Fall Break 2015: Ellijay, GA

It's Fall, y'all!

All weekend it was cold and rainy and felt like fall. On Monday we woke up to sunshine and warm weather again.

Even though it was warm, we decided to head to Ellijay, Georgia to visit the Hillcrest Apple Orchards and Burt's Pumpkin Farm. We did a weekend trip with my siblings a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the area.

This year we visited on a Monday and the experience was a mixed bag. Hillcrest Orchards was a bit of a disappointment. I thought the website had said that the main thing we would miss out on during the week was apple picking. But in reality, there wasn't much going on at the apple orchard.

The playgrounds were fun, of course. As was the petting zoo, but the wagon ride was better at Burt's and everything else was closed (no food, no jumping pillow, no pig races, no music). The best part was definitely no crowds. That, and Jack was pumped about his apple cider cup (and we did come home with a gallon of apple cider and some local honey). 

After the orchard, we headed over to Burt's Pumpkin Farm and had a great experience. Maybe it just fits us better? 

The hayride was peaceful, and visiting on a Monday was perfect because there were very few people there (nobody accidentally photobombing my photos).

We picked out a huge (to us) pumpkin and Jack insisted on helping Daniel carry it to the wheelbarrow. 

Jack also wore himself out running through the rows and rows of pumpkins (and we didn't have to pay extra for that perk!).

After our busy day, we looked up a local place to eat. 

We decided on Appalachia Grill and followed our phones directions to the restaurant... only to discover that it didn't exist. Instead we ended up at Reverend BBQ Billy's where we partook in some excellent BBQ. Some times it pays to get lost.

We had a wonderful day and I'm so glad we had a chance to do something fun as a family.

Blog post of our previous visit to Hillcrest Orchards and Burts Pumpkin Farm.

Fall Break Recap:

Ellijay, GA   |   Stringers Ridge, TN   |  Wakulla Springs, FL   |  Tallahassee Jr. Museum, FL   |  St. George Island, FL

Northwest Georgia: Hillcrest Orchards

After Burt's Farm, the next stop on our list was Hillcrest Orchards.

This stop was fun but definitely the best stop for Miss Izzy. She had a blast.

From the Jumping Pillow...

to the live music...

to the petting zoo...

to the big slides...

to the zipline...

my little niece was in toddler heaven.

It was fun to watch her. I look forward to going back when Jack and Levi can participate in all of the fun as well.

We skipped on watching the pig races -- the crowd was a bit much. We also skipped the tractor ride and getting to milk a cow. Though Daniel and Jack did watch some other kids take their turn.

For lunch, I managed to waste spend $28 on food. Don't get me wrong, it was great food. Daniel was a trooper and stood in a long line to get us a hamburger {him}, BBQ sandwich {me} and a bottle of water to share. For a cost of $12. I took two bites out of my delicious sandwich, then set it in my lap to take a picture and promptly knocked my sandwich out of my lap onto the ground. Daniel said that I couldn't apply the 10-second rule since were at a farm. So. That meant I got the pleasure of getting back in a {really, really, really} long line to spend more money on food. Another $16 and we had ripple fries, chicken on a stick and roasted corn on the cob to round out my rather expensive lunch. All of it was good, I just wish I hadn't dumped my sandwich on the ground.

After such a busy day, the adults and babies were starting to get tired. Izzy, on the other hand, was still going strong. Daniel, Mark, Jack and I took advantage of having a second car to make an early exit.

Thankfully we beat the afternoon crowds -- by the time we left it was quite the madhouse. We enjoyed our day and I look forward to going back... maybe when it isn't so busy?

Northwest Georgia: Burt's Farm

This past weekend, we met up with my brother and my sister and her family in Ellijay, Georgia for a little bit of family fun. We rented a cabin {via VRBO.com} on Walnut Mountain and enjoyed visiting, great homemade breakfasts {thank you Mark} and making family memories with our kids.

Friday night after everyone arrived, Daniel and I snuck into town while Uncle Mark babysat Jack. We squeezed in a dinner date and hit up Walmart for some supplies. Dinner was at Mucho Kaliente – which was not that hot. It was ok, but we have certainly had better Mexican fare. Urbanspoon with it's 96% rating failed us this time. After our WM run, we went back to the cabin and stayed up late chatting with my brother while everyone else slept.

Saturday morning we all slept in – thank goodness because when we got home from Walmart, Mark informed us that Angela was set to get rolling by 8am!

We all got a slow start on Saturday. Then Mark whipped us up a breakfast of bacon, his excelent fluffy eggs and biscuits. Not too shabby for my little brother. We finally got everyone loaded into the cars and headed out to make some memories. First stop was Burt's Farm.

Izzy was beyond excited to see the pumpkins. We could barely hold her back.

Then she got excited about the hay.

And then she realized that she could get pushed around in a wheelbarrow... and that is where she stayed for the duration of our visit at the farm.

Jack experienced his first wagon ride.

He really liked it.

He liked stealing his cousin Levi's sippy cup even more.

After numerous photo ops, we were on our way. But not before I could show off my Chicken Dancing skills to Izzy.

I tried to persuade my sister that we should go up the road to Amicalola Falls. I looked it up on my phone and it said that the falls were within "walking distance" from the lodge. Angela wanted to know what "walking distance" was. Like, was it 20 feet or 3 miles? I did more research and it was further than she wanted to walk. Maybe next time?

After Burt's, we forged on to Hillcrest Orchards...