The Farm Stay Experience
WELCOME TO KINNIKINNICK FARM!
Imagine you've booked your stay. Here's what it will be like from arrival to departure on your very special getaway...
When you turn off the main road onto our long driveway, you will pass hay fields and vegetable growing beds on both sides of the road. Ahead on the right, you will see five tents scattered on a sloping pasture. Turn left into the parking lot, where you will find a Welcome kiosk with five mailboxes. One of the mailboxes will be labeled with your family’s name(s). There are several wagons available for transporting your belongings to your tent.
Follow the map in your mailbox to locate your tent. Chances are the children will be off and running to get the lay of the land and check out the animals or the giant sand pile before the adults have even finished unpacking the car.
GREETINGS AND EVENING CHORES
You’ll want to check out the bath house and the Farm Shop as soon as you are settled. Before long, Farmer David or Susan will come out to greet you and give you a brief introduction to the tents, if this is your first visit, or exchange hugs and family news if you are a returning guest.
Once all the families have arrived, an air horn will sound to announce evening chores. Farmer David will take a wagonload of kids (and any adults who can fit) out to the summer chicken house in the east pasture to collect eggs.
SUPPERTIME AND TWILIGHT
When the wagon returns, It will be time for supper in your tent. Depending on the month of your stay, there may be several more hours of twilight and firefly chasing or you will ward off the evening chill with a warming fire in the wood stove and the special magic of candlelight. There may even be an after dinner excursion to the Farm Shop for ice cream!
GOOD MORNING!
Morning comes early on the farm. First things first: get a fire started (on the outdoor wood stove in summer; on the stove inside the tent in cooler weather). Set a kettle on to boil water for coffee or tea and start planning breakfast. This will not be the “grab and go” repast of a workday morning: it takes a while to master cooking on the wood stove, but the results will be well worth the effort.
MORNING CHORES
By the time you have finished your meal and cleared away the dishes, you will hear the air horn blast again and see Farmer David approaching on his tractor to collect everyone for morning chores: a visit to the donkeys, feeding the chickens and pigs, gathering eggs and milking the goats. Chores usually last until nearly lunchtime.
AFTERNOON PLAY AND RELAXATION
Afternoons are free for reading, napping, hanging out with the animals, exploring the farm or playing with new friends. Guests sometimes ask us for information about excursions off the farm, but most find that the slow pace and opportunity to unplug are the best part of their stay.
PIZZA NIGHT
On Wednesdays and Saturdays after evening chores, we gather in the common area by the barn for make-your-own pizzas from the farm’s wood-fired oven. The evening ends with s’mores by the campfire. Everyone sleeps well after a busy day.
FAREWELL
On the morning of departure, another memorable breakfast, followed by morning chores, packing up, saying goodbye to the animals and the farmers and heading home with lots of memories.