvania is a wonderful theme park called Idlewild. It's about a 3 hour drive for us, but well worth it! It's by far the best theme park I've ever been to! There is plenty of shade and rides for ALL ages! Many of the rides can be ridden by both parents and kids, but there are a few that have miniature versions for the smaller set.

In the Neighborhood of Make believe, you ride an actual trolley around and the trolley conductor leads everyone on an adventure through displays of animated puppets to "the castle hug and song" at the end. I had a blast! :o)

Idlewild also has a water park, an old mining town, jumpin' jungle (a giant jungle gym), the storybook forest, olde idlewild (traditional rides with a huge carousel) and lots of shows and souvenir shops. The food is amazing, too. The best part of it for me is that you don't even have to buy food there! The parking lots are actually inside the park and there are hundreds of picnic tables and several pavilions. You can take the kids out to the car very easily to change diapers, eat, reapply sunscreen, etc.

Idlewild is the only theme park I've ever been to that I felt safe in. You aren't constantly checking your wallet and I even feel safe leaving my back pack at the launch of the roller coasters (there was no money in it just so you don't think I'm completely nuts-o).

Idlewild also has 2 sister parks, Kennywood and Sandcastles. I have never been to either of them, but Matthew has been to Kennywood and it is very similar to Idlewild. If you ever have the means to go, I highly recommend them!

Lo and behold, as I was checking the links I inserted above, I discovered that Idlewild now has a blog, too! Click here to check it out!

1 comment:

Samantha said...

That sounds like so much fun! Although it's a little far for us to travel! I love theme parks. I grew up in Florida, so I got to go to disney, epcot, universal studios, and busch gardens a LOT. I never get tired of doing stuff like that. We have never taken the girls to one yet, but they're about old enough now.