Posted in Farms, Trails, tagged Airbnb Maine, alpine dairy goats, alpines, cute potato, cutepotato.com, Family, Farms, goat cheese, goat hikes, goat milk, goats, goats locking horns, gray maine, hikes with kids, karl schatz, kids, maine, Maine farmhouse experience, maine farms, maine hikes, margaret hathaway, Narnia, outdoors, ten apple farm, Travel, winter, woodland animals, yogurt made from goat milk on January 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »
On a bright, January Sunday, we visited Ten Apple Farm in Gray for an hour-long goat hike in the woods. Owners Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz and their young daughters—Charlotte, Bea and Sadie—care for a herd of Alpine dairy goats that live in a big red barn attached to the family’s 1901 clapboard farmhouse.
Photo courtesy Ten Apple Farm
Posted in Activities, Road Trips, Trails, Travel, tagged adventures, apples to apples, Beat the Parents, board games, Boulangerie Kennebunk, cross-country skiing, cute potato, cutepotato.com, dog sledding in Maine, downeaster from maine to boston, easy winter hikes for families, Family, Heywood Kennels, ice castles, kids, libby hill forest, maine, Monopoly, outdoors, PB&ME, portland maine, The Family Ice Center in Falmouth, The Rink at Thomson's Point, train to boston, Travel, UNO, Waterhouse Ice Rink Kennebunk, winter, winter adventures bucket list, winter adventures in maine for families, winter snowshoeing trails on January 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Last year, MP shared some of the adventures she hoped to try with the family during the winter season, and it was one of the blog’s most popular posts. We had so much fun exploring cross-country skiing and ice fishing, MP decided to come up with an updated list of activities for our family to try during the chilly months ahead:
Dog Sledding
The kids learned a little about sled dogs during L.L.Bean’s Winter Carnival, but they have always hoped for the opportunity to experience dog sledding first hand. Heywood Kennels in Augusta accepts Winter Kids passports, which offers families a generous discount on dog sledding adventures. Families get to meet the dogs, enjoy a sled ride and drink hot cocoa by the fire.
Posted in Parks, Road Trips, tagged Beech Hill Preserve, beech nut hut, blueberries, blueberry picking maine, Coastal Mountains Land Trust, cute potato, cutepotato.com, Family, family activities maine, family hikes maine, kids, maine, nature preserves, Organic Blueberries Maine, outdoors, Penobscot Bay, rockport, rockport maine, wild blueberries on July 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »
While visiting Rockport earlier this month, we discovered the stunning Beech Hill Preserve. The 295-acre preserve offers family-friendly trails alongside protected fields of organic blueberries and wildflowers. Beech Hill is one of those magical, Maine places where visiting feels like a privilege. We arrived at the Beech Hill Road trailhead and decided to take the short 3/4-mile hike to a stunning hilltop that overlooks Penobscot Bay.
Posted in Activities, Road Trips, tagged cabins, camp bishopswood, camp open house weekend, camps, cute potato, cutepotato.com, fairy houses, Family, hope maine, hula hoop, kids, lakeside camp, maine, maine camps, maine woods, outdoors on June 26, 2015| 1 Comment »
Earlier this month, our team enjoyed a memorable Open House weekend at Camp Bishopswood in Hope. Camp director Mike Douglass invites potential campers and their families to stay and play, so they can get familiar with the grounds, their peers, and what camp is like. So smart!
Bishopswood, which is located on the western shore of Megunticook Lake, is everything you would expect from a Maine camp. A long, dirt road shaded by pines brings you to the entrance. Near the lake, there is a swimming area, dock, and a colorful array of canoes and kayaks. Mike greeted us in the parking lot with a hearty welcome. He directed us to drop off our things in our cabin and then join the rest of the families staying for the weekend in the Great Hall.
Posted in Activities, tagged Biking with kids in Maine, Biscuits and Company Biddeford Maine, Bowdoin Art Museum, brunswick maine, cute potato, cutepotato.com, Family, Family Saturdays at Bowdoin Art Museum, Farm to Table Kids, farms to visit in Maine, franklin park zoo boston, gray maine, ice it bakery, Johnny's Selected Seeds, kids, kids activities maine, kids yoga, library events for vacation week maine, maine, Maine Wildlife Park, school vacation, school vacation week wish list, spring break maine, Stephanie O'Neil, Sunflower Farm Cumberland Maine, vacation, vacation week, wheelchair accessible, yarmouth maine on April 17, 2015| 1 Comment »
CP#1 broke her right foot over Easter, so our school vacation plans are limited to places we can easily get around. We’re considering a trip into Boston to visit the Franklin Park Zoo. MP, who is in need of warmth and flowers, is especially intrigued by the indoor tropical rainforest. And the zoo also provides wheelchairs to guests on a first come, first served basis, which will be a great help to our injured girl.
If Boston doesn’t make it into our plans, we may try going local to the Maine Wildlife Park. MP and DP haven’t been there with the kids since they were toddlers, so it will be fun to see the park again.
The Bowdoin College campus is always a great place to visit.
