Farm Tour Weekend

Last weekend we made our way to Washington's Skagit Valley (1.5 hours north of Seattle) for the Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms. This is the fourth year we've been and we have so much fun every year. This year was no exception! 


Skagit Valley is probably best known for it's spring tulip festival, but autumn is my favorite time of year to go up because the area is so beautiful in the crisp fall weather with the grey cloudy skies setting off the deep green of the surrounding countryside. For a girl with farm dreams, this place is paradise! 

We still had to work around Sebastian's nap, so we left a bit earlier than usual and made it to our first farm about a half hour after the festival opened for the day. We decided to just push Sebastian's nap back a bit and let him sleep in the car on the way home. He did get a little cranky towards the end, but overall did just great and he seemed to have so much fun. 

Sebastian in the car en route to the Farm Tour last year!

It was quite a difference from last year too as I remember Sebastian crying in the car for most of the drive (he hated his carseat back then). Since he was only 4 months old at the time, he didn't really appreciate much, but it was still good to go. Still, in comparison, this year was so much more fun! 

We visited three farms and had a lunch break. We started with Golden Glen Creamery and Dairy, which we've been to before. We got to pet calves and cows and they always hand out free ice cream too! We made sure to get some of their awesome cheese and harvest spice butter before we left as well. 

Next we stopped for lunch at the super cute Calico Cupboard restaurant. It's in old town Mt. Vernon, a charming little place in general, and they have so many delicious treats (cream puffs the size of your two fists anyone?) and a tasty and filling lunch menu. (I sound like I should write an advertisement!) Best of all, they have a good kids menu with real, healthy food and not just the standard reheated frozen crap (chicken nuggets, processed mac and cheese, pizza) that SO many restaurants offer. Seriously, it's not like I mind my kid having some of that stuff, but I'd like it to be freshly made and minimally processed with quality ingredients, but that's a post for another time! 


Anyway, once we ate, we headed to Gordon Skagit Farms, a pumpkin and apple farm. Since pumpkins are their biggest source of revenue, they really go all out for the fall season. The whole farm was so picturesque with a little "spooky house", chickens, old tractors and trucks, and lots of little decorated areas to wander in. We took so many good pictures here.

Last we were off to Hedlin Family Farms, a mostly-produce farm. A lot of the activities here were aimed at kids a little older than Sebastian, but we still had a good time looking around. There were veggie races for the older kids that used squash, corn and giant radishes to build little veggie cars that they sent zooming down a track. Sebastian was fascinated!

I wish we had time for more, but by that point Sebastian was starting to get pretty tired, so we decided to head home. Next year I hope we can stay the night in the area so we can visit more farms and spend more time in that lovely area. 

See you on Friday with a sewing update! 

(PS Family and those who just can't get enough can see more pictures on Flickr)