Family Fun at Knott’s Berry Farm

Posted on May 3rd, 2014 by Jean

knotts Snoopy and Charlie Brown
We made it to Knott’s and had a wonderful day! The park was practically empty on Monday, which was both good and bad. Good – we could get on any ride. Bad – we couldn’t tell where the lines started!

The Jaguar

Our first ride was The Jaguar, a relatively tame roller coaster. The entrance to this coaster was somewhere inside of this dark Mayan temple. We gave up the first time, taking one of the many exit doors. The kids were frightened just walking through there. After talking with a park employee, we were told to venture to the center of the pyramid to find the coaster. We did and we did! We got on the coaster, and had a wonderful time! So much so that we went on it again.

Mexican Hat Dance

The Mexican Hat Dance was similar to Disney’s Tea Cups, lots of spinning. So much spinning that I refused to ride a 2nd time.

Supreme Scream

Tom needed a little excitement, and went on the Supreme Scream, dropping 252 feet at 50mph. Wow!
 
Dragon Swing
 
We had a lot of fun on the Dragon Swing! There was a group of boys opposite us on the far side of the swing who would yell, “Whoooaaaaa!” in deep, manly voices when their boat end was in the air. When it would swing our way, our little girls would yell, “Aahhhhhhh!” in their high-pitched girly voices. It was hilarious, everyone was laughing. At the end of the ride, the boys yelled, “Again! Again!”, and the operator started it up again with out any of us having to debark. Fabulous!
 
Coast Rider
 
Time for another kiddie-coaster, the Coast Rider. There are similar rides at Legoland (LEGO® TECHNIC™ Coaster) and California Adventure (Goofy’s Sky School). Good fun! We nicknamed this one “the berry crusher” as it had an unfortunate side-effort on Tom.
 
Knotts Glider and Scrambler
 
While Tom tracked down bottled water (and possible an ice pack for his groin), the girls and I went on Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler.
 
Boomerang
 
Time to get Tom’s heart racing again with the Boomerang coaster. “This scream machine turns you head-over-heels six times in less than 1 minute! And just when you think it’s safe to breathe, it starts all over again — BACKWARDS!” Okay, sure, there’s that! I do like how there is a nice assortment of kids/family rides and thrill rides.
 
Johnny Rockets
 
Is anybody else hungry? It was noon, so we sat down to eat at Johnny Rocket’s. First time for us, and what delicious burgers they have! ::: slurp! ::: It was nice to relax after two hours of non-stop action.
 
Knotts Sky CabinAfter that big lunch, we needed a low-key ride such as Sky Cabin. We enjoyed the nice leisurely climb into the sky, took a few pics, got a lay of the land, and settled softly back down to earth.
 
Timber Mountain Log RideFeeling that heatwave? Time to cool off at the Timber Mountain Log Ride. It’s a little dark in there, completely pitch black in parts, a bear growls at you, and you plummet 38′ at the end…. but well worth the cooling splashes on this hot day!
 
Knotts Shops
 
Did somebody say, “Shopping”?! Might have been me. LOL. First we posed by these vintage characters on benches (even my Mom has posed with them!) before venturing into the Ghost Town Candy Shop. With a name like Ghost Town, I should have been afraid… of the prices! The candy was about $3.25 per quarter lb, and the two lil’ bags my girls filled cost $26.00. Holy cow! What could I say? “There’s no way I’m paying $26.00 for two tiny bags of candy!” Yes, I could have said that, but I didn’t. The girls, with their own money, bought some stuffed animals and Tom bought them personalized plaques for their room.
 
knotts parking
 
As we left the ghost town, we ended up at the front gate! We had been all the way around, but there were still a few hours before closing time. I suggested we return to our truck to get rid of the bags and packages were were carrying before coming back in to ride a thrill coaster.
 
Ghost_Rider
 
Ghost Rider. Look at that picture. Need I say more? I was scared senseless. I think we all were! Mega drops on that bumpity wooden coaster! May I add, the next day it was closed for refurbishment. That gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.
 
