Over the holidays, my sister and her family stayed with us and my mom came over to give my sister and I a cooking lesson from her time in Hawaii.  We had so much fun on New Year’s Day cooking as a family.

Stop by Debbie’s at DeliciousBaby and see other Photo Friday pictures.

Stop by Wanderlust and Lipstick to see other Wanderfood Wednesday posts.  If you aren’t hungry now, you will be after reading about all the lovely meals!

After we saw the goats, we got our first job as farmhands.  While Ida came through the area, the pecan trees were stripped of many of their pecans.  We got to help pick up as many as we could find (and we even got to take a few home!).

 Then we went to visit the turkeys.  When we got to the turkey pen, we went inside and got into a big circle and sat as quiet as we could.  Those turkeys sure are curious fellows!  Once we settled down and got quiet, they came right up to us.  The kids loved it when they made the gobble-gobble sound all together all at once!

Next, we went to check out how the chickens live.  We also got a job here!  We helped move the chicken coops to another area on the field.  These little guys are too young to run free right now, but soon they will have free reign of the area!  These are the chickens raised for meat.

I think this little guy might lay a scrambled egg!

After a little hayride, the kids got to collect eggs and paint the chicken coop! 

She said she painted me a whale!  I think she did a great job!  What do you think?

These are the chickens raised for eggs.

And of course, I am always looking for a great photo opportunity!

Are you interested in visiting a farm?  I found a few of these resources on the web to help you locate a farm near you or an area you are visiting!

Farm Visit - Plug in your county and find farms for specific fruits, veggies, and more.

Local Harvest - Search by farm, grocery or co-op or more

Open Farm Sunday – A day in June when you can visit and support your local farmers

Stop by DeliciousBaby to visit other Photo Friday participants!  Thanks for hosting Debbie!

Today I am dreaming of New Orleans…again!  Only a short three hour drive away, New Orleans makes a fantastic destination for an overnight getaway.  Yesterday I saw a commercial for Miracle on Fulton Street.  Fulton and Poydras Streets in downtown New Orleans turns into a winter wonderland from November 27 to January 3.  It snows!  In New Orleans!  There is live entertainment, falling snow, a canopy of lights, movie nights and so much more.  We visit New Orleans on a regular basis but haven’t made it over for Miracle on Fulton Street.  Hopefully I will be able to talk my husband into the quick trip over!  Some of the things I am dreaming about doing while we are there.

And of course we will make some time for several stops at the Cafe du Monde to indulge in beignets!

See what other are dreaming about over at Mother of All Trips, host of Mondays are for Dreaming.

Don’t underestimate the power of the grocery store when vacationing!  I love to wander the aisles of a grocery store that is new and different from the ones in my hometown, where the most exciting grocery store is Publix.  It is no wonder that I get excited when I see a local grocery, a farmer’s market, a Whole Foods or a Fresh Market and the stores get added to the itinerary.  My kids love to wander the aisles themselves, looking for new candies or other treats that we might let them bring home. 

On our last trip, we ended up at a Wegman’s by chance.  We had a wonderful time wandering through the the bakery section smelling the wonderful breads and sweet cookies.  There are more cheeses and olives than you can imagine! 

Grocery stores are a great place to pick up the perfect souvenir to bring home for yourself, loved ones or your housesitter.  We have picked up hot sauce and pralines in New Orleans, beer at a hard to find microbrewery in Northern California, wine at the Biltmore, divinity and taffy in Savannah, and soups, coffees and teas in England and Germany.  It is the perfect gift because the receiver does not have to find a place to store it!

Making a trip to the grocery store is also a great way to save money.  Even if your hotel doesn’t have a kitchenette, you can still pick up sodas, juice and snacks to tide you over in between meals.  You can also pick up bread, meats, cheese, and peanut butter to make your own picnic lunches.

Stop by Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby to check out some other great travel photos!

I found out that my sister has moved to the birthplace of Mr. Peanut, the mascot of Planters Peanuts.  I made it my mission to find Mr. Peanut and a peanut factory to tour while we were in Suffolk.  I knew my kids would get a kick out of it as we love peanut butter!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a roasting plant in the area.  If you know of one, please forward me the information!

We did find a great little Planters Peanut retailer called Suffolk Peanuts.  As soon as you open the door, you can smell the peanuts roasting.  They have one of the original roasters and there is a very small Mr. Peanut in the corner!

Of course we had to buy a burlap bag of peanuts, salted in the shell!

Stop by DeliciousBaby to check out other great Photo Friday pictures.

When researching our road trip, I headed to PitStops for Kids to see if there were any exciting finds right off of the interstates that we were going to be on.  Mayfield Dairy caught my attention, because everyone in our family likes ice cream!  We got a late start from our house, drove about 6 hours and decided to look for a hotel around 11pm…this put us right in the middle of the little town of Braseltown, Georgia!  As we pulled off the interstate, we passed a sign pointing to the Mayfield Dairy!  We decided to head over the next day before we made the rest of the drive to Virginia (about 8 more hours). 

The Mayfield Dairy is a short factory tour.  The tour starts in a little room where you watch a short video about the dairy.  Then everybody gets to don a hairnet (and for the sake of this blog and Photo Friday I am actually posting the picture here!). 

My son was not happy about this but when he found out that he couldn’t go on the tour without it he tolerated it.  After everyone is suited up, you head into the factory.  The two missing items that I thought I might get to see?  Cows and ice cream.  No cows-the milk is brought in and then bottled.  No ice cream-ice cream is made in the other plants, not the Braselton one.  The tour was still great.  The kids loved to watch the milk jugs spin all around the rooms and they do sell ice cream at the end.  The ice cream is cheap – $2 a cup! 

