One of the highlights of our trip to Texas was strolling down San Antonio’s Riverwalk.  I’d been there before as an adult, but it’s a little different when traveling with kids.  Here are my tips for visiting the Riverwalk with kids.

• Go early in the day. We got there at 10 a.m., and it was uncrowded and easy to let the kids roam.  As the day progressed, it got steadily more crowded and harder to move through the throngs of people.
• Leave the stroller behind if you can.  Parts of the Riverwalk are rough pavement or bricks, and there are stairs to access the street level.  It’s also easier to weave through crowds without it.
• Take the counter-clockwise path.  Although some areas of the Riverwalk have railings, many are just an easy step away from a very wet child.  If you walk counter-clockwise, moving to the right as you meet other pedestrians will put your kids farther away from the water rather right next to it.



• Book your barge tour early. We waited until 2 p.m. to get tickets for a river cruise, and they were sold out until 4:30 p.m., when we’d then have to get back in line and wait for a space on a tour.  We should have done the cruise first thing in the morning when it was less busy.



• Find a snack. The ice cream shop on the Riverwalk near the Casa Rio restaurant was actually more affordable than the ice cream shop in the Rivercenter Mall food court area.
• Eat a meal. Several restaurants on the Riverwalk offer outdoor seating.  We ate at Cafe Ole and enjoyed the patio, but the pigeons flying past scared our daughter.  You won’t go hungry; there are several restaurants along the Riverwalk, as well as the food court at the mall if that’s what your family prefers.
• Keep your eyes open. See if you can spot a historical marker, the building with gargoyle faces, a waterfall, or some unique gardens.  Our kids loved counting the number of times that we crossed under Navarro Street.



• Have fun! The San Antonio Riverwalk is a unique and interesting place.

We love fall trips to apple orchards, so when Pillsbury invited us to attend the Love the Pie event at Minnetonka Orchards, we gladly accepted the offer.

It was a beautiful day at the orchard, as long as you were dressed for the weather.

The Love the Pie event was set up just inside the entrance, near the apple sales barn, and included giveaways as well as demonstrations for making easy apple pies.  (My fear of making a lattice crust was alleviated when watching the champion pie-maker do it.)

We enjoyed a hayride through the orchard, down to the you-pick and activity area.

Our kids liked the play train, seeing the animals, and climbing in the corn crib.  Pumpkins were available for sale, but you had to brush the snow off them first, and we didn’t go through the corn maze this time.  They had a bonfire started to ward off the chill of the day.  Concessions are located both in the activity area and near the entrance.

We rode the hayride back and saw all the goodies for sale in the apple barn, which included apples, pies, homemade foods, and gift items.

Minnetonka Orchards is located in Minnetrista, Minnesota; check their website for directions.  On weekdays, there’s a charge for hayrides, but on weekends and during MEA break, there’s a $4/person charge for entering the orchard, and then hayrides and some other activities are free.  This weekend featured Pillsbury’s “Love the Pie” but other special events take place on various weekends.

Note:  We received free admission to this event, compliments of Pillsbury.

See more photos from the day:  October in Minnesota.

Washington, DC, Travel with Kids: The U.S. Arboretum

Guest Post by Deborah Ager

Tucked away on acres upon acres of the U.S. National Arboretum grounds are the former columns of the U.S. Capitol, the National Herb Garden, Asian Garden, National Bonsai and Penjin Museum and other living collections of natural life. Since the U.S. National Arboretum (http://www.usna.usda.gov/) is located off the beaten tourist path, you’ll find quiet grounds and lots of space to roam. For this trip, it’s best to bring your snacks, drinks and lunch since there’s not always food available on the grounds. If you’re tired of being elbow to elbow with people in the Smithsonian museums, the Arboretum will be a welcome change.

Take the Little Ones to See Little Trees

Our first stop, conveniently located near the main parking lot, takes us to the National Bonsai and Penjin Museum. The trunk of a juniper looks like a small sculpture and tiny leaves spread out from the base in fan-like patterns. According to the website, this collection began when Japanese bonsai enthusiasts generously donated 53 bonsai to the people of the United States in order to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. Since then, the collection has grown to 150 plants in three pavilions. We find ourselves fascinated by the tiny leaves, artful presentation of branches and the peace they inspire.

