I wrote a little bit right after Mom and Dad told me (it was November 2nd - a Friday night) so I thought I would share a bit from that:
I was sitting in the school room working on my blog post about tips for getting your permit. Mom and Dad called me out to the family room to talk with them... Then they told me that Dad was getting a new job. At first, I was expecting that they were going to say we were moving to Florida and I was sort of excited. Then I got a hit of reality until Dad said that the new job would allow him to "work remotely". My heart simultaneously dropped and leaped at those words. I knew what was next - we were moving to Florida.
It's funny the little details that you totally forget... Anyway, that was a complete tangent. I just thought that might be fun to put on here.
So first off, go to Cowgirl Cafe for breakfast. It's on Hamner Avenue and has some amazing breakfast stuff. On our birthdays, we have this tradition where we get to pick either Mom or Dad to take us out to breakfast wherever we want. Probably half of the birthdays I had in California I picked Cowgirl Cafe. The bitty breakfast (I think that's what it's called) is my favorite/go-to.
After filling yourself full with breakfast, go and hike down to the river. The Santa Ana River runs through one end of Norco, and it's a super cool place to walk down to. If you're coming during the summer/fall, there won't be a bunch of water, but sometimes in the spring (after a rainy winter) it gets really full.
To get there, go down to the Hidden Valley Nature Center and you'll find some trails that will lead down to the river. I 100% recommend bringing swimsuits if you have kids - playing in the river in my swimsuit is one of my favorite memories. Also, bring plenty of drinking water if you're going during the summer - it'll probably heat up a bit.
You'll probably be pretty tired after that hike, so I'd suggest going to get lunch. (Obviously this all depends on timing but... let's pretend its lunchtime. XD) Sixth Street Deli on Sixth Street (shocker there, I know) is really good. I don't remember my first time going here - we've been going probably since we moved to Norco. It's just a really fun little nostalgic place.
But I actually would recommend taking your lunch to go and driving all the way down Sixth Street to Pike's Peak Park. Again, this is probably best if you have kids, but it also has some awesome little sidewalks so you can take a little stroll. Plus there are covered shade areas so you won't get *quite* as hot.
Since you're so close, I would go visit the animal shelter. Whenever we went to Pike's Peak or up that direction, we would always beg to go see the animal shelter. We actually got our first two dogs (Katie and Riley - both of whom we had to give back for various reasons) from there, before we got Mango.
They have a bunch of dogs, and sometimes cats, as well as some cool animals they just keep because they've been injured in some way or another. I think they had deer - but I haven't been there in a while so I'm not sure. Again, it's a really fun place for kids to look at the animals.
During the afternoon, there's a few bonus things that I came up with. Not all of these will work for everyone (as you'll see) but they're some fun options that are unique to Norco. Or at least I think they're unique. Lemme know if I'm wrong. XD
If you're ready for another hike, you can head up to Pumpkin Rock. It's just this huge rock on top of a hill that borders Norco and Riverside and it's a big of a Norco landmark. You can get up there two ways - one is a lot shorter but involves scaling a pretty steep hill... The other is a lot longer but a little bit easier on the steepness.
I probably would do the longer one if you're feeling up to it - the views are amazing - but obviously, you can get a really good view either way. Start here if you want to take the short way up, and here if you want the longer way. The trail for the longer one might be a little harder to follow, but once you get started it'll be pretty straightforward.
If you're visiting in mid to late April, check here to see if the Norco Horseweek is happening. Horseweek is a super fun week or so full of events. My favorite is the Quarter Dip they do (usually on Tuesday night). You bring a bunch of quarters and one item is one quarter and you just walk around the room buying whatever you want. Super fun.
And then if you're visiting over Labor Day, check out the Norco Fair. It's fairly similar to Horseweek, except they have a bunch of fair rides and games. You have to pay for admission but it comes with a super fun button that a Norco resident designs. I tried to design one once but gave up because my artistic skills are severely lacking.
As the final "bonus" afternoon option... go find a horseback riding lesson/go horseback riding. This is the quintessential Norco thing (we are Horsetown USA!). I've gone on a few rides through this place called Sunshine and Daydreams and it's pretty good. Obviously, though, there are a lot more options if you're interested.
Now that your afternoon is over and you're ready for some more food, head over to Dona Luisa's. It's pretty good Mexican food (and Florida lacks that... I don't think I've had real Mexican food since we moved), and just a super cool place (I think).
After dinner, since you're there already, go over to the Norco Library (it's literally in the same parking lot) and find a book called The Norconian Resort. It should be straight, past the front desk, and then all the way to the left. (But this is as of six-ish months ago so I'm really not sure...) Why you might ask? Well, a quick perusal of that book should prepare you to drive by one of Norco's coolest landmarks (in my opinion):
The Norconian Resort was built by the founder of Norco and is currently part of a Navy base, so you can't access it. It was opened right before the Depression so never really got anywhere, but people like Amelia Earhart, Walt Disney, Babe Ruth (I think?), and Olympic swimmers stayed there. Pretty cool for such a little town like Norco!
And last, just to satisfy me, head over to the Chick-fil-A off of Hidden Valley Parkway. That's my old Chick-fil-A and it is the best place ever. Get some dessert there. The cookies and cream milkshake is to die for. Also, try the frosted coffee. So good!
(And that link goes to the Yelp review that I'm featured in! I'm the girl who ran after her with the food. Not super proud of that review but it's clearly not my fault so... I'm on the internet and I'm famous! XD)
That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed, and I know that you have a battle plan for when you visit Norco next. (Also I sound like some travel agent or something... I don't know but I'm finding it funny.)
Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!!
~ Anna
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