Fun on the Farm

For the past few years, Marina and I have gone to a corn maze in the fall. This year we decided to try a new one. It was about an hour drive to get there and traffic made it take even longer.

When we arrived, we could see that this was more than a corn maze – it was a fall festival. After we bought our tickets and entered the farm we saw Cinderella posing for photos in front of a pumpkin coach. We got into the short line for that. Marina also took a look inside the coach.

We walked around and saw farm animals, including goats and llamas. There were crafts and farm equipment to look at as well. We decided to take the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. One the way we heard that the snow we had a few days ago damaged many of the pumpkins. But it was fun anyway. The pumpkin patch was huge and filled with pumpkins on many varieties and colors. We found two small pretty ones that we decided to buy.

After we got back from the pumpkin patch, we tried out the corn maze. We didn’t realize there were three different mazes at first. The one we chose ended up being the longest one and without items to find. Fortunately we were able to get through it without getting lost. Once we did that we tried the murder mystery maze. Marina used the map and was able to direct us to all the clues. We were too tired to try the last maze though.

By that time we were ready to go home. We hadn’t even looked around the entire farm. But we enjoyed our day.

A Pirate's Life For Me

After a late night last night, Marina and I slept in this morning. We had a big breakfast before getting ready to go out today. The Pirate Festival has become an annual tradition for Marina and I. We each created a pirate themed outfit and headed out.

We ran into terrible traffic on the way to the festival, which was frustrating but ultimately we got there and found a place to park. Then we headed into the park.

The layout was different this year, but it’s not a huge events, so it wasn’t too hard to find anything. We met up with a woman dressed up as Ursula, the sea witch and a siren. We took photos with them. Then we found Tinkerbell. It turned out she was Brittany, one of our friends. It was fun to see her. The mermaids this year were different. They were having story time when we walked by, so we decided to come back afterwards.

We were wanted to watch the cardboard boat races but they weren’t on the lake. Finally we saw a sign that said they had been moved to the recreation center across the street. We headed over there where the races were already underway. We managed to find a place to watch the rest of the races. Once they were over, we went over to say hello to Captain Jack Sparrow. We had a few minutes to talk with him before we went back to the festival.

Marina liked looking at the jewelry for sale and we ultimately got to take photos with the mermaids. We also found the Lego pirate. After a few hours we were both hungry. The food truck lines were long, so we decided to get food on the way home.

Birthday Renaissance

Going to the Renaissance Festival is something we do every summer. We invited Marina's best friend to join us. And to top it off, today was her birthday!

The girls both dressed up for the festival. Marina wore her Anastasia dress. We left the house early but unfortunately we ran into a huge traffic jam. We ended up arriving in Larkspur an hour after the festival began.

We went immediately to the jousting field to catch the first joust. We saw Sir William was not jousting again this year. So we cheered for Sir Duncan. After the joust was over we approached Sir William on his horse and talked with him for a few minutes.

Once we left the jousting area, we browsed the shops. The girls were both most interested in the jewelry stores. Along the way, we met up with many well dressed people who we stopped to take photos with. Marina was particularly excited to see a young man dressed as Link. Marina's friend wanted to take an elephant ride. So we made our way to that part of the festival. The line wasn’t too long and they got to take their ride.

We went to the Pavilion to see some actors we know. Marina was pleased that Princess Erin was there as well. As we were getting ready to go to lunch, a loud clap of thunder shocked us. It was followed by heavy rain. We took shelter in the Pavilion for nearly an hour until it passed. When the weather cleared we picked up turkey legs for lunch and settled on the jousting field to eat them and watch the afternoon joust.

After the joust, we met Opal, the new fairy. Then we went to see the Vodca Family, a belly dancing act.We found seats close to the stage and before the show started, we saw a dancer we know. She spoke with us briefly before and after the show. The show was funny and the dancing was quite impressive.
 
As soon as the show was done, we went straight to the chapel for the knighting ceremony. We had missed the first part, but Queen Anne was still there. She greeted Marina with a warm hug before she and the King knighted the girls. The royal court even sang a short birthday song for her friend.

Next on the agenda was the Princess Tea party. On the way, we managed to find the unicorn and take photos. We went to the jousting field for the Princess Party. We were thrilled that Queen Anne was able to join us. Marina was introduced as their special friend. The skit the cast performed this year was particularly funny.

After the tea party, it was time for the final joust. We picked up snacks at Friar Tuck’s Bakery before we found our seats. The joust was fun and our Knight, Sir Duncan, won. As we headed out, the girls wanted to go on the pirate ship ride. From there we went to the main gate. There, we got a chance to talk with Sir William for a while. The other jousters joined him, so we took photos with them as well.
As we left the festival, a huge rainbow appeared in the sky. It seemed to be our guide back to reality.

