Books We Love Insider Blog: #WinterAdventures

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Knott's Berry Farm and Other Great Winter Adventures by Connie Vines

Today is National: French Toast Day.

There are only 33 days remaining in 2020.

Where I reside in southern California, we have spent a great deal of time (since mid-March) at home/working from home due to the Pandemic, Wild Fires, Forest Fires, Air Quality, and Power Outages.

While my eldest son is able to work from home, my youngest son is an essential worker and has little down time.

The day before Thanksgiving my youngest son, his family (which includes me) drove to Knott's Berry (Merry) Farm, in Buena Park, California for a day's outing.

Of course, we practiced social-distancing, wore a mask, and were able to travel/sit together (family bubble is the term) throughout the day.

I wanted to share a few 'happy and up-lifting' photos and little snippets of my Knott's Berry Farm Adventure to give you something to smile about.

The shops were open for purchases (thank goodness), and the park was decorated with holiday displays and lights. We each were given a lanyard with a two-sided tasting selection list (I wore my around my neck because, after all, it was a field trip).

As everyone knows, I'm a die-hard lover of gingerbread!

And, yay, two restaurants listed gingerbread with frosting on the menu.

Turkey, of course, was in many creations: sandwiches, in soup, over tater-tots with gravy, Fried and breaded meatballs to dip into gravy, cranberry sauce, biscuits and Knott's famous jam, etc. were also crowd-pleasers.

Eggnog, large sugar cookies peppered with Knott's candied-berries and vanilla ice-cream sandwiched between. Well, the list goes on and on. Coffee, hot coco (with or without candy canes), and tea.

Five tastings per adult and 3 per child. I only spent 4 (I sliced my gingerbread in 5 sections to share and my turkey sandwich in quarters). The other 2 tastings? Knott's famous chicken noodle soup. It was so cold I had a cup when I arrived and a cup at the ice skating rink.

No one left the park hungry :-).

All of my other grands are older, but Logan is still at the age where he enjoys "Peanuts/Snoopy", "Disneyland", and other gentle adventures.

Logan wearing his new gloves 'cos it's cold and windy.

Logan and I (excuse my hoodie-hair) leaning over the fence to see the gingerbread house display.

Logan and the famous Knott's Berry Factory Truck (Though I doubt it was berry-purple in the 1900s).

The outdoor ice-skating rink held live-entertainment and display past 'Snoopy on Ice' videos on a large screen. The Peanuts Theme blasting through the speakers while fog-machines filled the area with cold damp air!

At the end of the evening, the "lighting of the Christmas Tree" claimed everyone's attention.

It seemed strange not the hear the clickety-clack of the amusement rides tracks and the shouts of the people when they rounded a curve or entered a tunnel.

The Christmas music and the chatter of families filled the void and we had a clear view of the planet Jupiter in the dark night sky.

It was a wonderful way to spend the day; to remember past good-times- and to look forward to the future!

Speaking of the future...

I retired from education over the summer and I'm looking forward to writing full-time.

My Snoopy-with-a-typewriter pencil cup sat on my desk and attracted more notice than I realized. Because every gift I received during my tenure in education was a "Snoopy" gift.

So, now my media/craft room displays about 50% of those collectables.

The jade green loveseat is covered by a fabric-protector and small quilt.