The View From Our Window
I'm still working on the last of the sign designs for The Trinidad project. The bumper boats have been renamed Kraken's Krew. The bumper boats will roam around the giant Kraken who is half in and out of the bumper boat pool.
The sign will reflect this same feeling of course, as always. The yellow life ring is a symbol of the bumper boats.
This sign will be a great warmup for the very BIG kraken to follow. Stau tuned...
-grampa dan
Today was the long awaited day we would begin the conrete work on the bumper boat island. The welding had been done by Matt and Marty before Christmas. The application of the diamond lath has been saved for rainy days and so was ongoing in spurts of bad weather over the last months. With the design, manufacture and testing of the phneumatic fence system above and the wiring and plumbing behind the walls we have been held up wrapping up the lath work until today. There is still some diamond lath to do on the beams but by first coffee this morning we had wrapped up the center portion and six of the 'wooden' columns. These columns were actually perfectly straight structural steel (inside) but the boys had welded up frames to make them bent, twisted and broken timbers and logs. A couple of them appear to have been chewed almost through by Bucky the Beaver. It seems that he simply can't resist a good chew from time to time on whatever is handy.
The end result will be a cue line for the bumper boats with plenty of interesting things to see. Guests will wonder just how the giant wave swinger ride perched above manages to stay upright. Today's effort was actually the result of many weeks of work by our entire team as per usual. They worked their magic today once more to bring this area 'instantly' to life. Here, Jenessa carves Bucky's teeth marks into the structural timber. Her specialized tools of choice... a plastic spoon and a paint brush.
Today's effort polished the cement work off on the 'dirt banks' and about half of the upright timbers. A couple more days should finish the mud on this portion of the project.
The bumper boat island is quickly taking shape - just as I imagined many months ago. The giant mountain behind frames it all beautifully.
In my mind's eye I can clearly see the bumper boats bobbing on the blue water as well as the massive and colorful wave swinger ride perched above. This feature is going to be spectacular when it is finished! Stay tuned for more...
-grampa dan
Spelunking is defined as the sport or practice of exploring or studying caves. I don't believe there is a word to describe the art of building one but that is exacly what we did today. The Wilderness adventure area includes a one hundred and twenty foot network of caves under the main walkway leading into the park. It is one of many cool surprises that are there for those who take the time to look.
The cave ranges in height from three foot six up to four foot six. This means our team spent eight long hours applying the mud and then sponging things smooth - all on our knees. Despite the very hard, dirty work the crew laughed and joked through the entire day. The cave earned the name 'pit of dispair' as the day dragged on in the cramped, dark and dreary space.
There were two highlights through the day. One was the finish of the cave mudding in only one day. The second highlight was the fact that it was again WAFFLE WEDNESDAY celebrated by all at lunch break.
It has been a very busy and productive week. One more day to go before we break for the long easter weekend.
-grampa dan
Custom Design & Construction
