The Taylor Twins go to Candyland

Yesterday they turned Lombard street into one giant Candyland strip in honor of the game's 60th anniversary. The street was packed so we (my mom - "Grandma Lucy," myself, Cole, and Wilson) only stayed a minute (the boys were much more interested in walking).







(Partaaaaaaaaaaaay!)

After getting home, it was party time for the boys as they roared it up in the jungle...

The game (Candyland, not jungle party) spurred my first in the Taylor Twins series - yes, that's right, I've decided to write even more. Mind you, I wrote this on 2-hours of sleep and haven't edited it a bit - so you get to be my guinnea pig readers if you read on!

The Taylor Twins go to Candyland:
(Prelude to the magic thermoses)



They Taylor Twins live with their mom and dad in San Francisco, California. They live in North Beach which is nestled between China Town and Telegraph Hill. Part of the Barbary Coast trail, a 3.8 mile path winding through the streets of North Beach hitting historical sites like where Sam Brannon started the 1848, North Beach is filled with history. There’s always something going on around their house like music festivals, movies in the park, and Fleet Week where airplanes come in to put on a show. The Twins enjoy all the activity, but their favorite thing to do is learn about the past.

One afternoon, the Twins’ grandmother took the boys to enjoy one of North Beaches many fun activities. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the game Candyland, Lombard, one of the windiest streets in San Francisco, was being turned into a huge game strip! The boys were excited to go check out the game street – being 8 years old, as they of course couldn’t drive yet, they much preferred to play in the streets than to stay on the sidewalk.

To beat the tourists, the Twins and their grandmother walked up to the top of Lombard before the street was officially turned into a board game. Despite getting there an hour early, the street was already swarmed with tourists. The game was cool, thought the Twins, but they didn’t just want to play on the giant lifesize gameboard – they wanted to know where it came from. Not where the game pieces came from – those were from some factory, but where the idea came from.

When their grandma wasn’t looking, the boys silently walked off to the corner of the street and took out their magic thermoses. Without a word, they looked at each other, nodded, and twisted their thermos caps three times. In an instant, the boys were transported to San Diego in 1949.

When the boys appeared in 1949, their found themselves in a hospital lounge. In the room was one other person – a little girl. At first the girl looked startled to have two new people in the room – she hadn’t noticed them before. Then she softened, appearing to like having company, and introduced herself, “Hi! I’m Eleanor Abbott,” she said. “Hi!” said Wilson, “I’m Wilson and this is my brother Cole.” “What are you doing here?” asked Eleanor. Before the Twins had a chance to reply she said, “I’m here because I have polio.” “Oh my gosh! We’re sorry to hear that.” Said Cole, evading her earlier question about what they were doing there.

Wilson noticed Eleanor was working on a craft project. Wilson was a wiz at crafts, and loved working with other kids on projects. “What are you working on?” He asked. Eleanor’s eyes lit up happy to share the details of her project. “Well, over the past few years I’ve been working on a game where you need to find the lost King in a strange land to bring happiness and fun to other kids who are stuck with what I have. You can’t do much with Polio so I’m really hoping this game makes people happy.” “That’s terrific!” Said Cole. “When will you be finished making the game?” Unlike Wilson, Cole liked enjoying the end product of something rather than making it and he wanted to play. “Actually,” Eleanor said, “I finished a year ago, but now this company called Hasbro wants to buy the game. I’m just adding a few things I hand it off for them to produce.”

Just as Eleanor finished telling the Twins about the game and the corporation purchasing it, she drew the final candycane on the board. “Done!” She shouted. The Twins were thrilled – this meant they could maybe play with her. Just as Cole walked over to pull up a chair, he noticed Wilson was fading. “Rats,” he said. Eleanor looked up wondering what was going on. “We have to get going.” Wilson was just about to protest when he looked down and realized why Cole was starting to pick up the pace. “It was great meeting you – and good luck! I have a feeling you’re going to make it big.” Said Wilson over his shoulder as the boys walked out the door.
A moment later, the boys landed back on Lombard street in San Francisco in 2009. The boys found their grandma looking at a large candycane cutout – because when they traveled in time or location, the boys always returned just seconds after the real time they left for their adventure, she didn’t even notice they had been gone. Cole started towards the candycane, “Cool! We saw Eleanor drawing this very same candycane!...” “Who’s Eleanor?” asked their grandmother. Wilson jumped in, “Oh, she’s just a girl at school. She loves this game.” The boys turned to each other and smirked, tucking their thermos’ back in their bags.