Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, Ca.

What a fun little place! The tour is nice. You go upstairs, get a photo taken, watch a quick video, and walk around seeing the factory. Pretty neat. There are interactive stations. Virtual Vollyball, a smell station, where you go to different stands, and they give you a clue, and it gives you a smell, and you guess. A few others. At the end, they hand you a free mixed bag of 20 jelly bellys. Best part, the tour is free!

There is a discount gift shop, that has pretty great deals. There is a restaurant. Pretty good food. I got a chicken sandwhich, hubby got a cesar wrap. And garlic fries, and souvenir cup. There is a taste station. You pick 3 flavors. You can keep getting back in line, over and over. 3 at a time. 

There is a large gift shop with all kinds of things. They have all the flavors in dispensers, and you can make bags of your own flavors. Yummy! Then a whole chocolate counter. Tons of goodies. 

The day was about 90 minutes. Super fun. Lots of kids, as expected. I think we were the only ones without kids. But we had a lot of fun. There are some cool art pieces made of jelly bellys. Really neat. They have a chocolate and wine tasting room for adults but we didn't go in. 

So happy we stopped here and took the tour.

Address: 1 Jelly Belly Ln, Fairfield, CA 94533

Hours: 

Open ⋅ Closes 5PM

Phone: (800) 522-3267

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White Water Rafting with Action Adventure in Lotus, Ca.

First time ever, white water rafting, and I absolutely LOVE it! I can't wait to go again! I will admit, I was super scared. This is definitely outside my comfort zone. I'm not brave. Haha. But there was nothing to be afraid of.

We got there about 730 AM., and nobody was around. About 7:45 a van rolled up, and by 8 we were out. There are portapoties there, but that's it. Ick. So it was my hubby and me, and one other lady. Then we had 2 guides. One was training.

It was about a 20 minute drive to the start point. That ride was a bit scary. Curvy road, in a run down van, sputtering up the hill. Lol. Then the old goat driving answers his phone, and is waving the other as he talked. Lol. Stop it!

So after we got there, in about 10 minutes, we were on the water. It was pretty mellow most of the time. We hit a few rocks here and there. And just had a blast. Most of the way, it's mild. Or flat.

But some of the rapids were pretty cool.,We didn't fall off. Lol. Almost. You have to tuck your feet in the seat ahead. It hurts! Your toes are squished. But it keeps you in. The farther back you are, seems like you get wet less.

A photographer goes to a couple of the best rapids, and takes your photo, and you can purchase them back at camp. They came out great.

We did the full day. So after the first part, we went back to camp for lunch. But it was like 10:30 AM. They had hamburgers and hot dogs. tortilla Chips. A couple store bought cookies, grapes, water and lemonade. It was OK. Nothing special.

We had to wait for another group, and ended up waiting around an hour and half. We were getting pretty ansey and wanted to go. Finally back, and finished the other half.

Lots of fun. The last part, a stinky seadoo pulls you for about 20 minutes, through the lake, and you ride back in the van, another 20 minutes. We were back by 3:30. Surprising, we weren't exhausted after. I could have gone another couple hours.

Water was cold. But felt good. Especially after it warmed up. Definetly put sunblock! Waterproof! Saw lots of ducks and geese with their new babies. And some trout. Lots of,cute campgrounds along the way. Great day.

Make sure you check around for discounts! We got a great deal through Travelzoo!

http://actionwhitewater.com/

Address: 7421 CA-49, Lotus, CA 95651

Hours: 

Open ⋅ Closes 5PM

Phone: (530) 621-1315

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Knott's Berry Farm - Buena Park, California

8039 Beach Blvd, 
Buena Park, CA 90620

We had a super fun day. We got there about 11:30, and the closest parking lot was already full. Which I'm actually surprised about because it was completely dead inside the park. So we had to drive around the corner and go to the next lot. And it's a bit of a walk back to the park. There's no Tram.

We had bought the season passes for 2018, and you get a free day in 2017. In case you were wondering yes the parking is included. However if you purchase the drink or meal option, for unlimited it does not start until 2018. But you do get a discount at all the stores already with your pass.

It was completely dead all day on a Monday. We went last Sunday and it was so crowded we decided not to go in. It took us no longer than 5 minutes to get on anything. There was no lines in any of the restaurants. The downfall though, is hardly anything was open. I don't think I saw a single stand open. Just some of the restaurants and shops.

There seems to be more and more roller coasters than before. I'm not really into roller coasters, I like the smaller rides that are mellow. There are a bunch of those as well. Lots of different shows. Again going on a Monday, more than half the shows were not operating.

Most of the shows are super short. The wild west stunt show was about 10 minutes. the one that was the longest was in the saloon. A guy playing instruments and dancing on the bar. It was pretty comical and we enjoyed it. But seating is extremely Limited, so you want to get there super early.





