Oregon reveries.

I'm back home after my lovely trip to Oregon. It was so lovely to see the folks, the sis and her family, Aunts Sandi and Pam, and especially Grandma who is recovering extremely well from surgery. There was also much relief after my brother gave us quite a scare all the way from Minnesota with his run-in with West Nile Virus and a few trips to the ER. It all was the best kind of drama – the kind that ends quickly and with a positive outcome.

As I've written about previously, I spent some wonderful time out at the coast. Such rejuvenation! And then as I headed up to Grandma's yesterday, I decided to schedule a trip to The Enchanted Forest. This roadside whimsical theme park was such a part of my younger years. As a wee one, I was certain that it was an extension of Disneyland, mainly because my imagination was often allowed to take flight in crazy ways in both places. I enjoyed paying homage to favorite sites as the little castle (which seemed so huge when I was five), the summer theatre stage (where I'm sure my love for theatre was spurred on), Humpty Dumpty, the Crooked Man's House, The Old Woman's Shoe (wherein you boarded a slide that would send you plummeting down the hill on a little green rug), the old western village Tofteville, and the Old Witch's Head (seen in the photo above). But the attraction I revisited with a bit of trepidation was the Haunted House... I remember that as a kid, I was absolutely freaked out by this thing, but I usually had someone to cower against. In fact, one legendary family story found my Grandpa, cousin, and I making our final exit from the place, one kid wrapped tightly around his head and the other wrapped around his ankles after nearly pulling down his pants. Every visit required a trip through this evil place, but I treated it like ripping off a band-aid... a long, slow, meandering tearing of skin.

But it couldn't have been as scary as I remembered it. Right? I bought my tickets and mounted the steps... Okay, who was the sadist who created this torture chamber in the middle of a kids' theme park? Granted, I was sans cowering buddy, but this place was FREAKY – all sorts of things popping out of the darkness and jets of compressed air. There were little whimsical-ish scenes along the way too, but the path between these breathers was horrifying! I emerged from that revered exit door actually sweating and SO relieved to be seeing the sunlight once again. I breathed a sigh as I half-jogged to the theatre where the panto-inspired, unchanging schtick style was slated to tell us the tale of Cinderella. Much more my cup o' tea!

So that's a little recent adventure for you. Now I'm back home and getting set to tackle some work that has been simmering on the back burner for a while. Take care, y'all. Peace and love!