August 28, 2003 - 8:00 p.m.

Kids With Kids

In honor of what I thought was our last day of summer vacation together (it turns out the girls don't start school until Wednesday, not Tuesday as I thought), I took my charges to a place called Davis Farmland. I had never been to this place of pastoral childhood delights, but had heard good things about it. Mostly I wanted to try out the "sprayground" there. Aside from that area, I was pretty much expecting your typical petting zoo.

I was quite surprised at the size and quality of the farm. They have a huge and varied collection of farm animals, some of which are very rare. There were various types of cows, pigs, and sheep. All sorts of fowl, including the sorts of fancy chickens that have become inexplicably popular amongst wealthy socialites with country homes, and an emu. The kids got to feed tons of goats, sheep, and even an alpaca. Their favorites were the little pygmy goat kids. Each of the girls picked a young kid as her favorite and spent a long time feeding them and cuddling them. H's even put its head in her lap and fell asleep! So precious! B, being a typical boy, got a huge kick out of the two kids who were barely the size of small housecats but were already playfully butting heads. All three thought it was pretty cool that they actually got to milk a goat and help bottle feed a calf.

The sprayground was a big hit, though we didn't spend too much time there. The day was perfect for wandering the farm, but, with the temp only in the 70s, a touch cool for extended water play. Still, the various sprinklers, jets, and tunnels of water were fun, and a great way to cool off and get rid of some of the dust and grime.

The farm also had an astonishing number of play areas. There were lots of climbing structures, some of which involved chutes and funnels for sand and/or water. There was a kid size dinosaur bone dig, a block area, a miniature maze, and an extensive pretend area with a house, store, and school. All three kids particularly liked the pedal go-cart track.

It really was an incredible place and an incredible day! Despite being the end of the summer, when so many families are trying to cram in those last few big outings, and a day with impeccable weather, the farm was busy but not crowded. The place is astonishingly well run. In addition to the usual amenities, like family bathrooms,rental wagons, and such, they had all sorts of other great family friendly perks. There were complimentary baby wipes at all the changing tables and on the tables in the picnic area. You could get free sunscreen at the sprinkler park, and there were shade awnings next to all the play areas. The petting areas had hand sanitizer dispensers around every corner, and throughout the grounds there were "boo boo stations" with bactine and bandaids. There were loads of picnic tables and nice chairs scattered around for parents to rest while the little ones played.

It was one of the very few family places I have ever been where I completely approved of everything about the place, from layout and atmosphere to the demeanor of the staff. It was incredibly well-run, which made our day as perfect as could be. I only wish I had discovered this farm sooner! I blanched a bit at the $11.95 admission charge, but since we spent the entire day there and smiled and laughed and oohed and ahhed the entire time it was well worth it. Plus there was no real price gouging. You are allowed to bring in your own food, and the snack bar food is more nutritious than most (they even sell jars of baby food!) and quite reasonably priced. There is a gift shop, but it is small and relatively unobtrusive and reasonable as well. We bought a big tumbler full of feed for the animals for $2 that lasted us the entire day. As much of a perfectionist as I am, I have nothing to nitpick about!

So, if anyone is ever in the Boston area with children, I highly recommend Davis Farmland! But be prepared to spend an entire day. We were there for more than five hours and the time flew by! We might even have stayed longer, but the farm was closing. I took a ton of pictures, so maybe I will post a couple tomorrow.

today's project:boring you all while I wax rhapsodic about a children's farm!

musing about: a perfect day!

�

flutter back - fly ahead