Jam Packed Weekend O' Fun - Thursday

For all intents and purposes, summer ends with the passage of Labor Day. In Boston, the days are already noticeably shorter and the days are colder, so for the last couple weeks I was determined to make the most of my favorite season before it totally disappears into cold, dark gloom.

One weekend in particular was jam packed with summer fun. And the weekend started with Thursday.

THURSDAY
IEc had its annual end-of-summer party this year at Kimball Farms, a large farm turned into family amusement park. Some highlights:

• We rode a school bus 45 minutes to the farm. I haven't been on a school bus in eight years. Buses haven't changed a bit, but it's now a little harder to squeeze into those seats. (This was actually not a highlight--maybe a low-light...)
• We had to wear color-coded wristbands to identify us as part of the IEc party. I was expecting a small gathering with just us, but there were at least ten other large events going on that night, plus plenty of people just coming to play games.
• That's right--they had games! One of the best was a huge mini-golf course. This course was surprisingly challenging for a family-friendly amusement park, though, because almost every hole offered you the opportunity to lose your ball for good by hitting it into a fake stream or off a fake cliff. I, in fact, did lose mine by hitting it off a cliff (onto someone else's putting green, which surprised them terribly--"It's raining neon orange golf balls! What?!"). That was ironic because before that awful shot, I was pretty much winning our game. After that, I played on Colin's team, taking half of his shots, and continued to play pretty well.
• I wasn't too upset about losing my mini-golf ball, partly because we had just come from playing the BEST game in the whole park: bumper boats. Imagine bumper cars, but with giant inner tubes with seats and motors in a fake pond with a fake waterfall and boulders as obstacles. I got really good at ramming people and avoiding splashes. My friends and I played twice, and the second time the pond was empty enough that we started racing our boats around the perimeter. The only downside was that the motors on the boats were basically red plastic gas cans with handles for steering, and the fumes were awful. By the end of the five minutes on the water, I felt so gross, and I'm sure the environment was crying, too. Note to Kimball Farms: electric (solar-powered?) motors, please!!
• In the spirit of adventure, Colin and I also decided to try the driving range. Colin was decent, in that he could hit the ball high up in the air with a satisfying whack. I struggled to get my ball more than a few feet up in the air or to land farther than 50 feet away. I also had more than enough embarrassing whiffs that landed a mere foot (or less!) away. I guess we still need more practice!
• In between all that playing, we ate and ate. A barbecue dinner was waiting for us when we arrived, and it was delicious: burgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, potato salad, grilled veggie skewers, ... Kimball Farm is apparently also known for their homemade ice cream, so we of course had an ice cream sundae buffet. I opted to try two flavors (and Colin three) because we were SO HUNGRY when we got there. Much to our chagrine, the scoops of ice cream were each softball-sized rather than golf ball sized! Neither of us could finish our dessert. It sure was good, though. 
• There was also an open bar for the party, but the bartenders seemed to be struggling. I started with a glass of their home-brewed beer, and that was easy. But when Colin ordered, he asked for a margarita (they had an entire menu just of margaritas), and the bartender said she didn't know how to make them so he would have to pick something else. Okay.... so he asked for I-don't-remember-what, something straightforward like a Manhattan, and the bartender said she didn't know that either. He finally ended up with a beer. Later in the night, I ordered a piña colada (they also had a long menu of frozen drinks) and the poor young bartender suffered through a 10-minute lesson as a more experienced bartender showed her how to make it. I don't even remember what Colin ordered, but by the time we finally got our drinks, I felt like the bartender needed it more than I did. Anyway, the piña colada was very good.
• Although the evening was fun, I was sad that Kimball Farm wasn't a little more farm-like. We didn't see a single orchard, pasture, or field. I know that they do actually grow things because I buy produce from them at the farmer's market, but all we saw was the amusement park. The park was so huge, though, that I imagine the farm had to be a mile or so away. We did walk past a menagerie tent and saw some "livestock" inside--including a skunk. My friends and I got a good laugh about that! A skunk isn't exactly what I would choose for a zoo-in-a-tent.

And that was just Thursday night.