Unicorn Festival

Today was the annual Unicorn Festival. This year, we invited Ainsley to join us. After considering many options, Ainsley wore her Belle costume. Marina was excited to wear her new Anastasia costume.  I offered the girls capes to wear over their dresses instead of jackets since it was chilly today.

We arrived at the Unicorn Festival early. We found a really good parking spot and checked in quickly. We had to wait for about 15 minutes until the festival opened. While we waited a little girl asked if she could have her picture taken with Ainsley and Marina.

When the festival opened we went first to the Princess Palace. A friend of ours was dressed as Mary Poppins. We visited with her for a few moments. We also knew the actress playing Moana, so we took photos with her as well.

Next we went to the Mermaid Lagoon. Last year it had a long line all day. We arrived before it opened and had a short wait for our turn. We took photos with two mermaids before meeting Ariel. We got some nice photos there as well.

When we exited the Mermaid Lagoon, we were at the Mad Hatter Tea Party. We planned to wait for the show but it was taking a bit longer than usual, so we browsed some of the booths. We went back for the show and after we got photos with Alice and the Mad Hatter, we stopped for lunch. I also bought fancy cupcakes for dessert.

After lunch, we decide to wander around the festival. The girls loved shopping the various vendors. Marina insisted that we stop by the Harry Potter Sorting Hat. She was pleased that both she and Ainsley were sorted into Hufflepuff. We ran into Peter Pan and Tinkerbell along the way.

We headed back to the Princess Palace where we took photos with Tiana and Jasmine. Cinderella arrived as we were there but her line was pretty long, so we decided to come back to see her.

We did a little more shopping. At one booth both Marina and Ainsley found necklaces they loved, so I bought them. By this time, Cinderella’s line had shortened, so we took photos with her.

We checked out more booths and the petting zoo, which both girls loved. They also went through the castle maze. By this point it was starting to sprinkle. Because of that, the line to sit on a “unicorn” was as short as we had seen it, so we waited for Marina and Ainsley to have their photos taken on the larger “unicorn.”

By this time, it was starting to rain. At the Princess Palace, Anna and Elsa were there. Since there wasn’t much else to do, we waited in the line. It was pretty cold by then so we teased Elsa that she must have brought in the bad weather.

We were all ready to go home but since Rapunzel was due in 15 minutes, we decided to take a photo with her and then go home. Unfortunately the waited ended up being nearly and hour. Marina got a bit grumpy. Eventually she went over to the Storytime Cottage and talked with the drag queen there. Apparently she was asking for makeup tips.

Eventually, Rapunzel arrived and we quickly took a photo with her. After the long, cold wait, we were all pretty miserable. We headed to the gate, stopping along the way to pet more “unicorns.” So we left the festival and stopped for dinner.

A Festival for Pirates

We had a fun time at the Pirate Festival last year so we made plans to attend again this year. Marina put together a new outfit based on a red corset we found at a thrift store last month. She seemed pretty happy with it.

We started by seeing the mermaids. One of them recognized us from the Unicorn Festival in June. Next we went through the booths where we saw a small falcon and a snake. Marina did a little shopping as well. Of course, she greeted every dog we met along the way.

We wanted to see the cardboard boat races, so we looked for a place to sit down. On the way we saw Captain Jack Sparrow, so we stopped to say hello. He greeted us with hugs but we didn’t stay too long as he was getting ready to announce the race.

We found a spot to watch the race nearby. There weren’t many entries this year, but we enjoyed watching them. Then we checked out the pirate ship at the dock. By this point we were melting in the sun, so we stopped by to say goodbye to Captain Jack. We also stopped by to see the mermaids one last time.

After that, we went back to the car. It was a very hot day and we were ready to get out of the sun.

Italian Festival

We had a good time at the Italian Festival last year, so Marina and I decided to go again this year. We decided to go to the festival late and have dinner there before the show.

When we arrived we caught the end of a circus show. Unfortunately they didn’t have any more performances for the day. But we did get a few photos with the performers. We shopped some of the booths. Marina loved looking at candles, cork art and accessories. We watched part of the flag throwing performance.

Marina was thrilled to see fried calamari for sale at one of the booths, so she picked that for dinner. I got an Italian beef sandwich. We sat down with our food and listened to a singer while we ate. Once we finished eating, it was time for grape stomping. Marina didn’t spend as much time on that as she did last year. When she finished, she wanted to watch a ventriloquist who was performing nearby.

