Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Harvest Hill Farms Field of Dreams

I'm always looking for new things to do with the boys, and one day came across Harvest Hill Farms/Pumpkinland on facebook.  There were posts about their free opening day of the Field of Dreams last month, and after exploring the Harvest Hill Farms website, and seeing all the fun things for the kids to do, we were on our way.

They had me at free. ;)

I admittedly had no idea where I was going when we headed on Rte. 26. It's unchartered territory for me.  Thankfully, my trucker husband came along to help navigate.  Luckily, locating Harvest Hill isn't a needle in a haystack type mission.  Oh no.  Rolling up on the farm, it's clear that Harvest Hill IS the haystack.  I wasn't able to find the actual acreage on the website, and wouldn't dare take a guess at it, but suffice to say, Harvest Hill Farm is quite large, beautiful, and well-kept.

This is the Farm House Pizza & Deli, where wonderful treats, pizzas, and anything you can imagine is made
and sold at VERY reasonable prices.  The menu is online.
In front of the Farm House are picnic tables for dining, a swingset,  and several wooden
vehicles for the kids to climb upon. My boys could have done that all day!
 But there was so much more to see and do, that mean old momma had to drag them away for a bit.
We checked out the bulls, horses, and fed the goats (tip: BRING YOUR QUARTERS for feed!!)
That's a whole lotta bull.
Uninterested, hungry horses :)
I repeat...don't forget your quarters!...
...and hand sanitizer LOL
Then it was on to the petting barn where we visited pigs, chickens, and I think a sheep or two...
Ramp for strollers/wheelchairs. There's restrooms above the store, and that day, there was a portapotty near the barn
This pig stood as high as our 5 year olds! lol
Grady was not overly excited by his slimy nose :)
Inside the petting barn, there was also a friendly bunny to...well...pet.  And a non-smiling tween ;)
There's the pond below, and the large tent in the background for picnicking and events.
Harvest Hill recently hosted Motor Booty Affair!  (LOVE them). More events are planned, check the site.
Behind the Petting Barn is the actual FIELD of Dreams.  We greeted the growing bunny population of Cottontail Village...before the boys ran to "speak" with the ducks in the pond.

Who knew bunnies were so religious?  My husband tried to tell me they were holding "church" like on
Sons of Anarchy (we're huge fans).  LOL badass bunnies
Speaking duck.
Around the other side of the pond, as pictured below, is the Giant Slides.  It was a gorgeous day; sunny with a breeze, and just LOOK at the backdrop...Maine mountains.  This must be even more breathtaking in the fall!
Slides in the distance.
There are some great photo opps on the way to the slides.
Slides for the lil tykes.
Can you tell what these SUPER FAST slides are made from???
 Bowling alleys!  They're perfect. We all know how slippery they are in those shoes!
The walk back up the hill is a bit steep...and hard to maneuver when you've got the giggles!
 After admiring the great views, we moved on to the Pedal Kart Track, but were distracted by the sandbox and tractors...
The Pedal Kart Track.  Apparently I only took video of them, no pics.
*swoon* The view!
 Directly behind the sandbox is the Pièce de Field of Dreams résistance: The Giant Jumping Pillow.
This pic is from facebook, again, I took a bunch of video of my lil jumping beans :)

What catches your eye in the background?  A FIRETRUCK?!
 After burning some serious energy on the jumping pillow, the boys were quite excited ran to climb on the lobster boat and firetruck.  And climb they did.
Ahoy!
The large ear of corn in the background is a theatre of some sort...it wasn't open the day we were there.
There was some landwork being done past the corn...there's more coming to the Field of Dreams!

 As we made the loop back around the Field of Dreams, we met the donkeys in a Shrek-themed fenced in area, presumably used for Halloween & Pumpkinland
Sweet, aren't they?!
 One last trip to Cottontail Village before exiting through the Petting Barn...
And we had completed the Field of Dreams.
It was a great day! We all enjoyed the farm. And even though the day we went was free, Harvest Hill Farms Field of Dreams is completely worth the $5.00/pp on any given day.  You can pack a lunch or order from the market.  That's what we'll be doing next time.  The pizza smells and looks amazing! 
I'm VERY excited to take the boys back in the fall, to experience Pumpkinland, Corn Maze,the Fall Harvest Tour, and the beautiful fall foliage.

Oh! And Harvest Hill Farms has recently added the Lucky Strike Mining Co...where you can "mine" for gems! And since mining gems is on our Bucket List of Maine things to do, we'll be able to do it on our next visit! How great is that?!

The boys are excited too! As I was compiling this post, they recalled their visit, and asked SEVERAL times when we can go back. :)

Soon, boys, very soon!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Maine, "The Way Life Should Be."

Greetings from Maine! 
I'm the Maine-iac Momma
blogging to you from central Maine.
I have 5 sons and 1 truckdriving husband.
We enjoy exploring our State, "Where America's Day Begins."

I try to keep the boys active, experiencing new things in Maine. Sometimes, we drag my husband along for my sanity   for backup   when he's not working.

There are certainly summer days when we awake late, go to the community pool, home for lunch and repeat.  But when we do something a bit more exciting, I'll share it with you.

So whether you're visiting the "Vacationland" soon, just moved here, or are looking for some free/cheap fun things to do in Maine with your kids and family, I hope you'll find what you're looking for here!

I'll be posting frequently and will have the location names in the post title.  A few of them may be from last summer or even the one before.  But we've also done a lot this summer and have some catching up to do in the post department!