Recently, I had some out of town guests with two children who were too young to be sightseeing all day long. I felt sorry for the little ones. Visiting DC sights can be boring if you're under the age of 10. One morning, I packed up supplies for a picnic lunch and we headed for Glen Echo Park.

When I was a child, my parents would take my siblings and I to the park quite often. There is a wooded path that leads to the center of the park. Barely a 100 feet along the path and we would hear the sounds of the Wurlitzer organ playing music. From there, it was a mad dash to arrive at the most wonderful ride we knew at that time – an old-fashioned carousel. I loved watching the colorfully decorated animals going up and down and around. It was always difficult for me to decide the animal I would claim. Which one of the forty horses, four rabbits, four ostriches, giraffe, lion, tiger or deer would be my ride? One thing for certain, I would not be on one of two chariots that were reserved for the “old folks” aka Mom and Dad. Mom would buy the tickets. I don’t know how much they cost back then but it couldn’t have been much – it’s only $1.25 now. After our ride, we would picnic in the park.

I led my house guests to the Dentzel Carousel and watched the little ones enjoy themselves as much as my siblings and I did all those decades ago. It brought back wonderful memories.

Glen Echo Park is located in the Maryland suburbs, about a half hour’s drive from downtown DC.