On our drive back to our home in Big Bear Lake, we came across the small California town of Kingsburg.
Located in the Central Valley of California, Kingsburg has a population of just over eleven thousand. It is currently an agricultural town, and one of my favorite childhood snacks, Sun-Maid Raisins, is headquartered in Kingsburg.
All of this is interesting, but it is not the reason we stopped.
Kingsburg is famous for its Swedish heritage. My two step-children are Swedish, so pretty much anything Swedish, catches our eye. We had hoped to find something unique in Kingsburg that we could share with the kids.
Unfortunately, the town was mostly closed for the day. We arrived late on a Sunday afternoon to find the high street a dead zone. We made the most of our brief stop and took some pictures.
Such as, the Kingsburg Swedish teapot water tower…
And the traditional Swedish Dalecarlian Horse or Dala Horse. We have a Dala Horse magnet from our trip to Sweden!
Swedish immigrants moved to Kingsburg in the late 1800’s and some of their descendants still live in the area today. However, it seems like the “Swedish” parts of the town are mostly kept alive through decorations and events. It is definitely a good way of enticing people to visit, and we might have eaten here or purchased something, if anything had been open.
We saw a black cat that looked nearly identical to our black cat, Slinky!
And finally, I saw this sign that was a good reminder that our summer vacation was quickly coming to an end. I like autumn, but summer is my favorite season.
Our stop in Kingsburg was a nice break from being on the road and we took some fun pictures. Kingsburg is worth a stop, if you are passing through.