Most of this collection is enclosed by a high wall with no ceiling, which makes it easier to keep track of small children. On this page of the National Arboretum website, you can go on a virtual tour of the bonsai. (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/collections/VirtualTours/BonsaiVirtualTour.html)

Within sight of the bonsai collection and main building, the National Capitol Columns rise from a knoll in the Ellipse Meadow and inspire curiosity in all of us. The columns were part of the Capitol in 1828 yet didn’t support the dome because the completed dome differed from the original plan.

The reflecting pool by the columns is reminiscent of the pool on the National Mall between the Washington and Lincoln memorials. The water is a hit with kids and welcome on a hot day.

You’ll probably want to take photographs here. Non-commercial photography is allowed without a permit and visitors are often spotted taking each other’s photos among these majestic architectural pieces.

Learn About Herbs in the National Herb Garden

The National Herb Garden is nestled into a field within sight of the National Capitol Columns and offers seasonably changing plants and beds. Every plant here – even the trees! – is an herb. The gardens are split into the Dye Garden, Medicinal Garden, Fragrance Garden, Culinary Garden and others. These special divisions provide an interactive way to teach children about how herbs are used to dye cloth, keep us healthy, and season our food.

To see more of the plant collections, we hop in the car – a half mile to a mile separates some of these collections, and the collections themselves involve a lot of walking – and drive to the Asian collection. Included here are the China Valley, Korean Hillside and Japanese Woodland gardens. The Japanese apricots and the gazebo overlooking the Anacostia River make this a favorite stop for all of us. Children can freely run the paths up and down the hillside and make all they noise they’d like. Every time we come to this garden, we find a new part of it to explore. This place is perfect for the adventuresome spirits among you.

You’ll most likely want a car if you’re traveling here with kids. While some exhibits are close together, a few require a long walk along quiet park roads.

Admission: Free

Parking: Plentiful and free

Contact Information

United States National Arboretum
3501 New York Avenue, NE

Washington, D. C. 20002-1958
Tel: 202-245-2726

Deborah Ager is a professional writer, marketer and city explorer. Visit her website to get free tips about online marketing and SEO copywriting. Follow her on Twitter!

The latest overnight trip I made with the kids was to my parents’ farm in eastern North Dakota.  It’s a 6-hour trip, and one that we’ve made many times.  Some trips home are short, or packed with activities, but this time we had a free day so I offered to help Mom and Dad pick the apples from their tree.

My uncle came over to run the “farmhand”, an ancient tractor with a loader bucket that looks innocent enough but really goes quite high.  (I spent many an hour in the farmhand, painting the big white barn, when I was in high school.)

Once we were up at the top of the tree, I remembered that I don’t like heights any more, so my apple-picking was done one-handed while I hung on for dear life with the other.

This 30-year-old Haralson tree was loaded with apples.  Its twin didn’t have as many so we left it alone this year.  We kept only the best apples, leaving many hanging on the tree for the birds and throwing some to the ground for the deer that congregate in the yard.  Even being choosy about the ones we kept, we did very well.  We ended up with nine 5-gallon pails and several peach boxes of crisp, sweet-tart apples.  The standing joke for the rest of the trip was to ask everyone we saw if they needed any apples.  (The answer was always “no” because all the neighbors had good apple crops of their own this year.)

Who needs an orchard when you have Mom and Dad?

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Friday at deliciousbaby.com.

If you’re planning to head to an apple orchard this fall, see my post at Uptake.com on visiting orchards with kids.

One of my favorite fall things to do with the kids is to go to an orchard.  Usually we’re in search of the Minnesota favorite Honeycrisp, and today we weren’t disappointed.  We stopped at Holmberg Orchard near Vesta/Marshall, Minnesota, where we’ve gone annually for the past four or five years.  I also realized that, although the kids and I have been on 10 or 11 orchard trips in the past five years or so, hubby has only been along on one of them, so it was a treat to have him accompany us today!

