Bonfante Gardens Mother's day TR w/pics

[Billy Hill]

The family and I picked up both Grandmas and headed off to Gilroy today. After a nice breakfast out, we got to the park about 10:30. That was no problem since we were still only about the 20th car in the lot. It was drizzling very lightly when we got there. The forecast called for off and on showers that would likely get more steady as the day went on, so we donned our rain ponchos and entered the park.

 

Since both grandmas move pretty slowly these days, we knew we'd be taking things at a leisurely pace. After stopping for a while on the entry path bridge to take in the views, we hit a few of the rides on the first path to the right of the main hub. There were no lines at all, for anything. It seemed like there may have been only a couple dozen people in the park besides us. It was almost like having our own private park.

 

The rain never amounted to anything more than light to moderate showers, and it even quit raining entirely several different times. The weather did seem to be enough to scare off most of those that may have otherwise made their ways to the park though. That was good, and bad. Good because, as I already mentioned, we had the park basically to ourselves, but bad because they decided to close up just a little before 3PM. It actually ended up working out just fine for us that way. I think the grandmas were maybe a little relieved that things were closing up earlier than we expected. Even a small park like BFG is more walking than they're used to, and we didn't have any need to be running them into the ground.

 

We got to ride anything we wanted, and to stay on the ride as long as we wanted. The Quicksilver Express coaster is a fun little family mine train, but about 3 go-rounds at a time was enough for me. I think I rode it a total of 9 of 10 times just because I could. The kids continued to ride it so many times that they lost count (or never even bothered to start counting) while my wife and the grandmas went through the green house garden and otherwise generally relaxed in spots shielded from the showers.

 

We had just completed a loop of the park when they came over the PA system to tell us to get on our way. We let the kids play a few "toss to win" games while the staff were shepherding everyone toward the exit. One nice thing about BFG is that they've got several "winner every time" toss games. Yeah, I let them blow $20 tossing the bouncing balls, but at least they all came home with a decent sized stuff animal for the money. Lord knows we've thrown away considerably more money for less swag at other parks.

 

Since we had time to kill, I decided that a drive to the coast on highway 152 might be a nice way to end the day. I'd never been that way before, so it was at least worth checking out. That decision turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The drive from BFG up over Hecker Pass is absolutely beautiful. Many of the coastal mountain forests are nice and scenic, but I'd rate this short drive right up there with some of the best ones I've taken. I probably could have taken some pics to show you of the drive, but it was kind of nice to be in the warm car. Getting out in the rain to take pics just sisn't seem worth it at the time, but now I kind of regret not having done so. I'll have to make it a point to get some pics the next time we go that way.

 

Anyhow, before I ramble any further, I'll just end by saying a good time was had by all.

And another...

Another shot from the spinning boat.

This ride is ho-hum, but the scenery is very nice.

This is where Bonfante Falls runs on down into Coyote Lake.

Bonfante loves their waterfalls. So do I.

This was pretty well representative of the "crowds" for almost the whole time we were there.

Some nice flowers

Ballon Flight ride. (For no particular reason, other than it's colorful.)

[DenDen]

Now that the foliage is growing in, it looks like a very nice place. Almost as lush as Kennywood. I may have to take a trip up there, just to take some pictures for my artwork.

 

Great trip report!

 

Dennis "is drinking too much International Delights Southern Butter Pecan".