The Land Of Oz

As promised, here's a rundown of our adventure to the Land of Oz.

The yellow brick road

Once a year, the Autumn in Oz festival happens at what used to be a theme park in Beech Mountain, NC. I had heard of it, but had never been. Joyce asked if we wanted to go, and it only took a few minutes of mental deliberation to decide YES! I mean, it's Oz! Who doesn't love The Wizard of Oz??

We head out of town early afternoon, and I really think Joyce and I were more excited than the kids. We were on a ROAD TRIP... ok, so we brought the kids, but it was still a road trip!! I was so proud that I actually navigated and we didn't get lost! (Without GPS I might add.)

On our way, we're chatting with the kids about what we'll see. They were looking forward to seeing the flying monkeys. Miss Thang thought they would be animatronic or harnessed to helicopters *raises eyebrow*... Lil Man plain didn't care as long as they flew. I said "I don't think they really fly." He said, "Thanks for killing the mood, mom." My bad.

Brrrrrrr.

I had never been to Beech Mountain, so it was great to go somewhere we had never been before. The higher the altitude, the giddier we got. We knew it was going to be cold. The freak cold front that passed through our town also passed through NC, but we had no clue how cold it truly was, until we started up the mountain. The thermostat on the car kept dropping and dropping. By the time we got there it was a brisk 36 degrees. Brrr. I wish I hadn't passed on bringing my scarf.

Once we got closer to the top, we started seeing ice in the trees. ICE... in October. WTH? I kept forgetting how high we were. So, of course, the first 50 or so pictures I had taken were of the trees with ice in them. (You'd think we never see ice.) Some of the people at the event dubbed this weekend the "Blizzard of Oz".

...to see the Wizard...

Then we start seeing signs leading the way to Oz. Joyce and I are practically bouncing in the seats. Then traffic stops. It is stop and go for a good 2 or 3 miles up the mountain. What a buzz kill. We finally arrive, park, and go get our tickets. More lines. It was very slow going through most of it, but was it fun!

Here's some pics...

Miss Thang, myself, Dorothy, Glinda, and Joyce

I think someone dropped a house on her.

The Cowardly Lion, a.k.a. Miss Thang

Miss Thang and Lil Man with the Scarecrow

Miss Thang and Rachel helping out the Tin Man with some oil.

Follow the yellow brick road.

So, we had a great time. I'm exhausted and all of my funny stories have vanished from my brain for the moment. Maybe I'll remember more details tomorrow. I'm off to... somewhere over the rainbow!