We got to watch the Native American dance. That was spectacular. It was amazing to watch, captivating and entertaining. it is pretty short as well, and so worth taking the time to see it. the man that did the dance told us about his tribe. He came out afterwards and allowed us to take photos with his beautiful eagle feathers. space here is also very limited so get there early.

 There are bathrooms everywhere, and they're kept up well. lots of restaurants to choose from. We ate at a little place that had carne asada fries. They were absolutely amazing. We also got a churro stuffed with Bavarian cream right by the log ride. they say they are made fresh, but they were hard as a rock and it was only half-filled. They were nice enough though to exchange it. However the next one was kind of hard as well just not as hard.

They have a lot of cute things in the shops, just way overpriced unfortunately. But that's to be expected at parks like these. we love not having to deal with the crowd, and we had a really fun day there.

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Watson's Soda Fountain & Cafe - Orange, California

116 E Chapman Ave

Orange, California

 

 

 

 I haven't been to Watsons in 6 or 7 years. I was super sad to see it completely changed. It's no longer a piece of history. It was a place lost in time. Now it's modern, trying to look vintage. That doesn't make sense. Heartbroken! 

 

We decided to sit outside, since the inside now isn't special, and looks like every other restaurant. It was a comfortable Sunday afternoon. 

 

 

I ordered a maple bacon milkshake. It tasted like vanilla, with a piece of bacon here and there. Nothing special. We ordered the Billys brussels with balsamic glaze, parmesan cheese, and bacon. They were pretty darn good. The vinegar gave them a nice zing. They could be cooked a bit longer. 

I ordered the I Love Lucy burger. It had mac and cheese on it. I didn't realize it only had mac and cheese. I would have added bacon and onion. Maybe avocado. Some mayo. The mac and cheese had basil in it, I think. That was was overpowering, and all I could taste. It kinda ruined the burger for me. It's very messy too! Be warned. I got onion rings with it. They were good. 

 

Hubby got the patty melt with fries. It was very good! The carmalized onions were perfect. Very tasty. Fries we're OK. Root beer was extra sweet. Hubby liked it. 

 

I really miss the old Watsons. But sooner or later, everything changes.

 

 

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Eisenhower Park - Orange, California

When I was a kid my mom used to bring me here to feed the Ducks. I don't have kids of my own but as my nephews and nieces were growing up I would take them there to feed the Ducks. It's kind of a tradition. My sister had her wedding photos done there, and we used to have birthday parties there all the time. 

The water used to be absolutely disgusting, caked with bird poop, feathers, debris, and all kinds of disgusting stuff. But it actually looks like they keep it up now. It looked so much better than I remember. The weekends you'll find a lot of photo shoots going on, birthday parties kinsenyeta, and weddings. 

You can feed the Ducks, but keep in mind that bread is not good for them. We read that they like lettuce and corn. They eat the corn like crazy but didn't touch the lettuce. 

The park goes on and on, it's pretty big. There used to be two playgrounds, but I'm not sure if they're still are. We only came up on one. I remember you had to walk pretty far to the second one, so we might not have gone too far. Or they may have just gotten rid of it I don't know but I did not see it.

There's a couple little Lakes the big one of course and little streams going from each. Lots of beautiful birds. Ducks , geese, we even saw a dove. Some other birds that I could even tell you what they are. 

There was some police activity while we were there. They had a couple they had seem to pull out of the bathroom with a bunch of bags that they were going through. Always go into the bathrooms with your children. 

There are several parking lots, but on the weekends parking can be quite Limited. We were there this past Sunday and one of the parking lots was not even open, and we actually got the last parking spot in one of the open ones. 

Very fun and cute Park. 

2864 N Tustin St, Orange, CA 92865
Across from the Vins, next to the Orange Mall

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Corona del Mar State Beach - Newport, California

One of my favorite beaches ever! BEAUTIFUL.

Clean. Never crowded. We went this Sunday, around noon. Very few people around. 

Pretty small beach area. Lots of firepits. Actual bathrooms that are pretty well maintained. There is a jetty you can walk down. Seals swimming around. Boats in and out of the bay. Super fun to watch. Relaxing. People fishing.

There are some rocks you can climb. Easy climb. Small kids could do it with a bit of assistance. It takes you over to a small cove. Nobody there! 2 tiny caves over there. Stairs to get down to that side. 

You can park at the top, which overlooks the beach, and parking is free up there. The walk down is a chore. Lots of steps. Or you can drive down, and pay to park. 4 bucks an hour. Well worth it. 

There is also a snack shack. Not sure what they sell. But it's there. They were open, even though there was only a handful of people. Lots of huge houses lining the beach. (Not too close).

It really is a beautiful and peaceful spot. Quiet. A great spot for sure. Take 55 to 73S. Exit MacArthur, and follow it until it dead ends into PCH. Turn left. You will see a Smart and Final on your right. Just after you pass that, turn right at the very next light. (Can't remember the name of street). Go to the end (beach is in front of you, you can only go right or left). Turn right, and you are there. Enjoy!

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