If anyone has ever told you they had never been to smiling hill farm growing up, they're lying. That giant slide, riding around on a mini john deer tracker, oh and the duck pond where you were attacked by geese for a piece of moldy bread., and lets not forget the ICE CREAM! man I'm such a fat kid for some good ice cream...Aww good times..So of course I would have to take my child to this wonderful place now she has been several times since she has been born cause lets face it, its cheap and theres ice cream involved. Smiling hill farm is still a fun place for kids but i will say it has changed over the last 20 years there is no slide or mini tractors, but they do have cute animals, play structures, and the Ice Cream is still fantastic.
It was a beautiful day at the farm when we went last week. We were lucky to have some friends there to play with..nothing like good company to add to a great day. The thing i love about smiling hill farm is it is a wide open area so if you have a child that is mobile you can just let them explore and still be able to keep an eye on them. the place is clean which is a bonus and they usually have a baby cow just hanging out to get an up close experience with. The staff is always friendly and helpful with providing animal names and info which by the way we were told that there will be baby sheep and goats arriving soon. They also have a store where you can buy flavored milk or cream, and the ice cream is made from their own milk and cream. My daughter had a great time running around feeding the animals, playing in the wooden train and "driving" Mary Ann its a great place to spend the afternoon, or morning, pack a picnic lunch or order a sandwich and pull up some lawn and enjoy the simple things in life.
Random Finding..A few weekends ago after swimming lessons we decided to go and find a little local restaurant in Portland called Silly's. I have been dying to check it out for a few years now, from the outside it kinda looks a little ghetto, but inside there are pictures all over the wall, mixed matched chairs and retro dining tables, orange lunch boxes on every table and the place was packed. We decided to sit outside on their patio it was a nice day and the patio offers a little more space and privacy then inside. We were greeted right away, we were told the menus where in the lunch box along with napkins and a deck of cards. They won me over when they brought my husband TANG in a mason Jar..how awesome is that . The menus is wild i opted for Falafel -(vegetarian) – Spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, “Papou’s” falafel & cuke dill sauce... Mark got the ZoomaZoom (vegan) Falafel with spicy vegan spread, spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion and black olives and..... Liv got Kids Melt American cheese on a hamburger bun melted with fries. The Fries are AMAZING!! and the sandwiches were huge, I was hoping to try one of their famous milkshakes but i was to full from my giant falafel. The food was great, reasonably prices, the staff was friendly and the atmosphere was fun and carefree. I recommend everyone going and checking it out if you haven't yet.
This past weekend adventure brought us to ferry beach state park in Saco. My mother, brother, sister in-law and niece joined us for a nice mothers day trail walk. The trails are stroller friendly however this time we left them in the car and decided to let the girls burn off some energy. I love the trails at this place they have all these little bridges and everything is clearly marked, and if we had bikes it would be a perfect little cruise..note to self invest in bikes...
The girls collected sticks and rocks, chased after each other, and mark looked for fiddle heads. the trail is not very long at all maybe 1.4miles which took us about 45mins cause we had to take several stops to draw in the dirt or pick up rocks. Livy did great during the walk she finished and was interested in what was going on, my niece is about 1.5 years old she did really well too although she would ask to be picked up or she would take a break in the middle of the trail which didn't bother us at all cause we weren't on a schedule. We went there just to walk however they do have picnic areas, places to fish and of course the beach, oh and bonus they have bathrooms! The do have a fee for entering the park its 4.00 for maine residents and 6.00 for non maine residents. Still pretty inexpensive for a full day of fun.
A month ago we went and checked out Kettle Cove, a small almost unknown beach located just north of Crescent Beach. I have seen many Facebook friends post pictures, enjoying the sun at this location but never knew where it was. After a google map search and my Mainer intuition we found it. Its almost like your own private beach. There was a small grassy area to kick a ball around or have a picnic lunch, a few benches to just sit back and enjoy the view, and some side trails that lead down to another little cove. We of course we had to check out the trails, we packed up the baby beast in the BOB and headed out.
The trails were easy, smooth totally stroller friendly and offered several informational signs along the way about the wildlife you may see. When we reached the end of the trail that lead down to the second cove, the path down to it was pretty rustic, very narrow, and rocky. Good thing we had the BOB with us...Im just gonna take a minute and do some free advertising for BOB...We have the Sport Utility version of this stroller, and its amazing, the front wheel doesn't pivot so it is great for bumpy trails and it has the 5 point harness to keep your precious cargo strapped in..Good thing, cause getting the stroller down that narrow trail to the second cove was pretty tight, and at one point my daughter was completely suspended only being supported by that five point harness...Once we got down there it was awesome..a very rocky beach, but sea glass was everywhere. We enjoyed our lunch, the usual PB&J's on a giant piece of drift wood, after we were almost attacked by seagulls for our sandwiches, I explored some of the tidal pools and Mark taught livy to skip stones. We couldn't get her to leave and shocker she threw a fit when we were trying to head back up to the main beach, but once we got back up the trail and she got to kick the ball around with some exchange students she was fine. Love kettle cove and all it has to offer.
