2019 SoCal Trip: Part IV - Knott's Berry Farm and Belmont Park

On Thursday we drove up to Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. It's a bit of a drive (up to 90 minutes each way), so we spent as much of the day there as the kids could handle. I was very impressed with Knotts. They have a lot of great thrill rides and roller coasters, but they also have plenty of family and kids' rides. We got lucky too that it was a day with very few crowds. We planned it for Thursday since the forecast said the weather would be decent in Buena Park but horrible in Carlsbad and San Diego. We actually got a text alert from our resort that morning telling us that Sea World would be closed all day. It did rain a little bit around 2pm in Buena Park, but it was very light and it cleared up quickly.

Once we got in we walked to the back of the park figuring it would be the least busy. Mom and dad took the kids on the Calico Mine Ride while Oscar and I rode two awesome roller coasters - HangTime and Xcellerator. After doing the Scrambler and Surfside Gliders with the kids and the Coast Rider with Tyler, mom and I rode the Supreme Scream while everyone else went up to get great views of the park and the city from the Sky Cabin.

With very few lines we were able to do all the coasters we wanted to pretty quickly so we hit up the family rides too. The Calico Mining ride was really neat! I'd say it's comparable to Disney.

While Oscar and I rode the Silver Bullet and the Pony Express coasters, the rest of the family ate cotton candy and waited for the Butterfield Stagecoach only to be turned away when one of the horses threw its shoe. They joined us for a Native American show and we were all able to ride the stagecoach after the show. They'd reopened up just as we were passing by on our way to get lunch.

Lunch was overpriced and unfortunately not very good. The meat was really dry. It's really my only complaint about the park. Since you can't bring in outside food, you don't have a lot of choice. Next time I would leave the park and eat at one of the nearby restaurants.

Mom, dad, and Oscar were still eating so I took the kids over to Camp Snoopy where they met Snoopy and rode a few kids' rides. Neither of them knows who Snoopy is yet they both ran up happily to hug him and take pictures with him.

The kids' coaster, the Timberline Twister, was actually really fun. I love dips on roller coasters way more than curves, and this had several little dips. The kids liked it so much we stayed on and rode it again. There's also enough room in the seat that I could sit and ride with both kids (though there is a height limit of 70 inches, so Oscar and dad couldn't have done this one). Mom, dad, and Oscar caught up with us there and were able to get a video of us going around our 2nd time.

From there mom and dad took the kids on some kids' rides while Oscar and I finished up our remaining coasters. Mom then took Allison on the ferris wheel while we took Tyler on the Sierra Sidewinder. We finished up just as thunder and rain began, which was lucky since they start shutting down rides when that happens.

The storm was short lived and we were able to ride a few more rides before heading home. Allison pumped herself around on the Huff and Puff while Tyler and Oscar rode the Linus Launcher. Wild Waves has a ride exactly like the Linus Launcher, but they require 48 inches while this one is only 42 with an adult. I'm glad he got to do it there since I don't expect him to grow two more inches by this summer.

Tyler saw Allison finishing up the Huff and Puff and wanted to do it himself before riding the Kite Flyer and the Merry Go Round with me and Allison. It was 4pm by then and we were getting pretty worn out. We started our long drive back to the hotel expecting Allison to fall asleep in the car, but she was way too overstimulated for that. Both kids were wired and crazy so we gave in and handed them their tablets. We put them both to bed super early that night, Allison around 6:45pm and Tyler just after she fell asleep around 7:00pm. So far it is the only day Allison has ever completely missed her nap. She is a glutton for sleep.

Back at the hotel Oscar finished up a puzzle he'd been working on, Tyler and I made candy sushi, and Oscar got some lovely views on his run.

On Friday we started off the morning at Legoland then Oscar and I had a date night at Belmont Park that evening. It's a boardwalk amusement park included on the Go Card with some rides and attractions including a ropes course, mini-golf, and battling aliens in a 7D theater. We only did a couple of rides since what they had paled in comparison to everything we'd just done at Knotts, but the extra attactions were definitely fun, and it was great to spend some kid free time with each other. The Roller Coaster was a bit too jolting for me, but the view of the beach from the top of the first climb was fantastic! They really need a sky ride or something so you can just enjoy the view.

We went out to the beach to see a lovely sunset.

Then we came back in to do a little rock climbing. For the first time ever I climbed all the way to the top! I'd struggled on an "easy" course in Oregon that was far harder than this was. I only made it up a few feet there. This proved to me that I'm a better climber than I thought I was!

