We realized last night we had a weekend with no plans, so we decided to try out Apple Hill
, an area with LOTS of different farms to visit. We went with the intention of picking something... I saw online that there were a couple farms who still had U-Pick berries, and we were REALLY lucky that one of the farms was hosting a Teddy Bear Picnic for kids. So, we got on the road this morning with the intent of bringing home something, but mostly just having an adventure! Our first stop was Patricks Mountain Grown Berry Farm where we spent some time picking raspberries and blackberries. Dad found a new friend on one of the plants, a giant praying mantis... which entertained the big kids for a little while before heading back up the hill to wash our hands, pay and get back in the car for the next adventure. With no real destination in mind, we continued on around the path past a couple of wineries a brewery and LOTS of apple orchards before spotting another U-Pick, this time apples. We stopped at Hangtime Kid Apple Orchard picked up our buckets and headed up the hill, 6 pounds and $6 later we were back in the car each munching on our fresh apples! The helpful woman at the Orchard suggested several different farms further up the road with activites for kids; a hay maze, petting zoo, etc, and mentioned the Teddy Bear Picnic, that was on my list of to look out for. To our surprise the Teddy Bear Picnic was a HUGE event. The Rainbow Orchard hosted the event and for a $5 wristband per kid, they each got to adopt a teddy bear, and a new book (though they were down to only 4 books, and none appealed to our kids), get their faces painted, participate in any of the carnival games, and play in the bounce house, plus navigate an obstacle course and visit the petting zoo. The games were fun backyard carnival games we've all done: catching the rubber duckies, cake walk, bean bag toss etc, and the kids had a blast - the only unfortunate part for our toddlers was other than the cake walk, the only prizes were pencils... but they had a great time playing, and of course were already hugging their new teddy bear friends! A little hot, a little hungry, though we could have purchased a picnic lunch, we headed to the van and home! It was a great day, and we're sure to head back again!
, an area with LOTS of different farms to visit. We went with the intention of picking something... I saw online that there were a couple farms who still had U-Pick berries, and we were REALLY lucky that one of the farms was hosting a Teddy Bear Picnic for kids. So, we got on the road this morning with the intent of bringing home something, but mostly just having an adventure! Our first stop was Patricks Mountain Grown Berry Farm where we spent some time picking raspberries and blackberries. Dad found a new friend on one of the plants, a giant praying mantis... which entertained the big kids for a little while before heading back up the hill to wash our hands, pay and get back in the car for the next adventure. With no real destination in mind, we continued on around the path past a couple of wineries a brewery and LOTS of apple orchards before spotting another U-Pick, this time apples. We stopped at Hangtime Kid Apple Orchard picked up our buckets and headed up the hill, 6 pounds and $6 later we were back in the car each munching on our fresh apples! The helpful woman at the Orchard suggested several different farms further up the road with activites for kids; a hay maze, petting zoo, etc, and mentioned the Teddy Bear Picnic, that was on my list of to look out for. To our surprise the Teddy Bear Picnic was a HUGE event. The Rainbow Orchard hosted the event and for a $5 wristband per kid, they each got to adopt a teddy bear, and a new book (though they were down to only 4 books, and none appealed to our kids), get their faces painted, participate in any of the carnival games, and play in the bounce house, plus navigate an obstacle course and visit the petting zoo. The games were fun backyard carnival games we've all done: catching the rubber duckies, cake walk, bean bag toss etc, and the kids had a blast - the only unfortunate part for our toddlers was other than the cake walk, the only prizes were pencils... but they had a great time playing, and of course were already hugging their new teddy bear friends! A little hot, a little hungry, though we could have purchased a picnic lunch, we headed to the van and home! It was a great day, and we're sure to head back again!
