You Pick Fun at Happy Acres U Pick

Big Sign at the Entrance

This weekend we wanted to find a U Pick  in or near Edmonton to pick some fresh vegetables.  With a little research, these were the first websites we found:

• Google's #1, Edmonton Countryside/Happy Acres (actual site)
• big list of U-picks
• Dunvegan Gardens
• Riverbend Gardens

We went with the first one as it seemed to specialize in u pick whereas the other two seemed to be more farms that had some U Pick features.  Happy Acres is just south of Spruce Grove about 20 minutes west of Edmonton, so a pretty quick drive for us.

The route and where to park is well marked once you get close.  When you arrive at Happy Acres,  there is a sign telling you to check into the office.  When you go in they give you a map of the farm and a price list showing which fruits and vegetables are ready to be picked and at what price.

Map of the Farm

Inside there are buckets for berries and outside there are wagons you can take around to load up as well.  Most other people there seemed to have brought their own bags too, but we just took one bucket with us.  The raspberries were pretty much all gone so we went for a small summer squash, a large zucchini, and some small carrots.  The total price was $9, probably more expensive than the grocery store, but a lot more fun for the kids to "pick" up.  Happy Acres also featured a lot of other attractions for kids, a playground, and ice cream shop, and lots of animals in cages and wandering around.  Everyone had a great time.

Wagons

Goat on a Chair

Fruits and Vegetables Were Well Marked

There Were Lots of Benches and Chairs for the Kids to Rest In

The Kids Were Very Impressed To See How Cauliflower and Brocolli Is Grown

Ice Cream Was $2.50 for  Kids Cone ($3.50 for an Adult cone)

Family Hike at Mactaggart Sanctuary

View Family Hike 11903-13063 23 Ave NW in a larger map

We went for a hike at Mactaggart Sanctuary today, a natural area on the south side of Edmonton (just off 23rd).  I had run here before and had seen a lot of cool beaver dams and interesting vistas.  However, once we got going the mosquitos were crazy in the forest (there are a ton of twisting trails through the ravine) and we had to go up and walk along the forest edge where the bugs were not as bad.  In the end the kids tired out fairly quickly and took turns riding on my shoulders but it was still a fun time.  Some more details:

• we parked here
• there are asphalt paths almost entirely surrounding MacTaggart Sanctuary, here are some details about the Twin Brooks side on the east

The history of the Sanctuary

Is this one of the Twin Brooks?

Thick Forest Everywhere!

This is the Farthest South We Got

After we Ran Away From the Mosquitos, We walked Along This Path

Heritage Days 2012

We went to Heritage Days on holiday Monday, and as always it was lots of fun.  In my opinion, this is the best festival Edmonton has to offer, the entire park is filled with pavilions and food tents, with dance and music demonstrations everywhere.

We parked at Laurier Park in the zoo parking lot and walked over the footbridge to Hawrelak Park.  The good thing about parking here is there is always lots of parking spots available.  The bad thing is it is about a mile from parking lot to the bridge.  On such a hot day, followed by walking around the festival for the rest of the day, it was a little long for the kids.  If it was any cooler I think it would have been perfect, though.   There was also public transit park and ride from lots of locations in Edmonton that delivered you right into the middle of the festival and bike parking for those who biked in.

The price of food seems to be going up at Heritage Days, Taiwan was charging 7 tickets (between $6 and $7) for bubble tea, which seemed excessive.  We bought $38 worth of tickets for our family of 5 and it seemed sufficient, for several drinks and meals and snacks and a Chocolate Covered Banana from Peru for the kids.

Dancing

Viking Ship

Footbridge to Hawrelak Park

Bike Parking

Ready to Go

Some of the Tents

West Edmonton Mall Family Shopping Trip

We needed to get a gift for Grandma, so the three kids and I headed over to the biggest mall in North America to do some scouting.  We always try to park by the Garden Bakery about half way down the mall because the kids love the hot dog buns and I love the pork buns/curry beef buns/chicken buns.  Alexis tried the Ham and Egg bun once, but was not as much of a fan of that choice.  This is a good parking spot too because one of the entrances to Galaxyland is right by here, and the kids like to walk through Galaxyland on their way back to the car.

