Monday, October 30, 2006

Tennessee Corn Maze

Ok, the corn maze....Imagine driving on a narrow windy dark country road, you go further and further knowing you'll never find your way back and if you were to break down nobody would find you for days. You come to a farmhouse all set up for Halloween, buy tickets to this great big 24 acre corn maze, put your gloves on, zip your jacket and climb onto a hayride. There are few people there besides your group and the driver. He takes you about a mile out into the fields, never saying a word, there are no lights, no trails and no other sign of life. The tractor stops and everybody climbs off. The stooped driver limps to a cleared area, slowly turns and says. "The west side is the easiest, the middle is pretty easy and the east is pretty hard. There's a little bit of mud but you can get around it."Everybody looks around and head off to the middle ground. You start for the hard one and the man drawls, "It might take 30 minutes, maybe three hours and maybe I'll pick you up tomorrow evening." Yeah right, you think as you laugh and head off gleefully into the cornfield. You go down path after path, the flashlight making shadows on the cornstalks and you could swear they're moving. Remember now, you are the only ones in this area and it *is* 24 acres. Texas chainsaw massacre comes to mind and you can hear coyotes off in the distance. You tell each other it was just the farm dog but was it? Finally you start cutting through the rows, sloshing through mudholes, heading towards what you think is the exit and now you can't find the path again. The voices you'd been hearing are gone and you haven't heard the sound of the tractor for awhile. It's been an hour and a half and now you're getting worried. Everybody's getting a little panicky, the flashlights are going dim and you decide to go back to the entrance. The one guy in your party who had been jumping out at the others is now quiet and thoughts of joking are gone. Who knows how far you've walked, are you even heading in the right direction? There are no landmarks and you didn't even think of looking at the stars before you entered because it's a corn maze for petes sake. They're always easy, safe and have plenty of people around. In your mind, you can hear the music from Friday the Thirteenth, hear footsteps in the corn beside you and someone whispering. If the flashlights die, it will be pitch black and you really will be stuck. Finally you find a path that looks familiar so you follow it. A whoop comes from the front of your group and you know they found a way out. All's well, or is it? There are no other people around, no sounds of anyone else and no tractor sounds. You wait, and wait and try to come up with a plan to walk back to the farm, if you can even find it. You know that they have closed down for the night and the farmer wasn't kidding when he said he'd pick you up the next day. You can still hear the coyotes too. Your shoes and pants are caked with mud, burrs stuck all over your clothes and hair. Just when you decide to walk it you hear the rumble of the tractor in the distance. Ahh, it really was just a corn maze......And ....it didn't take you to Erwin! Moral of the story- Don't go to corn mazes in real corn fields in Tennessee if you are a city person, or at least take some bread crumbs.

Today was park day for the homeschooling group here, we all went and a good time was had for most. Tori and Sierra were dressed the same, not knowing beforehand what the other one was wearing. They both had on Live and Learn Conference tees from 2005!

I got to take off alone and enjoy all of the quaint shops on Main St in downtown Jonesborough. It is such a cool little town. The 'Lollipop Shop' was great, I got to load up an oriental take out box with candy. I know Halloween is tomorrow and the kids will be loaded but I NEED my chocolate fix too.

In another shop I found a basket weaving kit. I so want to know how to do this, maybe the directions will be easy. I can't wait to try it.

There are so many things to look at inside the shops along with checking out the old buildings. I got a pic of the Salt House and some fall foliage.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I had been there! Actually, it sounded like fun to me.

pair dog said...

It WAS fun, Chico!
I loved it, even when we got lost.
I love the feeling of self-reliant survival and the maze kind of gave me that feeling.

It was exciting trying to calculate where we've been in the maze and where we should go to get where we want to go.

PLUS: It was cold, creepy and desolate! What a fun combo ;D

Heidi Snavley said...

Aaahhhh, I want to be there with you guys!!

LeaAnn said...

Heidi, we wish you all were here too!

Anonymous said...

hehe now dont you want to move up here so bad???remember if you dont, well you probebly no whats going to happin, haha, e_0 well you guys really need to move up here, i no you can move next dore ware thare building the new house ^_^ miss you guys