2019 SoCal Trip: Part III - San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

On Tuesday we visited the San Diego Zoo Safari park in Escondido. It was a long walk to the Africa Tram, which was a bit much for dad after our long day at Legoland and Sea World the day before. He rented a wheelchair but would walk and let the kids ride on it whenever he could.

Our ride on the Africa Tram came with admission. We were able to tour the pretty valley and see lots of herbivores living in a nice big habitat. The only detriment was that the views of the animals were pretty distant.

There were so many giraffes! The one in the picture on the right was eating fairly close to us as we were boarding the tram.

After our tram ride we walked over to the lion habitat. It was nice to see them out and awake. They even got in a small spat over the bone they were chewing.

Allison requested elephants, so we wandered over there in spite of the poor maps that kept us walking around in circles. I held her on my shoulders so she could get a better view.

There's one baby elephant in the picture on the left and another in the pic on the right. They were never close enough to be in the same shot. You'd think this cute photo of the three elephants were all the same family, but according to local volunteer the baby elephant's mom was on the other end of the habitat. Her baby girl just enjoys going off on her own while the baby boy always sticks pretty close to his mom.

Cute baby cheetas!

Allison enjoyed the soft sheep and goats in the petting zoo

The kids needed a play break, so we let them get some energy out at the Village Playground.

Tyler requested tigers, so we worked our way around to their habitat too.

It was very unnerving watching this. On the one hand it was cute to see the kids completely captivated by the tiger and Allison trying to pet it. However, the tiger was clearly very angry at seeing all these tasty meals it couldn't get to. It growled viciously as it paced relentlessly. I knew it would have mauled and killed my kids if it could have, all while they were innocently admiring it. They didn't want to leave, but I was more than happy to.

The play area near the tiger habitat was better than the village playground. It kept the kids entertained for a good long while.

We were going to head out then but couldn't resist the allure of the kangaroos. You get to go into their habitat with them, though you do have to stay on the path. They were mostly napping, but we got one of them jumping on camera.

Cute kids playing on the resort playground that evening after Allison's nap and a couple of hours at Legoland.

On Wednesday we drove down to San Diego to go the San Diego Zoo. A zoo volunteer recommended we walk through the Africa area since it was new and the bus doesn't take you through it.

Cute little rodents wrestling each other. I can't remember what they're called.

A volunteer told us that these babboons came from Germany where they'd been living on concrete all their lives. The first thing they did when arriving here was tear up the grass trying to figure out what it was.

I can't remember what these guys are called, but they kept them across from their favorite food - lemurs - while feeding them rabbit. That seems kind of cruel. I wonder if rabbit tastes just as good to them.

Cute kids walking behind the waterfall and seeing the penguin and shark aquarium. These are actually the same kind of sharks they were petting at Sea World, but older and bigger. The volunteer told us they were purchased from Sea World, and their teeth aren't big or sharp enough to eat the penguins they swim with.

This penguin swam right up to Allison's face like it was trying to sniff her. Too bad I didn't have the video on during the 2 seconds it happened.

From there we went up to see the polar bears. They freeze fish into ice blocks to encourage the bears to work for their food. Polar bears would normally eat blubbery seals to increase their body fat as much as possible, but they keep them leaner here since the San Diego climate doesn't get cold enough to require big bodies.

Sweet kids playing around in the arctic

From there we took the Skyride back to the main entrance where we could take the bus tour

 Their resident tiger came out for us, which surprised the tour guide.

Then we got incredible views of the polar bears! The one in the pool totally showed off its swimming skills for us. I had no idea we would get this close to them on the bus tour.

Meerkats! We'd just watched "Lion King 1 and 1/2," so I couldn't help but sing "Dig a tunnel. Dig, dig a tunnel. When you're done you dig another tunnel."

We also had a decent view of the elephants.

Ty used to be obsessed with camels, so I had to take a picture of him as we passed them by.

In the middle picture are some indifferent snow leopards. They're a male and female they've set up together in the hope that there'll be some baby snow leopards. He called it "online dating for zoos."

Our tour back around took us by the waterfall the kids had been playing near earlier.

The kids wanted to play on the lion statue before we left. They're so cute!

Rain was coming down just as we were finishing up our time at the zoo. It cleared up enough after Allison's nap that we could spend about 90 minutes at Legoland before they closed at 5pm. That evening mom and dad watched the kids while Oscar and I visited the lovely San Diego temple. It was even more beautiful than expected (aesthetically and spiritually)!