AHA! Maybe this is why the ceiling is missing in your "Foliage" room!

Can you imagine if this whole picture was a pattern on a rug? Just Gorgeous!

Motts~ With all it's little interesting details to its architecture, this is one of the most beautiful places you've photographed so far.
Thanks for showing us that once upon a time, people loved to build structures that would be so beautiful to the eyes.

Oh wow! I'm with you, Janice. ; )
Line the walls here with some beautiful floor to ceiling mahogany bookcases and a deep comfy chair that you can curl up in with a great book!

I wonder how many people tried to ride that banister to its very end.

Such beautiful architecture!

You're right Jude!
It does look like it's from a fairytale!

And so, the kingdom slept for 100 years and waited for the spell to be broken...

The design and all the many different little details to it are simply breath taking.
The structure is just so beautiful on its own.
But Motts, you ALWAYS have a way to take a beautiful subject and take it to that next step up! : )

But ALL of the Enchanted Forest has not been forgotten!
Many of the original figures and structures were saved and or given to Clark's Elioak Farm, which is just down the road from this original Enchanted Forest!

The farm has just opened for their new season!
This year they are VERY proud to be able to unveil to the public the original Little Toot boat, Humpty Dumpty, the Merry Miller's House, and Willie the whale!
While Willie was being relocated he broke apart.
But! His original frame was saved as well as his tail and tongue.
A local artist used these pieces to recreate a replica of him.
He still needs to be painted, but from what I hear he looks wonderful!

Papa Bear that you remember sitting in is at the farm, as well as the three bears cottage, the old woman's shoe/slide, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and many other EF favorites.
No, it wasn't possible for it to reopen on it's original soil, but this IS the next best thing! : )

CRAP, bluicecorvette!
You found me haunting this staircase again! LOL.
Ok. I confess, I'm always here. : )
It is just too beautiful to leave.
My thoughts and a hug goes out to you as well, bluicecorvette.
Be sure to spend a part of the day, being thankful for the special positive people who were put in your path on this journey called LIFE, and that made a diffence to you, because they were in it.
My heart will never leave this Enchanted Forest.
I'm grateful to Mott's that he has taken such beautiful photos and that a group of caring people appreciate them as well.
A woman told me once that she read a story that when you go to Heaven, you are asked where you would like to spend eternity.
If I could choose, I would spend it here in this Enchanted Forest. : )

This must be what you would call an "Enchanted" time out. : )

Every home should have one of these towers to escape to.
A place set up to listen to music, to read, to draw, or just to dream...

I shared what Tom Tom said about grieving to a friend who just lost someone. After I told her, it looked like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She smiled as she teared up and said, "Oh, I like thinking of it that way!"
Thanks, Tom Tom. : )

This reminds me of that creepy dream sequence on the t.v. series "Twin Peaks."
Where a dwarf(?) was dancing and speaking backwards to Agent Cooper and Laura Palmer.
Odd how the chairs are arranged. Looks like the table didn't want to be in their company ,so it just walked away.

Sigh...Silly Ol bear. YOU have been through so much more than I! I just wanted you to realize that its hearing from people like you that have been through so much more, that it actually helps ME to push on. YOU are an inspiration for me! Thank you for that!
And as for dealing with loss, when I lost my Mom it was as if two of the most important people in my life died. My Mom ,and also one of the very best friends I ever had. For me it feels like only yesterday that I spoke to her ,but it also feels like it's been a century seen I spoke to her last , all at the same time. How's that for not making any sense? But, losing someone you loved the most never makes any sense. Take comfort in Tom Tom's words above about grieving, and know that you are here with people that care. Love you, Gail Take care. : )

Bluicecorvette! Woman! Sit down with me on these steps and take a breather!!!
It's actually very peaceful here!
It always amazes me that as bad as my life might be going, (yah, there are alot of people that seem to have it so much easier than me), but I also never have to look very far to find someone who has been through so much more than I.
It puts things in a little bit better perspective for me.
I myself, have been through breast cancer. A co-worker said to me once that they didn't know how I pulled through, and that they didn't think they could do it if they were in my shoes.
I told them that "Sometimes, you just do what you have to do."
When life can press on us hard, it really can make us stronger.
Family and friends help get us though.
Thank you for sharing all of the above.
I can't even BEGIN to imagine the kind of pain that you've been through.
I can see though that you are a strong and caring woman who thinks of others before she thinks of herself.
I'm hoping that things have gotten better for you.
Thank you so much for sharing it, and yes, you are with people that care. : )
You're in my thoughts. Once again, a picture has brought together two people's pain, but in doing so it has also brought a kind of comfort in sharing what they've been through.
You take care~ Love,Sue
Thank you Rapunzel's Wish for the kind and heartfelt words. Happy Mother's Day to you : )

"Awww, You caught me haunting this enchanted staircase again.
Had to come here, especially today, and it was nice to see that you left me a message of warm wishes on these steps.
Gail, if you are a Mom or have a Mom, heck, even if you don't have any kids!
I'm sure that you've been an inspiration to children in your life.
You remind me of that saying that goes something like,
"A hundred years from now, it won't matter what kind of car I drove. How much money I made, or even how big my house was. What will matter most is that I was important in the life of a child.
Thank you, Gail, from the bottom of my heart! OXOX ~ Sue " : )

"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun."...W.S.