Knotts Sidewinder
 
Think the Ghost Rider was nuts? Check out the Sidwinder, spinning 360 degrees while on a coaster track! I cannot make this up. My head didn’t know which way was up, and I didn’t opt to ride a 2nd time (although Tom and the girls did).
 
Crazy Coasters
 
Two more crazy coasters for Tom to ride: Xcelerator which, yes, it does roll to the outside to complete that loop! And Silver Bullet, a typical “feet dangling” ride. Tom bought the photo of him on the Silver Bullet ride, but we lost it.
 
The girls rode The Jaguar, The Scrambler and The Glider one more time before we exited the park at 9 minutes ’til closing. What a day!
 
Mrs Knotts chicken
 
We stopped at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant and got dinner to go. We dined in our hotel room, and promptly passed out. I vaguely recall hearing the girls say something about wanting to go swimming. Can you imagine? Swimming after 8 hours at an amusement park. I’m getting too old for this.
 
• Amusement Parks – yeah or nay?

San Diego Vacation – Day 1

Posted on July 4th, 2011 by Jean


 
We just returned from a quick trip to San Diego. From the minute we pulled up to the harbor and saw this incredible ship, we knew our vacation had begun.
 
The Maritime Museum of San Diego currently has three ships and two submarines on display. Tour tickets range from $8-$14, but it costs nothing to view the ships from land.
 
Personally, you wouldn’t catch me inside a submarine. Nothing against subs. I just wouldn’t want to be in a confined space anywhere let alone submerged in the ocean.
 
A short walk from the museum and also on the harbor is Anthony’s Fish Grotto. Looking at their website, I see they were voted Best Seafood 14 years in a row. The girls and I grabbed a table, and Tom ordered us clam chowder, fried clams, chicken & fries, beer, wine and soda. Everything was delicious!
 

 
Hopping back into our vehicle, we went a short distance down the road to Seaport Village. We loved going through the shops, seeing the beautifully manicured landscaping, the twinkling lights wrapped around the trees, other tourists milling about, riding on the 100+ year old carousel, and choosing delicious treats at the Candy Shack.
 

 
We settled back into our hotel room wanting to get plenty of sleep for the next day’s excursion to Sea World.
 
To be continued.
 
• Do you have any summer vacations planned?
• Have you been to San Diego?
• Seafood – yeah or nay?

California Vacation ~ Part 2

Posted on October 23rd, 2010 by Jean

There’s a large, prestine park near my parents’ home, so after a delicious breakfast at Huckleberrys, we all took a walk with Grandma and Papa to exert some energy and enjoy a little more bonding time.
 

 
Then we were off to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. It used to be Marine World, and is an aquarium, zoo and theme-park. If you go, buy your tickets online. Adults pay kids’ rate. It’s also worth the extra $5 for premium parking reducing your trek to the entrance.
 
It’s impossible to cover all that ground in one afternoon, so we stuck to the zoo and kiddie rides.
 

 
Lunch was ridiculously expensive. The “special” at the Beachside Burger Shack was four burgers, four fries and four sodas for $44.
 

 
Tom and I had guacamole burgers, and with the kids’ chicken baskets, our total came to around $50.
 
A highlight of the day was watching this young adult tiger eating meat treats in his very own swimming pool.
 

 
After five hours, we were more than happy to return to our hotel and crash in our beds. Tom got up to retrieve us a pizza from the restaurant next door. Food tastes so much better when you are completely exhausted.
 
We slept soundly, and awoke to a beautiful morning for travel. Our flight was scheduled for noon, so after packing and checking out, we met Mom and Dad at my brother’s house to say our good byes. I hope we don’t let another three years pass before our next visit.
 
• Do you pay the exorbitant dining rates at amusement parks?
• Aquarium, zoo, or theme park ~ which is your favorite?
• Can you identify the animal in the bottom row of the Rides & Zoo collage?

 
To view our youngest daughter’s fondest memories of the trip, visit my guest post at The Mama Mary Show.

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