Sunday we met my in-laws out at Wolfe's Neck State Park one of the many state parks I haven't been to..or at least don't remember ever being to. Bonus for us that weekend was Feathers over Freeport, they had craft making stations for kids, they were able to make Owl masks, their own binoculars, wind chimes, and various bird pictures to color. Along with touch boxes different bird calls to hear, and several kid friendly books about birds and other outdoor animals that were available for the public to read to on the lawn. They offered bird watching walks along with a presentation from Wind over wings where speakers talked about owls, they had a few owls that had been injured and are no longer able to be released into the wild due to their injury that they were able to bring and show the crowd it was pretty cool to see them up close. The trails that we walked were for the most part stroller friendly and offered several points along the trail to stop and look at the osprey nests or an eagle nest, along with the chance to go off trail down to the salt marsh tide pools to explore. we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch on one of the many picnic tables they have to offer looking out into the marsh
For the most part Exploring Wolfe Neck with a two year old.. wasn't bad at all. The trails were easy for her to walk she did not want to ride in the stroller, so the Men took turns pushing it through the woods(heavy machinery and all), although one point she did stop and tell me "olivia take a nap now" and laid down on the trail, so I'm glad we didn't pack the stroller in the car. She really enjoyed looking through the tide pools with a few of the older kids that were there, they were sweet they showed her some baby jellyfish they found and skipped stones. She actually enjoyed it so much that we had to carry her out of there kicking and screaming. nothing like a screaming toddler to ruin your scenic bird watching walk. Once back on the trail she was fine enjoyed looking at the bird nests and yelling at the dog to stop chasing squirrels'. By the time we got back to the picnic area for the owl show it was 2pm well past nap time and she had more interest in jumping off the picnic table into the mud then listening to the ladies talk about owls. From what I heard it was all very informative stuff and the owls were really cool to see up close, however we ended up having to leave earlier so the rest of the visitor could enjoy the show.
All and all great place to have a picnic lunch explore and have a nice walk if you have small children, The owl show was very informative but not for a two year old I thought they took to long to bring out the actual owls so if you are really into going to see an owl show leave the two year old at home or expect to only make it half way through.
So a few weeks ago on a freakishly warm day for april in Maine we decided to drive up to Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal ME for a nice hike and a picnic lunch. The park is a great place to enjoy an afternoon exploring trails, or enjoying the view from the summit, they have several picnic tables to enjoy a nice bagged lunch and and are dog friendly or not to mention a giant playground. The idea of hiking up a mountain with my family and eating lunch at the summit sounded so appealing to me...
That is until we came into view of the playground. My daughter was drawn to it like a moth to a flame, she was a horse with blinders on straight for the swings there was no way we were by passing this. After spending sometimes on the playground we decided it was time to hit the trail, and let me tell ya if we didn't have fun dragging a two year old away from a slide we had a great time shoving her into the Mai tai so she could be carried on the husbands back..Once she is in she is cool for about 10mins then she wanted to get out..so we let her out..then she's tired but she doesn't want to go on daddy's back she wants to go on mama's back. Now let me tell ya I did this mountain with some mom friends when my daughter was around 8 months old and she was heavy then.. it was quite the work out huffing a 32lbs kid up a mountain on your back..I make it to the first look out and its nice we have some sandwiches of course she wants to run around wild but ya know its a rock ledge so i had to keep pulling her back...I sooo wouldn't win parent of the year if my kid fell off a mountain, so back into the Mai tai she goes to the summit screaming the whole way..we get to the top we take a breath my husband says to me we got to go and we turn around and head back down no relaxing and enjoying the view for us we head back down with My daughter screamed blood murder all the way down. Our only saving grace was that damn playground the second she saw it all was right in the world.
All in all Bradbury Mountain State Park is a great place to get your feet wet in hiking. The trails aren't overly hard, they are well groomed and visibility marked. If you have a child that will ride easily in a backpack or can walk over a mile up hill on their own then great knock it out. The playground is great! picnic tables are near by to eat lunch and watch your kid play, the view at the top is great and I can imagine in the Fall its amazing! Oh and Bonus they have bathrooms, pretty much a glorified outhouse..i know its not the hilton but come on people you are in the woods and you don't have to dig a hole off trail I'll take it. its only 3.00 a person to get in for maine residents and 4.50 for non-residents and very close to L.L. Bean in case you want to swing in after.
I'm writing a blog about all the awesome toddler friendly places to go and explore in the great state of Maine..and probably New Hampshire cause sometimes you need to cross the bridge. But in all seriousness when i was a child I remember going to state parks and long road trips to picnic area's and many hikes. Now that I have a daughter..and the fact that I'm poor..I can't think of a better tradition to continue on with. Many state parks and walking/hiking trails are either free or offer a small fee. So lets get outside and suck up some Vitamin D and explore everything that Maine has to offer.
Last weekend the ol family and I went out to have a picnic lunch at Fort williams park in cape elizabeth. My brother in-law and his mini family came as well. Named after Brevet Major General Seth Williams, Fort Williams grew to be a tremendous military asset during World War II. Besides protecting the shoreline of Cape Elizabeth, the infantry and artillery units provided the Harbor Defense for Portland.Fort Williams has managed to maintain some of its historic past Along with the various batteries is Goddard Mansion. Fort Williams is also home to one of maine's oldest light house Portland Head Light. There ya go ..your history lesson for the day.. when visiting Fort williams there is a nice coastal path that goes around the park the view is pretty amazing, you can tour portland head light, they have a museum inside which is interesting and you can explore a few of the forts. It doesn't cost anything to get in and they have quiet a bit of parking.
I have been going to for williams for years. When i was younger you were able to walk through the mansion or castle as my daughter would call it, now they have it all fenced off which is kinda a bummer. when i was younger you didn't have to worry about reading gang signs and tj+sam 4 ever sprayed all over the wall, or worry about stepping in human waste from people living in the forts. That really annoys me ..I mean thank god my kid doesn't know how to read and No actually tu- pac wasn't around during World War II, guess thats what happens when your raised on MTV. Sorry don't let my end rambling scare you away from visiting this historic place. Aside from the teenage antics written all over the place it really is a great place to have a nice picnic and enjoy a fantastic view. Oh and Bonus Red Ice Cream Barn is right up the road for a tasty treat on the way home.
