Lancaster Barnstormers Game

by Ellen Vild

On July 27, 2008, I attended my first Lancaster Barnstormers game. The Barnstormers are Lancaster’s minor league professional baseball team. The baseball was great, but there are loads of other things to do as a family.

Food

The food is amazing. There is soda, hotdogs, ice cream, pretzels, peanuts and cotton candy. There is also popcorn, burgers and pretty much anything else that you would want to eat. You’ll never go hungry at the Barnstormers game and, according to my dad, the food prices are reasonable, especially compared to other stadium prices.

Bumper Boats

In center field, outside the wall, there is a large pool with bumper boats. The bumper boats are a great activity to do with a family because, if it’s the 6th inning and it’s hot, you can cool off with the bumper boats. You can spray people in other boats and they spray you back. Or you can go under the waterfall and get soaked. You can cool off on a hot summer day in the bumper boats, but you might want to bring a towel.

Fireworks

Just about every weekend that the Barnstormers play at home in the summer, they have fireworks either Saturday or Sunday night. So sit back after the game and enjoy all the colors in the sky.

Talking

When you are at a play, the movies or a concert, if you try to talk, you get a “shhhh!” At a baseball game, you can talk during the whole game. You can tell Mom and Dad what happened at school or what’s happening in your favorite book. At a baseball game, there is lots of talking going on.

The Barnstormers game, with the food, the activities and talking is a great place to spend the evening with your family.

A Visit to Longwood Gardens

By Ellen Vild

Are your parents taking you to Longwood Gardens?

Is it a hot day?

If it is, go to the indoor children’s garden. There are loads of fountains to splash in. At Longwood Gardens, the indoor children’s garden has so many things to do: there are mazes, the drooling dragon, the secret cave and amazing fountains. The indoor children’s garden is just like a miniature Longwood Gardens.

The Drooling Dragon

At the Drooling Dragon, you walk up a staircase into a small dark cave. You see a HUGE stone dragon, drooling, GROSS! But wait, it’s not drool, just water. Then you can pick up a paintbrush and write on the walls with the water. Write your name, your friend’s name, or your secret crush on the wall! At home, you’re never allowed to write on the walls. But you are in the cave of the
Drooling Dragon – it’s okay!

The Secret Cave

Another cave? Yes, this is the secret cave. In the secret cave there is a steaming fountain. The water looks like it’s boiling with steam, but you can splash in it. The walls of the secret cave are covered with art made from shells. The secret cave is fun, but it’s a secret. Shhh!

The Maze

Remember the maze in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? Well there is a kid-sized version at Longwood Gardens. The maze is made from live shrubs and you can try to go from one side to the other. Don’t get lost!

Statues

In the indoor children’s garden, there are amazing bronze statues of animals. They are so realistic, it’s like you’ve been shrunken to the size of one of the animals. When you touch the statues (touching is allowed) you expect to feel fish scales, a pelican’s beak or the peacock’s feathers. You’ve just made some new animal friends. It’s so hard to say goodbye.

At the Longwood Gardens indoor children’s garden, when your parents say it’s time to go, you want to say, “NO!”

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