Disney and Knott's

From around the age of 10 to 12 my family lived in San Diego. We lived only two hours away from my great aunt-Rita (my grandfather's sister) and my great-uncle Joe and their four children. My brother and I used to get very excited about visiting them because it usually meant a trip to either Disney Land or Knott's Berry Farm. For some reason, I seem to remember Knott's more so than Disney. I still have a pink printed bonnet hanging on the bedpost of my parent's home from one trip there. It's one of those old-day, Little House on the Prairie-style bonnets. I used to secretly try it on in my girlhood and play pretend in the mirror with my bedroom door closed. I was not allowed to wear it, as it was strictly for decoration (!).

On one excursion to Knott's, the family decided to go on a donkey ride. My mother was a heavier woman whose ass strained under her weight. Yes, his poor back bowed tremendously. My Auntie laughed until she almost peed because the doomed creature refused to do anything but stand in place and poop. Another time (or was it the same trip?), my father made Auntie almost wet her pants by claiming my brother Craig's Davey Crockett raccoon tail hat was his hairy armpit. She really loved my dad!

I remember thinking the best treat in the world came from Disney: a full banana covered in chocolate, rolled in nuts, and frozen on a Popsicle stick. I tried a frozen banana when I went to Disney World with my boyfriend's family my senior year and I did not like them nearly as much as I did in my youth.

~Mama