We recently visited the Bowdoin Art Museum and all of us enjoyed the Past Futures exhibit, which highlights science fiction and space travel. The museum is the perfect size for kids ages 7-up, and the bold paintings and space age graphics definitely appealed to our duo. While we were there, MP learned the museum hosts Family Saturdays with interactive activities for kids. This Saturday, April 18, it’s Family Saturday and there’s a free dance concert in the evening, too. If your kids are too small to brave the museum, the campus is a perfect place to explore or ride bikes.
Posted in Activities, Events, tagged Boy & the World, cute potato, cutepotato.com, East End Community School, family friendly events maine, Horizon Beautiful, I Learn America, international films for children and teens, Lauri Boxer-Macomber, maine, Nickelodeon Cinema Portland Maine, On the Way to School, Portland, Portland Children's Film Festival Maine, Portland Maine Pubic Library, Providence, side x side Portland Maine, SPACE Gallery on March 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Our family was looking forward to visiting friends in Providence for our first children’s film festival over February break, but the weather didn’t cooperate. While Maine escaped a blizzard, Rhode Island was hit with a big snowstorm and we cancelled the trip. MP was so disappointed. She figured the kids would have to wait until next year for the experience.
Then MP received a note from Portland-based mom, Lauri Boxer-Macomber, detailing the city’s upcoming children’s film festival. The event, now in its 4th year, benefits the East End Community School, a K-5 public school in Portland. According to Lauri, one the festival’s main goals is to create lasting connections within the community through films.
The entirely volunteer-run festival, which begins Wednesday, March 25th and runs through Sunday, March 29th, features everything from animated short films for little ones to documentaries for teens. Each film focuses on a different part of the world in an effort to create a global awareness for young audiences. The films will be shown at several venues around Portland, including Space Gallery, The Portland Museum of Art, and The Portland Public Library, to name a few.
Posted in Activities, tagged Carter's, cross-country skiing, cross-country skiing for the first time, cross-country-skiing with kids, cute potato, cutepotato.com, discounted cross country skiing Maine, discounted skiing Maine, discounted snow shoeing Maine, Family, kids, maine, new gloucester maine, outdoors, Oxford Maine, pineland farms, skiing, winter, WinterKids, WinterKids FunPass, WinterKids Passport on March 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »
CP#1 and #2 are growing up fast. We decided this year they would be ready to try cross-country skiing. Plus if there were ever a winter to embrace the outdoors, this one is it. DP grew up skiing at Carter’s in Oxford, but we decided to try some place closer to home for our first outing. On a bright, 20º Saturday afternoon, we bundled up and traveled to Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. The ski center features expansive trails, ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced.
We rented skis, boots and poles at the farm, and the friendly staff made us feel right at home. “You’ll have a blast!” said the young woman behind the counter once we were fully outfitted.
DP, who is the designated map expert at our house, decided on a nearly 3 mile trail to get us started. Once we all put on our skis, we traversed up our first hill. CP#2 lead the pack, followed by his Dad, CP#1 and MP, who admittedly is the slowest skier in our crew. The slippery hill was a tough way to start, but once we got past it, the remainder of the trail was fairly flat.
Posted in Activities, tagged climbing structures, cute potato, cute potato giveaway, cutepotato.com, dodge ball, Family, family activities maine, get air, gymnastics, indoor play, indoor play space maine, indoor trampoline park, kids, maine, obstacle course, play, portland maine, riverside street, slackline, trampolines, winter, winter play in Maine on February 13, 2015| 69 Comments »
During these long winter days, keeping our kids active and engaged can be a challenge. That’s why we were thrilled when we heard that Get Air, an indoor trampoline park for kids and adults, was opening in Portland. The park is situated inside a 25,000 square foot warehouse on industrial Riverside Street. Based on advice from friends who told us there were lines out the door on weekends, we chose to visit on a Wednesday afternoon. To save time, MP also filled out an online waiver for the family (the signed waiver is good for one year, so you only need to fill it out on the first visit).
Posted in Activities, tagged A Snowy Owl Story, cute potato, cutepotato.com, Family, gilsland farm audubon center, Jada Fitch, kids, maine, maine audubon, Maine Audubon Winter Carnival, Maine Winter Festivals, outdoors, The Great Maine Outdoor Weekend, Wildlife on the Move, winter, winter in maine Melissa Kim on February 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »
In the past two weeks, winter has made itself known. We can’t remember a February with multiple snow days in a row! Thankfully our Maine towns keep us from going stir crazy by throwing some of the best winter festivals. This year, we are looking forward to the Maine Audubon Winter Carnival. MP’s friend and co-worker, Melissa Kim, will be celebrating her new board book, “A Snowy Owl Story,” with a reading, interactive owl display, and book signing. The book is a part of a new Islandport Press/Audubon series called “Wildlife on the Move,” which tell the true tales of wildlife in New England and the roles people play in their lives.
Posted in Holidays, tagged cute potato, cute potato kids, gingerbread house, merry christmas on December 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Our team is getting ready to celebrate with family and friends over the next few days. We wish you the happiest of holidays, and we look forward to seeing you in 2015!
xo, Cute Potato
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