Strawberry Extravaganza!

Sunday was all about strawberry goodness, as CC and I drove up the 101 to the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard.

The College Park grounds were packed with visitors -- I clung to CC's hand for dear life -- as well as entertainers, rides and individual booths, which sold everything from strawberry pizza to strawberry champagne.

Our first stop? The strawberry shortcake tent. For $5, we received a bowl and an open invitation to pile on as many pound cake slices, strawberries and whipped cream as we could handle. Turns out, we could handle a lot. (See above pic.) CC and I shared a delicious helping that kept us sated during our visit.

Our next stop? The Gull Wings Children's Museum booth/trailer.


This kid-friendly museum, which we have yet to visit, is an Oxnard staple that offers children the chance to check out hands-on exhibits. The booth/trailer held items such as an excavation exhibit, a variety of wooden gears and a mock spaceship, where kids could pretend they were headed for the moon.

The latter of these kept CC busy for a while. In fact, when I told her we had to go, she said, "But Mommy, I have to go to space."

We also got to check out the Jest in Time children's tent, which featured tons of acts, including Circus of Fools -- a husband and wife duo and their rescued dog -- who performed a variety of slapstick-y tricks. Notice the toilet-paper shooters below. That had CC howling in the stands.


While CC missed out on face-painting -- the line was just too long -- she did get to hop on one ride, a motorcycle no less. We were both tired and ready to make the trek back home. Luckily, this ride near the entrance was almost wait-free.


After what I hope will be the closest she comes to riding a real motorcycle (sorry, Daddy), we made our way to the exit -- but not before picking up three generous baskets of fresh strawberries, for a total of $5.

Guess what's going in CC's lunchbox this week!

(Note: Media tickets provided.)