Going Home: Part 2

A few weeks ago my family and I embarked on a journey back to my home state of New Jersey. We spent some time with my older brother and his family in Pennsylvania so we could do some catching up and so our kids could play around with each other. One of the things we planned on doing was going to Mazezilla at Klingel's Farm in Saylorsburg, PA. Well, the weather had other ideas, so we found an indoor activity to entertain the kids. We went skating at the BIG WHEEL in East Stroudsburg!

When we got inside there were very few people out in the skate rink, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We had so much fun and took part in the limbo line (Spoiler: I lost), quick stop game and sock races. There was a birthday party going on, but they were confined to the party area in the back and only came out for the special contests.

Another cool thing about that day that we went to the BIG WHEEL was that they had the place decorated for Halloween and had given some of their usual decor a scary makeover.

This Dracula face was pretty cool. After about 4 hours skating it was time to leave. I always remember hearing commercials for this place on the radio, but never went. Now I can check this off my bucket list.

Until next time...goodbye BIG WHEEL. Eventually later in the week the weather improved and we had time for Mazezilla!

This place was AWESOME! Before you go into the maze they give you a punch card showing different things you had to find within the maze. It wasn't just a quick start & finish task which spread out how long it took us to complete. 

I think we were in those 11 acres of corn for over an hour and a half before we exited. And when we returned to the light of day we were greeted by a glorious sight...

Carnival food stands featuring everything from corn dogs to cotton candy to funnel cakes! I had missed my opportunity to get a deep fried Snickers bar at the fair this year, but I would not make that mistake again! It was gooey, warm and delicious and I'm pretty sure it caused a cavity or two.

There was also a petting zoo, where my kids spent most of their time feeding the goats and pigs, rubber duck races, slides, ball bounce area and this stack of old tractor tires. Heading here was well worth the wait. Now checkout this commercial for BIG WHEEL. It doesn't have that classic jingle, but you get to see some of what makes this place so cool. If you want to hear the jingle click HERE or visit BigWheelSkating.com.

It's time to Skate Again!!

This past weekend, I took the family skating at the local rink. I had not been skating in about 30 years! It was a friends birthday party at a place in Bushkill, PA and I know it was 1988 because this was the first time I heard the new smash hit song "Nightmare on My Street" from the up and coming rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. It was so much fun and I was hoping to create those type of great memories for my kids. 

The place was a total throwback! From the airbrushed graphics on the walls, the skate shop, disco ball and black light special skates it was like I was back being a kid in the 80s.

I was a little scared to get back on the skates since it had been so long, but my kids took to it almost immediately. We took a few laps around on the carpet just so we could all get a feel for the wheels, but after that we hit the floor and didn't leave for about 2 hours. Yes, there were some falls and yes my son did take me out a few times, but it was so much fun!!!

They also had a small but pretty nice arcade inside the building. There were your standard games...

like Skee-ball. Which my youngest daughter hit the jackpot on.

Then there was this retro styled 50-in-1 arcade cabinet that had all the classics like Centipede, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and a ton more. My son decided to play Congo Bongo. I have not seen this game in decades and it took him out pretty quick. He wasn't too upset about that, but he was upset when he learned this machine did not spit out tickets.

With the arcade tickets they earned, my kids were able to get a few piece's of candy and a plastic lizard. I am so glad we decided to go. Not only was it a fun and enjoyable family day out, but look at that carpet in the picture above!!! I wish I could carpet my entire house with this stuff! If you have not been skating in a while and you have a rink near you, I highly suggest checking it out. It really brought back some great memories for me and I hope it can do the same for you.