Things to Do in Loma Linda

Scandia Amusement Park adds a Nordic theme to classic amusement-park rides. Towering over the park, the signature Scandia Screamer Coaster sends riders through more high-speed drops, twists, and turns than that time they tried to cartwheel down the stairs. Shrieks of excitement echo at Cliff Jumper, a 100-foot-drop tower, and the Viking Ship, which swings like a giant pendulum through the air. A kiddie section treats young visitors to less-intense rides, including a carousel and the aptly named Little Dipper Coaster.

Back on the ground, more than 12,000 vibrant flowers line two Scandavian-themed putt-putt courses. Waterfalls and trickling streams calm players as they putt golf balls through challenging obstacles such as a stone castle. The competition continues at batting cages, which hurl baseballs and scoops of ice cream at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. Aside from these everyday attractions, Scandia Amusement Park lures in visitors with birthday-party packages and a seasonal haunted house.

For more than 30 years, Southern California Golf Schools' professional golfers and teachers have been passing their club-swinging tutelage on to golfers of all ages. The team includes a former PGA of America president, a current PGA board member, and staffers previously voted Golf Digest magazine's top 25 instructors in America. Throughout California and Nevada, in golf resorts, private country clubs, and high-end golf courses, the experienced instructors tutor neophyte and advanced golfers during lessons ranging from 90-minute mini-golf schools to five-day stay-and-play golf sessions. The golf pros teach pupils how to perfect full swings, enhance their short-game play, and maintain proper diving form while retrieving balls from the lake.

Championship-level karts and professional Formula 1 racers grip the asphalt turns and straights at Allen Berg Racing Schools' duo of private racing tracks. Navigating Auto Club Speedway's 13 twists and turns in a fleet of competition-grade racecars, the speed-smitten staff demonstrates the art of tire burning and swift pizza delivery. Alternatively, along Varsity Chrysler Speed Park's 1.1-kilometre track in Calgary, miniaturized karts reach up to 120 kilometres per hour while staying inside the new-and-improved safety barriers. During the road-car program, experienced instructors crank the speedometers of street-legal cars to teach students the art of lapping, slalom, and how to achieve speedy drive-thru chicken-nugget orders. At the cap of engine-revving sessions, the vehicles' HD cameras capture the full experience in an on-board video.

At Fast Lap, the shouts of competitive camaraderie drift above buzzing gas-powered engines as riders whiz through traffic and maneuver around a track designed by former racers of the International Kart Federation and driven on by the likes of Kyle Busch and Ricky Carmichael. Pedals scoot toward metal during trips around the 1,200-foot-long, 20-foot-wide speedway, and knuckles whiten in the cockpit of a Honda-powered go-kart that reaches speeds up to 50 miles per hour. For the uninitiated, Fast Lap hosts classes that teach riders how to hug turns and get a second date afterward.

The Christiansen family's roots in the carnival industry run deep, stretching back to Ralph B. Christiansen's 1920s amusement business, which his hard-working sons kept running through World War II. Today, Ralph's grandson, Buzz, hosts more than 80 Christiansen Amusements events per year and rents out carnival rides for parties and gatherings. Events pop up throughout Southern California and feature an assortment of family-friendly excursions ranging from mild kids' rides to more intense rides such as the Skydiver or Kamikaze. Carnival games challenge guests' hand-eye coordination, rewarding feats of strength or accuracy with stuffed animals to give to dates or mount on the hood of one's car.

George Moore is the third-generation owner of a family business that opened more than 60 years ago. True to its original purpose, the shop still sells sewing machines, cabinets, vacuum cleaners, and ceiling fans, but now aims to acquire equipment that is eco-friendly and ultra-efficient.

Alongside its retail branch, Moore’s nurses the machines it sells back to health and leads crafting classes. Expert stitchers lead hands-on sessions in everything from quilting to correctly taking the measurements of a restless scarecrow.