One last time

One of the purposes of our visit to Trinidad was to verify all the elements of the project. As we walked the perimeter of the property it became apparent that the border didn't jive with the survey we had in our possession. We asked for one final survey indicating the true dimensions of the property which we got late yesterday. Sure enough things had changed significantly in a number of places. This meant I spent the day redrawing the master plan one last time.

Redrawing the masterplan meant we had to shuffle various things to fit within the new boundaries. It was also one last opportunity to take a good look at every detail and make sure everything worked together as it should. Each element was tweaked at least a little and some a lot. The result is a good plan that allows for lots of traffic. We even managed to find enough property to allow the addition of one more ride or attraction in the future.

This plan will now be given to the Trinidad achitect to shuffle all of the elements as necessary while he makes sure everything is up to local code. It is almost time to begin onsite construction!

Back at the wheel

The first day back in the shop was full on. I spent much of the day at my desk getting things there under control. Meetings and some design work used up the balance of my time. Out in the shop the crew worked full blast as usual. 

The Yardarm Twist sign is almost complete and looking pretty fine!

Peter spent the bulk of his day sculpting on Spec for the Crow's Nest sign. He too is quickly coming together.

Other features are becoming more colorful each day. Here's Angie putting the final coat of base color on the forked log. Glazes will soon follow.

Most of the welded features are now ready for the concrete which will begin again tomorrow. The giant tree base for the treehouse will be the first new feature to get it's coat of mud. Stay tuned...

Last look at bare

Today was our last visit onsite before we head back to work in the studio once more. Even since our arrival in Trinidad the site was changing. The temporary fencing postsare now up almost entirely around the site. In a few days gravel trucks will be rolling across the landscape and the trees we are not able to use (largely because of big grade changes) will be gone. Within weeks footings will be poured and walls will begin rising. I'll return for a quick visit sometime in February to check on progress and in March the climbing wall and many of the large features will be craned into their final place. By the end of March and into April it will begin to look a great deal like a magical theme park landscape. It is going to be very exciting!

Today, as I stood on the seaside boardwalk in front of where the entrance would be I could easily see it all in my mind and it looked pretty fine!

This is going to be VERY cool!! Stay tuned for the exciting adventure...