Welcome to Knoebels

Last weekend was my great grandmother's family's 94th family reunion. I never met my great grandmother, but she was the second oldest of thirteen kids (including a set of twins) who survived to adulthood and the mother of my paternal grandfather. Every year, the reunion is held in the same small town. 

Sadly, fewer and fewer people go each year. after 94 years, many members of the family have moved, lost touch, and passed away. However, at one time, my family was able to old a baseball game, a family band, and cakewalk (this tradition lasted until the early 2000s and one year I won the cakewalk which meant my parents had to take home a giant cake). Those of us who are able to attend, have a great time, hold a family meeting, make announcements, and share what's been going on since we last saw each other. In years past, my family occasionally went to the local amusement park (it helped that one of my cousins could get us in for free). 

I swear this is all relevant. 

Last year, I mentioned to one of my cousins how I missed going to the local amusement park. My cousin laughed and said that it was a nice park, but Knoebels was way better. 

This sign is like halfway into the park. 

I had heard of Knoebels from when Travel Channel actually showed shows on travel. I used to love their specials on Top Ten Amusement Parks and Top Ten Best Rollercoasters. It started my obsession with rollercoasters, mechanics, and physics in general (I actually do have a minor in physics, so...). For my 20th birthday, my parents gifted me a behind the scenes rollercoaster tour at Buschgardens Williamsburg. Knoebels was one of the amusement parks frequently mentioned on those shows for having outstanding rides and especially rollercoasters. 

However, I never went to Knoebels as a kid. I also still haven't been to Cedar Point despite constantly being promised that "we'll go next year" whenever we went to Michigan. I suppose "next year" is never going to actually happen.

Alright, I'm done discussing childhood. 

Knoebels is so different from any amusement park I've ever been to. The closest I might be able to compare it to are the boardwalk piers with amusement rides, except its in the middle of Pennsylvania's coal country and surrounded by campgrounds instead of sand and beach motels. 

Also you can go to Knoebels completely free if you want to. 

Parking is free. Entry is free. There are several museums that are also free. The rides are purchased through a ticket system (and they still use paper tickets) or you can purchase a wrist band to ride all the rides (except the Haunted Mansion). The wristband is only offered during the week though, so if you go on a Saturday like I did, you have to purchase one of several ticket books. 

You can even see a swan.

Rides cost between $2.50 and $6.00. The kids rides range from $2.50 to $4.00, family fun flat rides were between $3.00 and $4.50, and the rollercoasters are between $3.50 and $5.00. The only $6.00 ride was the ski lift which gives you a great view of the park (I have only seen this through YouTube videos as I opted to spend my tickets elsewhere). 

The food is also fairly inexpensive, but the carnival games seemed to cost on par with other amusement parks. I didn't play any of the games, but they had most of the classics. There is also one indoor restaurant called the Alamo that's been operating for almost a century. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention one other thing, dogs are allowed in the park. Not everywhere, but you can bring them in. Knoebels is surrounded by campgrounds (nearest hotel is a bed and breakfast) and they don't want you to leave your furry best friend at the campsite while you and your family enjoy the park. 

When I arrived at Knoebels, it took me a bit of time to find a parking spot. Their parking lot is a huge field and has a shuttle that runs up and down the lines of cars. I parked close enough that I didn't need to take the shuttle, but far enough away that I had to wander through their group pavilions that can be rented for events. Most were rented out by large parties, church groups, work family days (I saw Sherwin-Williams there), and a few family reunions. 

If there is a main gate to the park, I didn't find it. After getting through the maze of pavilions, I walked up to a giant board with the map on it which was next to one of those boat rides that take you up real high and then drops you down with a huge splash.

It was at this point that I learned that it was the 100 years celebration of the park's opening. Their old skating rink was set up as a history museum of the park. The skate rink hadn't been used in decades, but they did have a remaining skate in the collection. Much of the park had facts posted around with history facts about the park and surrounding area. There were at least two recent flood markers (both in the 2010s) and displays of old work equipment. One of my favorite finds was the blacksmith's shop where you could purchase a horseshoe, fire poker, or tent post. 

I also adored the carousel museum. Though small, the carousel museum included a brief history on carousels and included examples of horses from the mid to late 1800s. I think the earliest one I saw had been built in the 1870s. Knoebels has two working carousels, a small one mainly for kids (that didn't stop me from going on it) and a big one that also had the ring game. 

If you've never heard of the ring game on carousels, you've really missed out on something special. The ring game is for people who sit on the outer edge of the carousel. An arm is extended down that holds little metal rings. Riders are meant to grab onto the rings and then toss them in the designated area. The rings are maybe two inches in diameter (or big enough to get two fingers hooked in) and traditionally there is one brass ring that wins the grabber a free ride (I don't think Knoebels has this feature). 

The ring game has long gone out of fashion - likely because of insurance. As I hadn't played the ring game in a long time, I quickly relearned how difficult it was to grab them and how easily someone could hurt themselves. However, it is a ton of fun and amazing that Knoebels has the game on their Grand Carousel. 

