A second even more enjoyable day at Knotts Berry Farm
A second even more enjoyable day at Knotts Berry Farm

A second even more enjoyable day at Knotts Berry Farm again, without queues, unlike Disneyland, this time enjoying the Dinosaur and Mine rides, the Bird Cage Theatre and the Indian Hoop dances.

Then the Wild West Show where Della was fooled by an actor shot from the top of a building. Back to the hotel via McDonalds takeaway meal again but, after a second lunchtime Mrs Knotts Chicken Dinner,

I was first awake at 3.30am and woke up a reluctant family who were fast adjusting to the local daylight hours. The girls eventually woke up and had their baths and showers but had a snooze first giving me time for a tumble with Diana in the meantime as she was coming out of purdah after a few messy days. We called Daniel at home - midday to him, dawn for us - and found him happy and well; coping with life alone with the puppy. Sam had run up to people once or twice and needs feeding by a certain time to avoid messing his run (which I already knew) but Daniel doesn't seem to worry about that.

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The ground was wet after yet more overnight rain but the day itself stayed dry and much of it was sunny between definite cloudy periods. We drove out to Coco's for breakfast but the disaster was that they did not have any Rice Crispies which somewhat spoilt things for Della. We stopped off at a corner shop after and bought some and a carton of milk so that Della could eat breakfast back at the hotel and then we all went to Knott's for another enjoyable day. If anything, the second visit was better than the first and, despite there being the Sunday car queues at Disneyland entrance as we passed, Knotts had no queues and, in their absence, we had a much more relaxed atmosphere. The girls went off together for rides and Diana and I did the same. Our choice was the dinosaur time-travel ride and the historical mine ride.

We joined up with the girls again later in the day for two different productions of melodrama at the Bird Cage Theatre, which were supposed to be typical of the travelling shows of old times. More views of the singing and dancing Indians with a male hoop dance and female jingle-dress dance the most impressive. A "hold-up" on the train ride impressed Della but she was most taken in by the Wild West Show and did not realise that the "audience volunteer" was actually a placed stunt man as he was shot and plunged from the top of a building. Back to the hotel via McDonalds takeaway meal again but, after a second lunchtime Mrs Knotts Chicken Dinner, Diana had no tea.