25 January 2009 Photo: Betting On The Ponies

As a child, my number one favorite thing to do was to go on the carousel. Growing up in RI and being at the beach everyday in the summer, I frequently went on the merry-go-round in Misquamicut. I had my favorite pony and had been known to wait (somewhat impatiently) if another child was on my horse.

The best treat was when I got to go down to the Flying Horses Carousel in Watch Hill. The Flying Horses Carousel only operates in the summer, is the oldest carousel of it's type in the U.S. and survived the 1938 hurricane which wiped out all the houses on Napatree Point, Watch Hill.

What makes this carousel unique is that it does not have a platform and the horses fly out at it goes round and round. Much to my dismay, only children are allowed to ride this carousel and during the ride they have the chance to grab for rings. If you get the brass ring, you get a free ride.

I brought my niece down there last summer for her first ride, I showed her my favorite horse and she wanted to ride that one too! No doubt there will be photos of the Watch Hill Carousel when the summer comes around and I am in RI visiting my family.

This photo is of the merry-go-round at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, NY - not quite as spectacular as the carousels of my childhood memories, but I have ridden on this one too!