12. Hyannis Courtyard Marketplace

In Hyannis there is a small courtyard on the main drag with an arcade, a bouncy house, and a small arcade - officially known as the Cape Cod Carousel/Fun House Arcade. This was a quick stop for us. We were starving and it was about to rain. We wanted to get on this ride before it closed due to inclement weather!

Rory on a patriotic horse

Brynn is getting the hang of this carousel thing!

Dated 1956

The horses were all custom painted and many reflected a nautical theme due to its location on Cape Cod.

Pirate Horse

She likes it!

11. Cape Cod Mall, Hyannis

I don't have great photos from this carousel because it was inside a mall at a food court. We had a blast though - we found our first carousel with a spinning teacup (called the Green Monster), rocking horses, and a rocking chariot. Plus this ride featured horses with rainbow feather dusters for plumes!

First we rode the horses, and then we tried out the teacup (Ryan and the big kids) and the chariot (Brynn and myself).

Yes, that is a feather duster on the horse's head.

Survivors of the Green Monster

Brynn loved the rocking chariot - and so did I!

10. Flying Horses, Martha's Vineyard

I have ridden on this carousel almost every summer - and we have have taken the kids every summer that they've been around. It is a family tradition and we were so excited to get to check this off of our list. Plus it has brass rings, and we are always excited to try and win (which we did not). 

While there, and thinking about how often I have been, and how many times I had ridden, I realized that by now I should have won... There are only ten-twelve horses on the outer ring, so odds are you should win every twelfth ride or so. I have ridden at least two times (usually many more) and I've gone yearly for close to thirty years. That's a rough estimate of sixty rides. I should have gotten that brass ring five times by now, but I've never gotten it! Even though we were losers yet again, we had a good time. It was a great day for the Vineyard and this ride was a hit as always!

Ryan going for the ring

Three on one turn!

Rory going for the inside rings

Will in motion

Collection of rings!

Small chariot - we each took turns riding this with Brynn because she wasn't allowed on a horse. 

Getting ready to ride!

Partial family shot

Always smiling!

Close up of one of the antique horses

Body shot

9. Sandwich Heritage Museum & Gardens

The Sandwich Heritage Museum & Gardens was a cool place that we had never been to before. There were lots of grounds to walk through including a hedge maze, a rock labyrinth, a windmill, and a huge tree house. The highlight for us was the carousel, of course! We were ecstatic that the carousel was inside in a building that was air conditioned. It was such a hot day, it felt amazing. Included with our admission to the Gardens was unlimited rides on the carousel. Since it was air conditioned we rode quite a few times and then just watched it for a while enjoying the cool dry air. 

This was our first Looff carousel and it was really cool. Charles Looff was the father of the Coney Island carousel horses, which tended to be very flamboyant. We weren't disappointed, these horses were bedazzled unlike any others that we have seen so far!

Taking a ride on the chariot.

Goat with real horns.

Pug-nosed Pony

Rory on the "Sword Horse"

Crazy sibling love

8. Fall River

In Fall River near 'Battle Cove' there is another carousel! It is in a neat pavilion that is behind the kids in the picture above - the coolest part is that it is on the second floor which makes for some great views.

Going in!

This carousel was made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1920 and was restored in 1991. The horses were really neat with some great details (including one with a sword and another with a rifle, both favorites of Will's). 

This one had nice armor.

Getting ready to ride! This ride was a bargain too, $3 for all of us to get on. 

The carousel is open for business!

Since we were in Battle Cove, we also toured the USS Massachusetts which was difficult to navigate with the twenty pound space heater I was walking around with! Brynn learned to wave that day though, and did it every chance she had. That milestone made it a lot of fun to be her tour guide, we waved at everyone and everything in sight!