It was really just a house with a big backyard that they had fenced in with some chicken wire. There was a trellis and a hand written sign that said admission $5. We actually had to work a bit to find someone who would take our money. We probably could have walked in at no charge.... but there's no honor in doing that.
They had a bunch of random playground stuff and homemade attractions. They had a little pen with some goats, sheep, and rabbits, some swing-sets, a rope swing hanging from a tree, a bounce house, and a kid size zip line.
When we first got there, Jeni pointed out the zip line to Janelle. Janelle demurred and I waved Jeni off because I didn't think it age appropriate for Janelle. The kids went on and played on all the other stuff for nearly an hour. The bounce house was a huge hit. Janelle went in and out at least five times. Joseph would get in and hold onto the side and hop up and down. Although I thought the whole place was a liability attorney's nightmare (no outside supervision and no "spec" safety equipment) personal responsibility was evident and everyone was real nice. People with big kids wouldn't let them go in the bounce house when Joseph was in there and, in return, I got him out in short order so their kids could go in. Personal freedom at its best!
After a while, I noticed Janelle was down at the zip line, watching intently as other kids went down it. Let me describe it. It was a cable tied between two trees about 50' apart. At the start point, there was a platform about 2' high and a ramp up to the tree about 5' off the ground. At the top of the ramp, a kid would need to be about 4' tall to reach the handle, so about 10' off the ground. At the bottom, the cable was about 6' above the ground, so only about a 4' drop, but it would have been a pretty good way for a little one to fall on the hard ground.
I walked up to Janelle and asked her what she was doing. She replied matter-of-factly but with just a bit of reluctance, "I'm going to do that". I asked if she was sure. She said, "I'm waiting for my turn". A little boy went and then his sister. The little boy ran back and said "I'm next". I said nothing, and when the little girl was done, Janelle jumped up on the platform ahead of the boy. I had planned to help her go off the platform, so it wouldn't be so big and fast, but she ran up the ramp. I helped her up to the handle, she grabbed a firm hold, and off she went. Of course, I followed her down, just in case. I helped her down at the end and she was done. She went back to the bounce house.
I'm really proud of her because I really think she was afraid to go down the zipline but she decided that she was going to do it, and by gum, she did it. She didn't let overbearing the little boy get in her way. She made up her mind that it was her turn, jumped up there, and went all the way. HOOAH!
