Thinking back to my childhood, I believe the first time I ever went to Harris Hill was for the birthday party of the first friend I ever made at school. I think we were maybe 8 or 9 years old. I remember other kids being astonished that I?d never been there before, had never played putt putt, or gone on the rides. I have a hazy memory of being intimidated by how natural other kids were on the putt putt course or how good they were at playing arcade games.
I must admit that, as a small kid, I was extremely shy, especially in larger groups of kids. For any of you who know me now, it may come as a bit of a surprise, since I regularly find myself in the center of things and comfortably so. I assure you, however, that my extroversion has been cultivated?over the years–as has my love for Harris Hill and especially its putt putt course.
No, there are no glow-in-the-dark sharks to pop out at you, no animatronic pirates, no spin-the-wheel for special rules. To some, the putt putt course might be too plain. To me, it?s perfect. No matter how many times those barn doors close me out of a shot, no matter the tiny pine tree poops that thwart a straight putt, no matter the vain attempts at nailing the hole-in-one at the last hole–I love that par 2 course with its green astroturf, its salmon-pink-brown trim, and its loopdeloop.
The rest of the amusements at Harris Hill are also not exactly Six Flags, but they offer pure and simple entertainment from a spacephone-free bygone era. I?m happy to report that going around in circles in kid-sized metal planes with buzzer guns is still pretty darn fun for the wee-ones. I will admit that I finally learned that the trick to Skeeball is all in banking the shot at the right spot. Lastly, I can brag that, only last Tuesday, 12 tickets got me a tiny brass and plastic blue star ring, which fits on my pinky just beautifully.
Here is their website:?www.harrishillamusements.com
Amelia is 100% certifiably Corning-raised. Passionate about art, she is thrilled to help coordinate the Urban Arts Crawls. She is best known for her artwork made with red wine and is least known for enjoying the hit track, “Don’t Stop Believin’.”