By Ben Antonius
Three-year-old Julia Young got a chance to ride the carousel with her mom Holly Young at the opening of the Nut Tree Family Park. (Gary Goldsmith/Daily Republic)
VACAVILLE - It was the first time on the carousel for Julia Young and Adrian La Vora, but it was a nostalgia trip for their parents.
After a whirl on a carousel horse, 3-year-old Julia tugged on her mother Holly's arm to go for a ride on a California Highway Patrol motorcycle - an amusement park replica of one, at least.
Meanwhile, 2-year-old Adrian enjoyed a ride on the carousel giraffe as his father Dominic stood by.
"It's always a giraffe," said Shanowa La Vora as she watched her son.
It was a little before 11 a.m. and the doors had just opened at the Nut Tree Family Park. For the moment at least, Julia and Adrian had the carousel to themselves.
As the carousel turned for the first time, several people stood nearby, snapping pictures and filming as Julia circled around. She looked at the cameras and smiled on each rotation.
Holly Young expected to spend the day at the park trying out various rides with her daughter, who continued to tug on her mother's arm and clearly had energy to spare.
Impatient with waiting for Adrian to finish riding the giraffe, Julia dashed off with her mother in tow to the motorcycles, fire trucks and ambulances on the California Rescue Squad ride.
It was the first visit to the amusement park in years for Holly, who lives in Vacaville but grew up in Benicia.
"We used to come here when I was little and I loved it," she said. "We would come every year for the pumpkin patch."
Shanowa La Vora related the same experience.
"I had only been here until I lived here," she said. "Once we moved to Vacaville we stopped going for some reason. I came once before it closed."
Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.
