Maple Madness

Our family is no stranger to maple festivals.  For the past nine years we have been visiting the various sugar shacks in Prince Edward County.  This year would be no different.  I had a plan, and we would be up early and go for most of the day.  Just how many places can you see? Well keep reading…

During this time of year, I find that memories pop up on Facebook with all our prior Maple in the County trips.  Hayden has been eating and enjoying pancakes since he was a babe. Just check out this picture!

Now, Hayden is eating just as much as we do at the sugar shacks.  This year we headed out to Hubbs Sugarbush where the Lake Lodge No. 215 group were preparing the breakfast for everyone.

I must say we had some questionable food prep while waiting in line! LOL. It does get the job done fast though.  We had a good laugh with the guys making the pancakes. They are a great bunch for sure.

With pancakes, sausages and syrup in our hands, we headed up to the shelter and enjoyed.  There was so much syrup that we joked about licking our plates after our meal.  I didn’t need to as I managed to soak up all that goodness with my pancakes.

At Hubbs, they do a lumberjack demonstration, but this year we were too early, but it is a show to check out for sure.  We have seen it in the past, and it is really neat watching the guys go up into the trees and cut branches with their chainsaws.  They also talk about how they tap the trees and maintain the health of the trees. All along the property you can also see the tree taps that collect the syrup.  Hubbs will provide tractor rides from the Sweetwater Cabin to the pancake breakfast spot. 

From here we drove to Heal with Horses.  This is a farm that have horses used for therapy.  They offered horse rides, a petting zoo, and had sweet goodies for purchase.  I knew they were making maple filled truffles filled with Nyman’s syrup, so we just had to try them. 

We are permitted to walk around the farm and we stopped to see this beautiful horse.  He was HUGE! I went to scratch his face and when I walked to see the other horses, he followed me for more scratches. I think he was enjoying it. Wish I could have stayed longer.

Our next stop was at Sugarbush Vineyards.  They have a small maple syrup production and also a vineyard.  Inside you could taste their wine production as well as get a maple fudge s’more package for kids. Obviously we were getting the s’more!  Why not right? Add more sugar to our day.

The best stop was coming up next! We have gone to Nyman Farms many times to purchase our maple syrup. This year was no different! Plus, we get to see all the farm animals, which are a huge attraction for families with kids… and well maybe us adults too.

This little lamb was getting all sorts of love today. I was surprised when Hayden didn’t want to hold it, but I wasn’t going to pass up that chance. She was so soft and cuddly! 

As it was now approaching the afternoon, we started to make our way back in the direction that would take us home.  This meant driving past Barley Days Brewery.  We have not yet been here and I wanted to go.  They were cooking up maple inspired dishes, making mini donuts, and also serving beer.  Why not right? I was getting peckish.  The donuts were made by Mrs. Mini Donuts, and I had a pale ale to top off my “lunch”. 

While sitting and enjoying the snacks, we were entertained by some local music. 

At this point, we were actually needing a bit more food, so our last stop took us to Campbell’s Orchard where Burger Revolution had their food truck set up. We know we visit here often when Chef Jeff says we do not have peanut butter in the truck. Yes, we are known well. LOL. That’s ok because we were wanting a good feed of fries today with a side of chairman mayo.

Campbell’s was very busy and they had some live music as well.

While I went inside to battle the crowds and check out Apple Falls Cider, who were doing free taste testings, Dan and Hayden were playing in the park.  I wanted to check out the cider company since hearing about them online.  They had 5 different ciders they were testing and I came home with a bottle of 2 different kinds.  Can’t wait to sit and enjoy them one evening.

It was a fun filled full day, and we were out and about from 9am until 3pm.  We needed a nap to help our sugar loaded bodies recoup from the day.  If I had the time, I would have gone out again on Sunday to visit other places.  At least there is next year!