The Lee Family: Knott's Berry Farm (Day 10 in California)

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Knott's Berry Farm (Day 10 in California)

One of the things I really wanted to do while in California was visit Knott's Berry Farm where my Mom took me often while I was growing up. We weren't a Disneyland family, preferring instead to go to the smaller and closer Knott's Berry Farm. I remember going to the petting zoo to feed and pet the animals often while growing up and it remains one of my favorite childhood memories. I originally asked Rebecca if she and Gavin wanted to join us, but they had another commitment. I asked my niece, Melissa, and her 17-month old daughter Grace to join us and they agreed. We planned to meet at 10:30am, so we woke up, ate breakfast and hung out with Grandpa Joe for a bit before heading out.

We met up with Melissa and Grace and headed into the park. Luckily it was a temperate day and didn't feel too busy, so we looked forward to a fun day. We headed to Camp Snoopy and Sofia rode the race cars, which she rode with her cousin Sam three years ago and loved. She had pretty much the exact same experience this time and it was fun to watch her have so much fun. Olivia and Grace sat in their respective strollers and kept looking at each other. Grace seemed much more interested in Olivia than Olivia was in her, which I was surprised by since Olivia usually loves little ones. After the race cars, we tried to go on several other rides within Camp Snoopy, but were surprised to find that there is a minimum height requirement for the rides and our girls are still too short. Melissa was very gracious and told me that she can go to Knott's anytime so we should go on whatever rides we like. I took Sofia on the Mexican Hats while Melissa held Olivia, which was fun except Olivia very clearly wanted me, which made me feel bad for Melissa since once she held Olivia, Grace wanted to be held.

Next we rode the train and then we rode on the stagecoach, two of my favorites that have been there forever. We had lunch and decided to take the skytram, which just gives a view of the park. On the way over, I decided to get a caricature drawn of both girls. Unfortunately, Olivia was asleep in her stroller, so the artist used a photo from my Iphone to draw her. He did a great job and drew both of them on a extra long horse! It was so adorable! While he was drawing, it actually started to rain. We were under the umbrellas so we didn't get wet during the 15-20 minute shower.

After the skytram, we headed to the park exit since both kids, but especially Sofia, seemed to be finished. She was tired of walking and kept asking for stuffed animals. I did take pictures of the girls with the 'Knott's ladies' just like when I was a kid and then we headed out. We said our goodbyes to Melissa and adorable Grace and drove to Grandpa Joe's to get ready to go to church at St. Joseph's Lutheran. He told us that morning that he prefers to go to church on Saturday evening, so I told him we'd be back in time to go. Of course, we left Knott's later than expected so we had about 20 minutes to get changed and cleaned up, which both girls did quickly. We drove to church and just as the service started Sofia leaned over and said "Mommy, I'm hungry." I promised we would eat after the service. Both girls did very well during the service and it was interesting to be in a church-setting since our Sunday morning Meeting's are very different than sitting in a huge, ornate church and listening to the organ and minister speak. It was an interesting juxtaposition that I hoped wasn't lost on them.

After church, we went to Polly's for dinner which was excellent comfort food. Both girls had pancakes, which kids can order all day! After, we headed back to Grandpa Joe's for baths and bed.

Grandpa Joe pushing Olivia in the swing