Play in the dirt
Video StoriesCompany lets you play in the dirtMORE INFORMATION:Where:Sarasota,Christian Louboutin Sandals Amazines Adidas Predator, the st, Sarasota CountyHours:By appointment only.Open most weekends with a reservationst:View packagesheree Requirement:Participants must be age 18 or overAttraction Address:2450 Tallevast RoadSarasota, FL 34243Phone:941-756-0886Latitude and Longitude:Latitude : 27.399715Longitude: -82.533874Website:SARASOTA COUNTY –Dolls, trains and trucks are the classic gifts items found under Christmas trees across American homes each holiday season. Now you can fit a real excavator onto your gift list.For all of those of us who played in the sandbox with trucks,obviouslyhowever,child’s play is now People at Play.This is the adult version,” says Alisa Bennett.On the weekends,we’re out here playing in the dirt basically.”Bennett’s company, “People at Play” in Sarasota allows adults to clock in and get behind the controls of a Caterpillar 312 excavator.“I think the hardest part is getting in the cab, right?” Alisa says as I crawl inside an excavator bucket truck that mirrors those found on large construction sitesom digging trenches to laying pipe, excavators are the workhorses of progress.Turn the key and fire it up — a childhood dream.The cockpit feels like a helicopter.Levers, joysticks, buttons and large windows surround the driver’s seat,Christian Louboutin Leopard.“For some people it’s easier. For people who love joysticks or other people, it’s a little more difficult. But anybody can truly do it,” Alisa says encouraginglyfore getting behind the wheel, all participants take part in a training session, held appropriately enough,Christian Louboutin Pointed Toe, inside a construction trailer.After watching videos and punching a time clock, the coveted hard hat is issued.“My title is hard hat diva,” Alisa shares with a laugh.Participants then head out to a dig site for one-on-one instruction from Alisa’s husband, Jason.Right hand back, that’s going to lift the whole boom up,” Jason Bennett instructs me.Right hand to the right will open the bucket, right hand to the left will close the bucket,” he shares when trying to establish some coordination when maneuvering the earthmover.Jason Bennett and his wife, Alisa, are behind the Tampa Bay’s Bennett Contracting Company.When the recession hit, the pair opened People at Play to keep revenue coming in and keep their equipment revving up.You could swing over and dump it somewhere, or put it in your hole,” Jason says after I successfully dig a 4-foot deep trench.If you go harder, it will spin faster,” Jason suggests while using a joystick.And with that, I turned the passenger compartment into an amusement park ride.“It’s like a Tilt-A-Whirl,” Jason says as we spin 360 degrees around the dig site.Basic packages allow visitors to dig in the mud, while advanced packages put participants’ skills to the test on the challenge course.Imagine the court to look like an obstacle course similar to that used on American Gladiators round one, using the excavator’s controls, participants will try to knock tennis balls off the top of traffic cones, without knocking the cones over.Next, soccer balls are added to the mix.We’re going to take the bucket of the machine, all the way on this side of the cone, and you’re trying to pick up the ball, and drop into the hoop here,” Alisa says while walking around the court.Round three makes time for bowling, minus the borrowed shoes.Pins are set up at one end of the court, while the bucket on the excavator is aligned with the bowling ball.Here, the holes drilled in the ball are not for fingers,Christian Louboutin Mary Janes, rather they are not used at all.With Alisa giving the clear signal, the cab and the bucket swing in unison to crash into the ball.Upon impact of the bucket with the ball, the bowling ball is sent hurling towards the pins.“It’s okay to break the balls,” Jason says.“You get to put it in our graveyard,RegularlyOnce in.Under a tree, awaits a resting place for bowling balls that have shattered.The impact is so great, that when seen on slow-motion video, the bowling ball appears to change in shape from a sphere to that of a watermelon.The nextgame requires lifting tractor tires stacked on top of each other and reassembling them in the same order.We take these three tires, in the same order they are here, and we’re going to put them on that post over there.Daylong experiences include lunch and even greater challenges.Reservations are required.