By Katie Moosbrugger
The other weekend, friends and fans of Triad Moms on Main gathered to test our strengths and our wits. In the ultimate form of trust and vulnerability, we closed ourselves in tight quarters for axe throwing, and then locked ourselves in a room that was on the brink of a nuclear meltdown. Sounds like a typical weekend, right?
It was anything but typical, and it was everything fun! If you’re looking to try something different with your family, friends or office mates – an afternoon of axe throwing and/or escape rooms at Kersey Valley is the ticket. Not only were both of these new Kersey Valley experiences amazing, but they’re also great for building morale, camaraderie and memories.
Axe Throwing
Our day was originally supposed to be an afternoon of outdoor axe throwing, but because of the rain, Kersey Valley moved our group to indoor ax throwing which worked out great. It’s awesome that they have this option, but it’s important to note that their indoor axe throwing rooms fill up fast (each require advance reservations) and there is not always space to accommodate groups indoors due to bad weather. In our case, we lucked out!
Indoor axe throwing events require a minimum age of 13, and a minimum of 4 – maximum of 12 – participants. The entire session takes place in a controlled environment with an “axepert.” The first 30 minutes are focused on safety instruction, waiver signing, and practice. The next hour involves friendly competition.
In full disclosure, axe throwing is HARD! It looks much easier than it really is, but once you find your groove, you will start to feel like a true Lumber Jill (or Jack)! For my first two rounds, I could not get my axe to stick to the target, but the first throw of my third round was a bulls eye – so it can be done!
And in case you’ve seen the terrifying viral You Tube video of the girl who threw an axe that bounced off the floor and came flying back towards her head…well, that is an impossibility at Kersey Valley. The floors are wooden (versus concrete like in the video) so the axes do not have the capability to fly back. They do bounce a little bit when the fall from the target, but they do not come anywhere close to where you are standing.
For the ultimate Paul Bunyon experience, you can try Kersey Valley’s outdoor ax course that lets you test your skills against 11 targets of various difficulty (Viking, Swinging, Long Shot, and League Standard). Once again, minimum age is 13. This experience lasts two hours (30 minutes of safety rules and instruction and 1.5 hours of competition), involves hiking over 60 acres, and requires a minimum of 4 participants but the maximum is 100. An axepert is with you every step of the way.
For more details on both indoor and outdoor axe throwing, as well as to book your reservation, click HERE.
Escape Rooms
Our group then moved on to an escape room, and had just as much fun in a totally different experience. Kersey Valley now offers four different escape room scenarios:
~ Suspect: A new twist on a “who-done-it” game
~ Haunted Manor: Open year-round, the infamous Spookywoods Haunted House is now the site of this escape experience. Expect startle scares, loud noises, and times of total darkness.
~ Autopsy: A bit dark and creepy, this game requires a “hands-on” approach to find clues.
~ Melt Down: This is the one we did where we had to race the clock before a nuclear meltdown occurred.
There is no minimum age to participate, but parents are asked to use their discretion. Unfortunately, I cannot go into details about our experience or it will ruin the fun and mystery of your experience. All I can say is that Kersey Valley has once again upped their game on giving guests a memorable day out.
For more details on Kersey Valley’s escape rooms, as well as to book your reservation, click HERE. And for details on ALL Kersey Valley attractions, click HERE!
*Sponsored by Kersey Valley