Tom Tom, for all the people who have commented about my thoughts on this picture, never have any of you been at a loss for words. In some ways, it feels like she is saying hi to me, through all of you.
I love what you wrote about grief, and how it is the price we pay when we love others.
I love that way of thinking..... : )
What gets me through the loss of my Mom is that I was lucky enough to have someone like her in my life for as long as I did.
I am thankful each day for that.
I am amazed how people, that I don't even know, have taken the time to comfort a stranger.
Just that fact alone is comforting on its own. It makes me realize the true power there can be in words and the power of these beautiful pictures Motts has taken.
There still IS magic in this Enchanted Forest, and it is mostly made up of love.
Thank you Tom Tom, much love to you too. : )

Oh wow, thank you so much for your kind words, and lots of love to you too. : ) My Mom is on my mind all the time, and I hope that all of you here are lucky enough to have a loving and kind hearted soul like she was in all of your lives too. Amazing how one photo can effect people in different ways.
This picture to me, is what a stairway to Heaven would look like.
It kills me to think that this beautiful castle will all just crumble to the ground.
I wish some of it, ANY of it could be saved!

Another cup has just been returned to Clark's Elioak farm!
"The Hartman Family who own The Salty Dog Crab House in Dundalk, has kindly donated Little Toot, Papa Bear, the Piggy from the top of the Brick House, the Teddy Bear Turnpike sign & a Red Tea Cup to Clark's Elioak Farm."
It will take time for repairs and repainting them, but because people are donating to the farm their enchanted treasures, that they aquired over the years, a little bit more of the original EF will now be at the farm for some of us to remember when and for some to see for the very first time! : )

"Where's Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, and John Waters when you need them?"

I have read that the bathrooms at the EF were segregated at first, but you are right, it was one of the first parks to be non-segregated for it's time. When King Cole welcomed all through that entrance, he really did mean one and all.
I saw a blog sight where a woman remembers that as a child for a school trip, was going to an amusement park in that area. The class was told that three of them would not be going, but would go to the EF. The child questioned this with her father, and he explained it was because of their color. She found the reason quite ignorant. It shaped her personality at such an early age. I'm sure that she was not the only child to question the reasons for segregation at those times. To rebel from its beliefs and to question why. Not only did this park inspire children to read, it is very possible that the original owners who created the EF, had no idea that it might also become the first lesson that taught children what segregation and non-segregation meant. The original owners sold it to someone who promised to keep it running. That promise was broken. Today is the results of that first agreement. Businesses have taken over much of the land where the EF once stood. Alice's tunnel caving in, destroyed forever and much more. The park has been stripped clean of it's figures. The company who owns it now, is only interested in the retail shops. Due to ownership, vandalism,and unsafe property, Kimco, the currant owners, have a no trespassing sign up, and have been kind enough to let Clark's Elioak Farm, relocate everything they can at the farm's expense. http://www.clarklandfa...CHANTED%20FOREST.htm. They hope to recreate over time many of the figures that have been stolen, sold, or destroyed. To relocate whatever structures they can afford. Photographs and videos of people spending time at the Enchanted Forest while it was open, is what is helping the farm with it's artists and volunteers, keep a little bit of the EF alive. Please consider letting the farm copy your photos and/or videos, so that a new generation can enjoy the creativity that the EF was known for.

Today is the ten year anniversary of my Mother's death.
If I Iived there, I would go in and climb these stairs one last time, making sure that I use this railing so I don't fall. Tie a red rose to this railing with red ribbons in memory of her. Then probably sit down in this enchanted stairway and have a good cry.
It's hard when there are certain people, and things that we have such a strong emotional attachment to, are suddenly taken from us.
What the eyes can no longer see, the heart still feels.
That is why photos like this are so precious to us.
I miss and love you, Mom. : )
(Thanks, Motts.)

alison wonderland, I totally understand what you mean, and believe me we aren't the only ones for feeling this way!

The original EF will never be opened again, that is why Kimco has given Clark's farm to take whatever is left.
As in structures. The figures to all the exibits were either sold, given, or stolen years ago.
This is property that is posted with a no trespassing sign, you do risk getting arrested if caught.
The Alice in Wonderland tunnel caved in and was destroyed when the mall strip was first built years ago.
The rumor is Jilly's restaurant is pretty much over the tunnel site.
Figures and such were removed from the EF when it closed. Figures were removed from Alice before the cave in. These EF figures have been seen in antique stores, ebay, lawn sales,etc since it closed.
Some figures have been returned and been broight to the farm, by people who obtained them for whatever reason.
The farm hopes to be able to honor these original figures and give them a new home, but this all takes time and money.
An Alice exhibit may eventually be created, but that would not be for some time to come.

The "Happy Birthday" cake which was once in the Gingerbread house has been saved and has been relocated to Clark's Farm. Old photos were used as reference to bring this cake back to life, and once again it looks good enough to eat! : )