Knott's Berry Farm

Yesterday my parents, Dev, and I took Beatrice to the amusement park Knott's Berry Farm (meanwhile Arthur stayed home with Marie, which is a treat in itself for him).

Knott's is home to Camp Snoopy, a collection of Peanuts-themed rides for smaller riders (most rides have a 36" height limit and B is about 37" tall).

Beatrice adores the Peanuts characters and she was beside herself when she got to meet them (or their mascot-suited equivalents) at Camp Snoopy.

Despite being designed for children, many of the rides are pretty scary for a toddler and I was so proud of how brave Beatrice was! She LOVED every ride, even the miniature roller coasters, the scarier the better - in fact, she was sorely disappointed that she wasn't allowed to ride the full-size "real" rollercoasters she watched zipping by.

She also enjoyed a live Peanuts stage show and frequent mascot hugs. ("That's a long hug," Peppermint Patty said after Beatrice kept clinging to her for several minutes.)

My parents even bought her a stuffed Woodstock "to be friends" with the stuffed Snoopy she got from them for Christmas.

Most of the rest of the park is Old West-themed, and after we had exhausted all that Camp Snoopy had to offer, my parents took Beatrice on a stagecoach ride (where she got to sit up on top near the horses and driver) and a ride on a full-size steam train that features a surprise attack by bandits and subsequent shoot-out. "I'm riding a stagecoach!" Beatrice shouted accurately while on the ride.

Meanwhile, Dev and I were able to go off alone to ride one of the rollercoasters that unfairly discriminate against the under-48" set.

Despite being very difficult over the last few weeks, Beatrice was on her best behavior all day at Knott's, she was a real pleasure to be with - and when at last she started to fade around 5pm, Dev took her back home for bed while my parents and I stayed on a little longer eating dinner and shopping. (My mother got me a rabbit pelt!)

I hadn't been to Knott's in probably close to 15 years, but I still remembered almost every inch of the place from my frequent childhood trips (Gillian loved Camp Snoopy) - I'm glad Beatrice had every bit as much fun as I'd hoped. In fact, her only complaint about the day was that Arthur couldn't come on the rides with her. Maybe next time.