A Quest through the Enchanted Park

This past weekend, we set out to complete another item on our Summer To Do List with the annual Scavenger Hunt in the Park.  Last year's theme was based off of the board game CLUE and we all had a blast!!  This year was no exception!  We set off armed with our "Field Guide to Magical Creatures" in search of all the wonders and adventure that were layed out before us in the Enchanted Park.

Our Field Guide read as follows . . .

"Brave Adventures, 
      Prepare to embark on a quest through the Enchanted Park!
     
     Equipped with this Field Guide to Magical Creatures you will travel to The Fairy Realm, The Garden on Gnomes, The Dragon's Lair, Mermaid Lagoon, and the Troll Bridge to learn more about the legends and habits of these fantastic beings!
     
    But alas!  Although we, the staff of  ____ Park, have long studied the gardening habits of out magical neighbors, there are still gaps in our knowledge and so this field guide remains incomplete.  This is why we need your help!
    
      Please supply the missing information to complete this field guide.  Your efforts will be richly rewarded!
     

     GOOD LUCK AND MAY THE FAIRIES SMILE UPON YOUR QUEST!"

Our first stop was the Fairy Realm . . .

According to our Guide Book, "...fairies represent the most widespread and varied group. They are known by many different names and descriptions throughout the world, which could be due to fairies' ability to cast a glamour (enchantment) over viewers, and change shape at will."  So much for us seeing Tinkerbell and her friends ...  :(

"Many fairies live in underground mounds or "fairy hills".  These are often marked by a "fairy ring" of mushrooms or a Rowan tree flourishing nearby."  

Our very own little "Fairy" in her fairy house ...

To complete the "research" in our Guide Book, we needed to find the Foxglove plant.  "Other names for the blossoms include Fairy Thimbles and Fairy Cups - indicating just how useful these flowers are to our wee friends!"  I will never look at these again without envisioning fairies fluttering about.   

We spent some time in the Fairy Realm (We were still hoping to get a glimpse of Tinkerbell!)  looking at all the beautiful flowers and greens.  My Great-Grandma had the most beautiful flower gardens, so I have always enjoyed all the gorgeous colors and shapes.  Great memories!

Our Quest continued on to the Garden of the Gnomes.

"Because of their shy nature, gnomes prefer to be active a night.  Gnomes are flattered by garden gnomes statues and often choose to reside in gardens with many of them!  There is also a safety consideration in this arrangement:  the resident gnome can freeze when caught off guard by humans and pretend to be another statue!"  ~  So the search began to see if we could determine which gnomes were statues or a "real" gnome masquerading as a statue just trying to hide from us.

Possibly???

Honey found his favorite . . .

Next up was the Dragon's Lair.

This was by far the most elaborately done area and a favorite of the kids!

Apparently, there are two main groups of dragons:  the Common European dragon and the Chinese dragon.  "The European dragon has a second stomach which produces flammable gas.  When the dragon expels this gas, it ignites in the air.  This is how a dragon "breathes fire"!"  (Fascinating, isn't it??  EWW!)  "This Common European dragon will not leave her lair because she is guarding an important treasure: Her eggs!  We have heard rumors that a Chinese dragon is also hanging around the park! "  

On our way to the Mermaids' Lagoon, B thought she found another gnome that was hiding from us.  :)

Much to our dismay, we decided that we would probably not find Ariel swimming in the Mermaids' Lagoon.  (Not everything has to relate to Disney, right?)  But we did find the missing Chinese Dragon!!

"Both Christopher Columbus and the Captain John Smith ("Hey!"  said L.  "He's from Pocahontas!"  I guess there is a little Disney everywhere.)  reported having seen mermaids on their voyages.  Captain Smith described one mermaid as having "a finely shaped nose, well-formed ears and green hair".  

"Mermaids enjoy plants that remind them of the sea.  Coral fountain plants and pretty 'Seashells' cosmos are always welcome in a mermaid's garden!"  That sounds like my kind of garden!!!  Unfortunately, none of their cosmos had bloomed yet. But I'm sure that they will be beautiful!  Hmm, maybe something to look into adding to our "beach themed" deck?!

Our final quest was a little bit of a hike, so Miss B decided that she could not walk one more step.  L was there to save the day!  Such a good big brother.  :)

Not to be left out, Honey decided to join the fun.  Good thing he has a strong back!  And yes, they walked this way until we reached the final destination.  Yikes!

The Troll Bridge.

"Trolls are most common in Scandinavia, but can be found throughout the world.  They prefer to live in caves or under bridges."  

"Daddy, get out from under there!  You are NOT a troll!"

"Trolls are nocturnal. An active troll exposed to sunlight instantly turns to stone!"

"For protection from the sun, trolls often take the form of boulders while they sleep the day away.  You should assume that any boulders you spot near a bridge are really sleeping trolls!  They are perfectly harmless during daylight hours.  You can even sit on them!"  (Anyone else see the Frozen correlation here???)

And with that, we had successfully completed our Field Guide!  We all agreed that last year's CLUE theme was a little more challenging and fun, but this was still very creative and interesting.  Plus it was a beautiful day to be outdoors!!  

We couldn't leave without a visit to our favorite part of the park.  The Fountains!

All in all, it was a "Picture Perfect" afternoon.  :)

Now on to our next adventure . . .