I paid a visit to the Rose Festival fun center this past Friday and had quite a day.  The price I paid for this visit was 5 dollars.  No more or less.  And that's not because the fun stuff was cheap, just because I didn't want to spend a lot.

Now, I understand that the goal is to make money, and I can't hold that against anyone, but it sure did limit my options as someone who isn't willing to spend a lot of cash.

There are a few packages of tickets that can be bought in order to ride the rides, the cheapest being $20, which, to give you an idea of how cheap I am, is already more cash than I had in my purse.  (Of course, perfectly understandably, you have to pay in cash.)  So that was out.  But even if I had paid for a few tickets, it would have been in vain, because the most exciting-looking ride (The Sling Shot) was a separate $30.

Here is the sad truth about my great state of Oregon: There are no amusement parks.  So temporary carnivals like this one are really all Oregonians have in the way of riding the scrambler or the tilt-a-whirl--forget roller coasters!

At this point, some may say, "But what about Oaks Park?" Which I feel is almost an unnecessary subject to address.  Oaks Park is not an amusement park.  If you are above the age of about 8 or 9, don't bother testing the theory for yourself: because it's offerings are just as slim as the temporary carnival, with the exception of the nanosecond-long rollercoaster that you'll wait in line to ride for 30 minutes or more only to be dissatisfied.  Yet you'll immediately get back in line to do it again because there is nothing else to do.

That tangent being covered, I'd like to go back to discussing the Rose Festival fun center.  Considering that they are the same old, standard, carnival rides, the price is too high.  And I'm not completely just saying that as a miser--the other ticket packages were around $60 or $80.  I could go for Disney Land fir that much if I wanted to!

Then again, of course, I'm sure the $80 tickets are meant to be divided among several kids.  So maybe the real moral of the story is that going to carnivals by yourself isn't very cost effective.

All that aside, there was some free stuff that was a LOT of fun--the dinosaur exhibit smelt funny but was cool to see, and there were lots of live animals--reptiles, spiders, felines, and a crazed-looking lemur!  It took a long time to see it all and kept me very entertained.

Also, just walking around from different booths and performance tents I snagged a lot of free stickers, tooth paste, and a deck of playing cards.  I also got to see some fun musical performances and a program of endearingly uncoordinated child talent.

All-in-all, it was even a good day for a scrooge like me!