Recently, I had 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 D.C. 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. A wooded path leads to the center of the park. Barely 30 paces into our journey, we would hear the sounds of the Wurlitzer organ. 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 was 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 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 D.C.
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A Bit of Old-Fashioned Fun
Recently, I had 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 D.C. 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. A wooded path leads to the center of the park. Barely 30 paces into our journey, we would hear the sounds of the Wurlitzer organ. 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 was 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 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 D.C.