We wandered around the booths again. Marina had a cotton candy flavored lollipop for dessert. I stopped to listen to a Frank Sinatra song and Marina petted a nearby dog. By that point, we were ready to go.

Unicorns, Fairies and Princesses

Last year we attended the first annual Unicorn Festival. It was very overcrowded and poorly organized, but we decided to give it another try, especially since some of our friends would be there!

Marina wasn’t sure what to wear this year. Last night she put together a dance costume someone gave us with one of her skirts, fairy wings and a flower wreath to be a fairy. It was a cute outfit!

We left the house fairly early because we knew a lot of people would be there for the beginning of the festival. We didn’t leave as early as we hoped but we did arrive at the park before the festival opened. We got into line to enter and talked with the people around us. While we were waiting, we saw Snow White arrive. It was one of our friends!

It only took us 15 minutes to get inside after the festival opened. So we went immediately to the Princess Palace to see Phoebe. There was no line to see her, so we took pictures and talked with her for a while. We also saw Moana.

We moved on to some of the vendor booths. Marina loves to shop and she happily looked around at everything on display. While we were looking around, we ran into Prince Charming. We’ve been running into him since Marina was six and he was amazed at how much she has grown. We also came upon a group of fairies and Captain Jack Sparrow.

The line for the mermaids looked short, so we got into it. It moved really slowly and we were roasting in line. Bur fortunately we finally got through to see the mermaids. At the end was Ariel. Marina spent quite a while visiting with her.

While we were waiting for the mermaids, we saw Anna and Elsa arrive at the Princess Palace, so we went over there. This time there was a line but it moved quickly and we got to meet with them before their sing along. By this time, Jasmine had arrived at the Agrabah Bazaar. Marina joined the kids for story time and then waited in a quick line for a photo with her.

Next, we checked out a petting farm with "unicorns,” goats and a bunny. Marina loved that! We also met a large white “unicorn” who was a bit restless. Then we stopped in a shady spot to eat lunch. We made our way over to the Princess Palace again to meet Merida. She had a bow that Marina tried out and they posed with them.

We wanted to walk around the rest of the festival and ran into Tinkerbell who remembered us from the Princess Partea last month. We looked around a some of the other activities and then went to make sure we got to meet Belle, who was another of our friends. We had a bit of a wait, but we were thrilled to see her.

We decided to look at the Creation Station to see what crafts they had set up. Marina decided to make a wand. We had to scavenge around for the pieces but she ended up with one she was happy with. Marina wanted “something sweet,” so we looked around the various food trucks and she decide she wanted a snow cone. We sat for a while as she ate it. The line to sit on a “unicorn” was as short as we had seen it, so we got in it. It took a while but it was worth it. Marina got to sit on a white unicorn and pet a baby one. The foal tried to eat part of her costume!

By the “unicorns” was a Harry Potter sorting hat. We both tried it out and were surprised we were put into the Slytherin House. Rapunzel was the last visiting princess and we could see it was another friend of ours. Even though the line was long, we wanted to say hello to her. We were both tired so we decided this would be our last stop. We got some really cute photos and then we decided to go back to the car. It was a fun day but we were both exhausted.

Fall Fairytale

In our area are lots of fall festivals and corn mazes. We’ve only been to a few. We found out that one we hadn't been  to before was having a Fairytale Day at Maize in the City. We decided to go check it out.

The ads featured Belle, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, so Marina wore her blue Belle costume. We arrived at the Maize before the party started, so we looked around a bit. Shortly after that, the characters arrived. We were thrilled that they were all performers we know. When they saw us, they waved and called us by name.

The party started with a craft – making a pumpkin wand. Marina chose a big one to decorate. After she finished her pumpkin, we took photos with all the characters. Marina also made a new friend, a four year old girl. The two hung out together until the show started.

Flynn Rider started things off by having an Adventure Academy. Marina went on stage to participate. She especially liked the swashbuckling – sword fighting. When she was tagged she put on a dramatic death. Next Rapunzel, Flynn and Belle sang. Then Belle told stories.

After the show, we spent some time with our friends before we left to look around. We decided to try out the corn maze. A friend of mine told me that you should always go to the right side when in a corn maze, so we tried that. It worked! We not only easily found our way out, but we hit all the markers through it to claim a prize. The prize was a mini pumpkin. Marina was thrilled!

Marina wanted her face painted. The line looked short but it moved very slowly. Her new friend was in line ahead of us, so they played together as they waited. Some other children approached Marina. They thought she was Belle! She played along for a little while.

When it was finally Marina’s turn, she decided on a flower design in red. It came out beautifully. By that time we were tired and ready to head home.