Plan on spending about an hour if you are going to take the tour!

Stop by Delicious Baby to check out other Photo Friday travel pictures!

One of the new traditions that we have started is Swedish Fish.  Don’t ask me why, because I have no idea.  All I know is that all of the sudden, I find myself gravitating towards the Swedish Fish in the candy aisle.  I buy the huge bag and divide it into smaller baggies that I can toss into the back of the mom-mobile when needed.  Before knowing if the Swedish fish are in the car, the kids will actually ask for “fishies” when we are on a road trip!  They are our special treat.  Some other snacks that we always pack are cheese cubes, crackers (not the crumbly kind!), apple slices and mandarin oranges. 

I asked a few of my blogosphere cohorts to share what snack they make sure they always pack on a road trip:

“Before setting out on road trips, we make our own snack mix. I go to the local grocery and purchase a variety of ingredients. Each member of the family gets their own baggy (with name on it) and they fill it with their favorite goodies. This way, everyone has a healthy snack they like and they don’t have to worry about someone else eating their yummy stuff.  Things we include: peanuts, cashews, sesame sticks, M&Ms, raisins, cereals (Cheerios, Chex, etc), pretzels, bagel chips.” -Shannon Hurst Lane, Twitter- @Cajun_Mama

“My favorite snack for the kids on the road are fresh grapes, washed and pulled in a baggie so the kids can help themselves without spilling. It gives them a non-messy, healthy fruit course that lasts for awhile because they can keep popping them in.”  -Lorraine of Keeps Me Smiling, Twitter -@keepsmesmiling

“My favorite road trip snack is practical, portable, requires little refrigeration, but is not necessarily healthy.  I usually pack some canned squeezy cheese and Ritz Crackers.  If I have a refrigerator pack, I bring along some salami as well.  It is super easy, the kids like it, and it is easy to throw in a backpack for an outing or roadside stop.  Fruit leather made with 100% fruit also comes in handy on the road.  For mom, those Starbucks lattes in glass bottles keep me alert enough to push on to our next stop.” -Bridget of Family Adventure Guidebooks, Twitter- @bridgetasmith

“My tried-and-true take-along snack is Goldfish crackers.  I know my daughter will always eat them, and I assuage my guilt by buying the whole grain ones.  They actually have some protein, calcium, iron, and fibre, and in moments of low blood sugar, I don’t mind snacking on them either. Unfortunately they make a right mess when they’re dropped on the floor and ultimately stepped on, but luckily my husband takes care of the car cleaning and maintenance! For emergencies, I always have a few lollipops hidden away.” -Corinne of Have Baby Will Travel, Twitter- @hvbabywilltrvl

“When we road trip, our snack foods must comply with the following requirements: they have to be entertaining as well as edible, they have to be non-messy, and they have to be a novelty (a rare treat). They do not, however, have to be healthy, necessarily. Our favorites that fit into these categories are: 1. gummy worms (I buy them in bulk at the supermarket)  2. Jelly Belly jelly beans (we all spend more time than is healthy trying to figure out the flavors and combining them)  3. Babybel cheese (the unique wax coating is fun to play with like silly putty when the cheese is consumed)  4. Ring Pops (yep, they still make ‘em!)  5. various pretzel shapes (stick them in the cheeses to make things!).” -Amy of Pitstops For Kids, Pitstops with Kids Facebook Fan Page

“We usually travel with a big Sam’s Club box of Rice Krispies Treats or Golden Grahams Treats. A tiny bit nutritious, not too messy, and prepackaged so we can keep them in the car or throw a few into our daytrip bag.” -Linda of Travels with Children, Twitter- @minnemom

Stop by Wanderlust and Lipstick to check out Wanderfood Wednesday.

Hot. Powder sugary. Doughy. Fried. Goodness.  

New Orleans is only about a three hour drive from us.  When I get to about Biloxi, which is an hour and a half from NOLA, I start to count the number of times I think I will be able to convince my husband to go to Cafe Du Monde in our 24 hour trip.  Four or five times?  That might be excessive.  Definitely twice-once as soon as we get there and then another for breakfast the next day.  If we are spending more than just a few morning hours before we head home, I might even be able to make a third trip right before we go.  My husband is not a big sweet person…okay he is a big sweet person, he just doesn’t like sweets.  He would prefer a bag of chips or a box of crackers over sweet candy anyday.  Me on the other hand?  New Orleans just smells sweet (once you move away from Bourbon St!).  Divinity, pralines, beignets…all those tasty treats that I associate with the south that I wouldn’t touch in any other city but indulge myself with when I head to the Big Easy. 

After attending many a beignet feasting session at Cafe Du Monde, here are some things we have learned:

1.  Don’t come back later.  The crowds will not thin out, the line for a table does not get much shorter.  If you are there, get in line.

2.  If you don’t need the experience of enjoying your beignets at a table in the cafe, head to the take out window.  If you are lucky, a waiter will find you.  If he/she asks you if they can get your order for you, let them.  It will be quick and well worth the tip you should hand them!

3.  Wear black.  I am just kidding.  Don’t wear black.  Don’t wear black especially if you are going to sit at one of the Cafe Du Monde tables.  You will walk out of there with a powder sugared booty.

 Check out what other people are dreaming about at Mother of All Trips!