Spokane, Washington - Looff Carrousel

Charles Looff was a master builder of many rides and carousels. I object to the double-r spelling, but the sign confirms it.

The carousel was really pretty: all glass and gilt and white.

I had liked the more rustic nature of the carousel at Silverwood, but this was gorgeous.

There were plenty of horses available, but other animals as well. I rode a giraffe. (Girraffe?)

I was a little bit surprised at their insistence on using the safety straps, even for adults. I mean, I could see how it is necessary for children, but I would have to really work at falling off. Then I saw this.

If people are going to lean over to try and catch the brass ring, that really could make falling off easier. I do not object to the safety straps.

If you grab a ring, the next stop is to try and throw it into the pail of Garbage Goat (representing a nearby statue).

Getting a ring is not easy (especially with safety belts) but  for a couple of extra dollars you can get unlimited rides and have all day to practice.

https://spokanecarrousel.org/

Spokane Washington - SkyRide

The SkyRide offers you a scenic view over the Spokane falls and river front.

It is not the only way of seeing the falls, because there is a nice walking path alongside the water, set up with some viewing areas and benches.

There is even some art along the way, like for most of the river front.

Still, that doesn't take you over it, the way the SkyRide does.

We were informed that the water level was low, but we still really liked it.

I admit this looks low, but if that means that at other times it will be even more impressive, I am willing to return.

We liked it a lot, though we did not actually get the T-Shirt.

And you should definitely head to the SkyRide place, which serves as activity central for the park. The only other thing we did was the Looff Carousel, which will be covered in the next post, but there were other activities available.

Look for the round building. The fun starts there.

https://my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontpark/attractions/skyride/

Funnel Cake

Last week I referenced Knott's Berry Farm. There are some similarities between Knott's Berry Farm and Silverwood beyond the Corkscrew, and one of them is funnel cake. The funnel cake at Silverwood brought back some memories.

The first time I ever had funnel cake was at Knott's Berry Farm, probably about 35 years ago. It was so good, and not something you could get anywhere else. You could buy a mix to make it at home, and my father tried that, but it was not the same.

Over the years it started showing up at other places, including basically every other theme park and state fair. That was nice, but then it started changing.

The most notable change for me looking at that sign is why all the fancy toppings? It used to just come with a dusting of powdered sugar.

There has been a trend toward making everything fancier anyway. They put similar toppings on elephant ears, which are perfect with just the mix of cinnamon and sugar. It is probably better that milkshakes are no long so much so similar to "gelatinated gum-based non-dairy beverages", but coating the top with a chocolate base, garnishing that with pretzels, cookie, or candy, and then sticking a brownie on top just seems really extreme to me.

However, I think I understood it better when we ordered our funnel cakes at Silverwood, with no toppings other than powdered sugar, which they poured on pretty thickly.

Funnel cakes are much denser now. I don't think this is necessarily a change in the batter, but I think they use a mold or something to keep the batter in a more uniform shape. They didn't used to be so perfectly round.

They also come out thicker this way, and denser, but cooking that way, with the oil less able to permeate, also makes them drier, which the powdered sugar exacerbates. The toppings may be a compensation for that.

Funnel cakes are good, but the free range cakes were better.

Let the batter run free!

Northern Idaho - Garfield at Silverwood

One of the primary reasons my sisters wanted to re-visit Silverwood was that Garfield had been added to the park. You could get pictures with Garfield and Odie at the Toy Store in Garfield's Summer Camp.

The first thing we saw were Silverwood teddy bears. I might have thought they were inspired by Pookie, but then we saw this:

My sisters were very excited to find plush Arlenes as well, though the necks are just too short to really look like her.

There was a lot of personalized merchandise available, but I was surprised at the name choices. Is Gianna really more common than Gina now? It felt like when Bart could only find Bort name plates at Itchy and Scratchy Land.

I liked the decor of the store a lot. It had an old fashioned feel, with a lot of charm. That probably pre-dates the addition of Garfield to the park. Actually, a Red Baron ride made me wonder of Garfield's Summer Camp used to be Camp Snoopy. They do have the old Corkscrew from Knott's Berry Farm.

Having once incorporated the Garfield theme, they did that pretty well too.

And of course, then we got to meet Garfield. Odie and Arlene were not available that day, but clearly Garfield would be the most important one.

I just thought it would be a fun thing to do, but a child who was in line before us (and had asked if Garfield was eating lasagna when told he was at lunch) ran to hug Garfield with such joy that my cynical heart melted.

Also, I think it is some kind of fan system, but there is a vibration to the cat that makes it seem like you have a purring cat there. That may not jibe with the personality of the comic Garfield, but it was all pretty sweet.

http://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/things-to-do/garfield.php