China Garden Bakery has great Pork and Hot Dog Buns

The mini-buns here cost 80 cents each, which makes it about $2.50 for a good snack for all of us.  We walked down on the main floor of the mall and then went up at the end of the mall and came back on the second floor.  Sometimes the kids like to see the dragon at Silver City, but today we just went up the escalator.  At the half way point we stopped at Starbucks, both Starbucks and Second Cup have kids milk for 1 buck, which the kids love.  Two snacks for two kids for five bucks is pretty good, I think.

Kids Love Milk For a Dollar

The Santa Maria (or the Pirate Ship, as the kids call it)

There are a lot of expensive attractions at the mall, like Galaxyland and the World Waterpark, but its also a great place for a day of shopping, with lots of stuff to interest the kids in between stores.

Woodlands Water Park (Spray Park) in St. Albert

We met some friends at the Woodlands Water Park (in Red Willow Park) in St. Albert today.  This is a very impressive facility, possibly one of the best spray park experiences in the greater Edmonton area.  It was a hot day and was quite busy but didn't feel overcrowded.  Here is what it has to offer:

• free admission
• a ton of water fountains/hoses/buckets for spray park fun for the kids
• a decent sized playground
• a fence surrounding the entire facility with only one entrance, so you don't have to worry too much about your kids getting too far away
• nice indoor bathrooms
• a store with onion rings, popcorn, ice cream, etc. (popsicles 75 cents, big bucket of popcorn $4)
• lots of room for adults to watch their kids play, with chairs and shaded areas.  Extremely impressive benches with roofs that were really comfortable (and lots of them).  They also had a bunch of pool chairs, pretty impressive all around
• a fair bit of parking, even on a busy day the overflow lot was practically empty

Bike racks at the park, very nice

This chain link fence keeps kids in (or out)

The playground

Layout of Water Park

Puddle Hiking Near Wolf Willow Playground

Swings and T-Rex Head

This afternoon we went to Wolf Willow Playground for the kids to play, and ended up going for a short hike to the new Fort Edmonton Footbridge.  The paths/hiking trails in that neighborhood are quite family friendly, very nice and well groomed.  It started raining as we were hiking so we ended up just going to the top of the stairs that lead down to the bridge and then went back to the playground for the kids to play.  The kids loved the hike, since there were huge puddles everywhere to splash in, and ended up having a lot of fun.

Playground Details:

• pretty nice, one of the larger playgrounds in the city
• has a full set of swings, both for babies and larger kids
• has two play structures, with tons of slides
• has a sand play area with a plastic dinosaur partially buried, the kids loved this one and spent most of their time digging out dinosaur bones
• this playground is never crowded

Buried Dinosaur

Play Structure

Stairs Leading Down to the Footbridge

View of the Footbridge

Pigeon Lake

Pigeon Lake

Last Saturday we went to Pigeon Lake for a beach day.  We bought some sandwiches from Save On, then started at the beach in the provincial park, moved on to the playground, and finally stopped by the Village for some ice cream.  Here are some details of the day:

• the beach was fairly nice, a little rocky at parts but OK sand wise and not painful to walk on
• the water was cool but felt nice with the hot weather, it was a little murky but not bad at all for an Alberta lake
• the swimming area was fairly large, maybe 100 meters at most along the shoreline and 30 feet out, or so
• the beach dropped off fairly quickly (to about 2 feet deep within 2 feet), so maybe not ideal for little children but definitely not dangerous if you keep an eye on your kids
• the playground was decent if not spectacular, and there was also a field and an outdoor volleyball court
• bathrooms were outhouses
• there seemed to be ample parking, with an overflow lot
• there are at least two other beaches in the neighborhood, we drove by Me-me-o beach but it seemed a lot more crowded
• ice cream at the Village was nice, a fine selection of ice creams and drinks for a reasonable price (the kids cones cost $2.50, the adult cones cost $3.50)
• the drive to the lake took about 90 minutes from Edmonton
• there were lots of accommodations to stay at near Pigeon Lake, hotel and RV spots at the Village and camp spots at the Provincial Park 

Conclusion: great place to have a beach day a short drive from Edmonton



View Larger Map

The murky water

The beach (from the parking lot)

Playground

Ice Cream at the Village