Being the
responsible adults that we are, myself, Lil Bro#2, and Big Sis#2 decided to
take Niecey G trespassing on Sunday.
I've been to the Gingerbread Castle before, but only got to see it from the outside. Some
history: once upon a time when the Mill was still operational, someone built
the Gingerbread Castle so that the mill workers could leave their kids there
during the work day. Fifteen or so years ago, there were tours offered by a
long since closed restaurant across the street. Kids could meet up with Hansel
and Gretel, who would take them on a tour of the castle and at the end they
were confronted by the Witch, and to escape they had to throw a coin down the
wishing well.
Since then, the
Castle has sat abandoned. More recently, the property has been listed for sale,
something that has been met with some hostility from the locals.
A couple weeks
ago, two different friends posted photos on facebook of their explorations
inside the Castle. I'd been dying to revisit it ever since.
Upon our
arrival, Lil Bro#2 and Niecey G skirted the fence and said they found no way
in. All four of us took a long walk around the entire property (which includes
4+ buildings) looking for a way through the fence.
No luck. We
thought about exploring the mill itself, but it doesn't look entirely stable.
Then we got back
to where we started and I walked the length of the fence directly in front of
the Castle. Somehow Lil Bro#2 and Niecey G managed to miss the giant gaping
hole someone had cut in said fence.
Big Sis#2 opted
to stay outside, chatting with a family who had also come to check out the
castle. Niecey G, Lil Bro#2, and I proceeded inside the castle. We could hear the complaints of the small child whose parents still stood chatting to Big
Sis#2, because her parents would not let her follow us through the hole in the
fence.
It's a pretty
cool roadside attraction. But it's a shame there's so much graffiti. And not
even decent graffiti. Some highlights:
 |
| Lil Bro#2 and I may go back and attempt to steal that |
 |
| That was the only part of the building we didn't explore--those stairs did not look at all stable. |
We explored and
took some more photos and then went back to the car.
And no
exaggeration, LITERALLY as we were piling back into the car, a police car came
down the street and pulled into the Castle/mill parking lot. He didn't bother
us (I'm presuming because we were by that time on the legal side of the fence,
and we looked like 3 adults with a child in tow, so probably did not look like
the trespassing hoodlums that we are). So we possibly narrowly escaped getting arrested. Niecey G was thoroughly impressed with this adventure.
Normal
11-year-olds go to sleepovers or the mall on weekends, but Niecey G can now
tell her friends she went trespassing in abandoned buildings.
Later I stopped
at the bird sanctuary that's down the street from my new home. Got some good
pics of a great heron
a swallow
a green heron
this birb I
could not identify
and what I think
is a family of otters.
Lil Bro#2 and I grabbed some dinner at the Wit's End tavern with one of his friends. This
particular friend used to be afraid of me (which I find hilarious, as I'm a
hobbit and he's 6' 5"), but now he likes me. Lil Bro#2's friends cannot
keep his many sisters straight, so we are apparently referred to as The One
That Lives In England, The One With The Kid, The One That's Not Actually Related To Him, and Daenerys. I will admit I was
extremely flattered by this, even though I hated Daenerys's character in the
books. I'm guessing it's because of my hair, because I don't think I look
anything like Emilia Clarke...
......................................
.......................
............
... I find Lil
Bro#s's friend incredibly attractive, which makes me feel like sort of a
pedophile. I confided these feelings to M., without mentioning names, and he
guessed which one of Lil Bro#2's friends it was immediately. Apparently, I have
A Type.
What did the
rest of y'all do with your weekends?
