One of the pleasures of our business is making friends and building relationships with our clients. It is a business of trust for both sides. My job is to develop a vision for the projects we do, articulate it to the client and then make it happen. Our efforts are in partnership with our clients, most often working with them and their team in the trenches all the way through.
While we have a definite and clear overall vision of the finished product, much of what we do is done to a visual standard, making sure things look right and work well when we are done. Some of the original ideas and dimensions may have looked great on paper but in the real world still require a little more thought, planning and adjustment. While plans are drawn before we start, we do not refer to them very often but instead much of the project is modified and planned in detail as we go. During each day we have brief planning meetings onsite. We are looking at traffic flow, sight lines, guest access and a hundred other things. We toss ideas back and forth constantly, looking for the best solution. The tool of choice during these meetings is a spray bomb. We can be seen pacing things out, marking lines and squiggles in the dirt. In the process new ideas and plans are formed, and sometimes radical changes are made. Retaining walls are moved, hills and slopes planned, pools shrink or grow, walkways narrow or widen, locations of signs and attractions are modified as necessary and a hundred other changes made - all in the interest of a better product when we are done. It's a process that is vital when something like a theme park is underway. It is exciting and requires that everyone check their egos, be open to new ideas and simply work together.
The Cultus Lake Adventure Golf is a project that very much is like what I describe above. The daily meetings onsite and the many small modifications along the way are making the project the very best it can possibly be. Working with Chris and his team is pure creative fun. Last Friday I captured this picture of Chris in one of our impromptu design sessions where we were locating the pool edges and a pumphouse for the waterfall.
The creative fun is really just beginning. Today I flew with Chris to Orlando, Florida to the world's largest trade show for the amusement and theme park industry. We'll be spending a couple of days on the trade show floor gathering even more ideas and information in the interest of making the project even better. It's going to be great fun!
-grampa dan