I ended up purchasing $25.00 worth of tickets. The first thing I opted to ride was the rollercoaster Flying Turns. This ride was built in the 2000s based on a design created in the 1920s. Similar to a steel bobsled type rollercoaster, it is the only known wooden rollercoaster without a track. It is also freaking awesome and one of two rides I was had to try (the other was the Grand Carousel).

With only $20.00 remaining in tickets, I decided to hold off on the other rollercoasters until my next visit (hopefully when I could get the unlimited ride wristband). Instead I rode both carousels, the tilt-a-whirl, Paratroopers, the swings, and The Haunted Mansion (yes it needs to be capitalized). 

The Haunted Mansion is a traditional dark ride that fewer and fewer amusement parks have. I've only really experienced similar rides at the seashore amusement parks on the different boardwalks. The Disneyland version this ain't. It's loud with plenty of jump scare (though thankfully none are humans in a mask) and some questionable stereotypes. The story for this Haunted Mansion included a cursed object taking over the house after the guy who "acquired" the object got married and moved in with his new bride. My favorite room was one with glowing skulls that seemed to spin around the room. My least favorite part was the truck horn jump scare (if you know, you know).

Though I didn't try it, Knoebels also has an outdoor pool area that charges for entry with the option to upgrade to include waterslides. The pool area looked really nice and the slides looked like a lot of fun. 

I really enjoyed my time at Knoebels, though it was only for a few hours. It's a park that feels much more focused on traditional amusement rides than just thrilling rollercoasters. In fact, most of their big rollercoasters are wooden. I plan to go again and possibly camp there at some point (especially if I can meet up with my family and they bring the huskies). There are definitely some rides I wasn't able to try that sound amazing (like Phoenix and Black Diamond). 

Maybe I can convince my cousins that we need to have our family reunion there (even if it breaks with tradition). We might be able to get more of the family to come if rides are included.

Have you ever been to Knoebels? If so, what's your favorite ride? I still can't believe how awesome Flying Turns was. 

Until next week. 

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Welcome to the County Fair

This weekend was the Fairfax County fair and carnival. Growing up, I only went to one or two county fairs, so I was curious to see what Fairfax County had to offer. I wasn’t expecting much because Fairfax County isn’t exactly known for its farms, but the ads promised animals, rides, games, and food.

The fair was at Frying Pan Farm, which is the last working farm in Fairfax County. Apparently, Cox Farms (close to where I live) is considered more of an attraction rather than a “working” farm. To my untrained eye, I would say they are both farms.

I’ve driven past Frying Pan Farm before…and been very confused by the random farm tucked in between the suburbs that surround it. Fairfax County bought the farm in the mid-1900s (yes, I’m doing this now for dates before the 1970s) as a park and educational tool for kids who live away from farms (pretty much all of Northern Virginia at this point). The park provides a hands on experience of farm life during the Great Depression. They have animals that are raised for market, including the usual chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, and turkeys, and event space loke for the county fair which is partnered with the local 4H Club to show animals.

I didn’t even know there was a 4H Club in Northern Virginia since I always associated them with rural parts of the country. The four Hs stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health and is a program for kids and teens. I remember staying at a 4H camp for an annual church retreat and being told that the 4H Club was a “farming club” for kids.

I think one of my cousins used to show rabbits through 4H.

There is a lot more to it than farming. The kids are able to complete a variety of projects and the county fair provides a space for them to compete against each other for prizes. There’s of course the animal show (I saw the goats and sheep) as well as a number of craft, cooking, written, and artistic entries put in for competition. Some of the projects were amazing - one entry was a three tiered wooden chandelier with a bird figure in the center.

I had fun seeing the animals, both those being shown and who live full time at the farm. I got to hold a couple of week old chicks and pet a rabbit. I also had my mind blown by how large pigs actually are. It wasn’t my first time seeing a pig, but each time I see one feels like the first time. Pigs are big animals. I also took plenty of pictures of the cows to share with my sibling (it’s an obsession with that one).

Of course there was food, rides, and games. The food wasn’t what I’d call traditional, but felt authentic to Northern Virginia. Not a lot of deep fried nonsense, but there was BBQ, Tex Mex, El Salvadorian, hot dogs, burgers, and Thai food. I chose to have Pad Thai.

I didn’t ride any rides or play any games. It was raining while I was there and, when it wasn’t raining, it was 87% humidity. I felt gross. However, there were a few rides I would have indulged in if the weather had been better. I would have loved to go on the Ferris wheel and there was a cute carousel. The games were the standard carnival games - plus really expensive. I did think it was weird that one of the game’s prizes included live goldfish.

I felt a little bad for the poor fish.

Due to the weather, I didn’t stay long and it looked like things were wrapping up early, too. The fair started on Thursday evening and today was the last day. The first three days had great weather, though too hot for me. I’m glad I went on the last day. It wasn’t too crowded and I saw everything I wanted to.

Have you been to your state or county fair? Part of me wishes I’d been able to go more as a kid (though I did go to the May Day Fair regularly in Lancaster, PA, it didn’t have animals). It’s a cool experience, especially for kids.

Until next week.

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