Since the kids still had their church clothes on, we didn’t allow a tromp in the corn-filled boats (yes, real corn in real boats, and it is fun for kids!) but we did take the tractor-pulled hayride through the orchard.  In previous years, the wagon took us out to the pumpkin-picking area, but this year it was just a tour of the orchard.  For some of their fall events weekends, the orchard has special activities going on as well.  In past years we’ve been treated to clowns and pony rides.

While hubby and the kids picked out a huge pumpkin to carve (a steal at $5), I went into the gift shop and made our apple purchase.  I had my heart set on both Honeycrisps and Zestars, but the price deterred me from buying more than one bag and Honeycrisp won out.  (Honeycrisps were $11 for 1/2 pk bag and $20 for a pk; Zestars were $10 1/2 pk and $19/pk.)

Before we left, we stopped in the snack bar area where we each chose between apple crisp, ice cream, or cider (hot or cold).  Older son wanted a barbecue, but we had to remind him that we’d had lunch only an hour earlier.

A trip to the orchard is always a good way to celebrate fall.  I suspect that we’ll continue our orchard treats even when our own trees (hopefully soon!) bear enough fruit that I don’t have to buy apples.

What orchard memories do you have?  Do you have a favorite orchard to visit?

If you’re in Minnesota and have seen Honeycrisp or Zestar apples at better prices than I mentioned above, please let me know, as I’d love to stock the fridge.  Honeycrisps easily keep into January or February if cared for properly!

Holmberg Orchard

6 miles west of Vesta on County Road 30, 1 mile north on County Road 8, Vesta, MN.  507-762-3131.  www.holmbergorchard.com
Free admission.  Free parking.  Stroller accessible.  Restroom available.  Concessions available (dates/hours vary).

This ended up being our third annual trip to the Holmberg Orchard, and we weren’t disappointed.  We first went two years ago on a weekday, just for apples, and last year joined an ECFE field trip to the orchard.  This year we stopped because it was on our way to Walnut Grove and I was hoping to buy a few more Honeycrisp apples since we were driving by.

We arrived at the orchard just after it opened at 10 a.m. and were the first car in the parking lot.  The kids played in the boats filled with corn, and then we bought a few squash and found our apples.  The boys noticed the sign for hayrides to the pumpking patch, but I explained that the hayrides (per the sign) didn’t start until 11:00, and it was only 10:20.  The proprietor asked if the kids wanted rides and promptly found someone to take us, so we had a private ride through the orchard to the huge pumpkin patch.  The kids each chose a pumpkin and we headed back and paid for them.  By this time, the kids noticed that they were setting up for pony rides, and the lunch stand opened at 11 a.m., so we stuck around a while longer so we could have lunch and pony rides before leaving.

Bottom line:  the early hayride netted the orchard an additional $31 in sales (pumpkins, lunch, and pony rides) and made the day a lot more fun for the kids.  It’s nice to visit a business that is so accommodating to its customers!

Related Posts:

• At the Orchard
• Deardorff Orchard

Deardorff Orchards

8350 Parley Lake Rd., Waconia, MN.  www.deardorfforchards.com
Free.  Free parking (along gravel road).  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms (porta-potties) available.  Some foods available in apple store.

Fall in Minnesota wouldn’t be complete without a trip to an orchard to find some home-grown Honeycrisp apples.  Our orchard of choice this year was Deardorff Orchards, between Waconia and Victoria, Minnesota.  We arrived on a crisp September morning and parked along the road, then walked onto the farm site that is home to the orchard.  We played on the hay pile and saw a few farm animals, then boarded a flatbed, tractor-pulled wagon to pick our own apples.

When we visited Deardorff two years ago, I had three children, ages 4, 2, and 1, and I was nervous enough about the flatbed ride that we didn’t go to the pick-your-own area.  With the kids a little older, though, and the staff being willing to help me lift the stroller onto the cart (and me locking the wheels), I gave it a try, being sure we were sitting in the middle of the trailer.  The tractor deposited us in the orchard after describing where we could find various varieties of apples.  We picked some apples and then returned to the farm, where we walked through the store.  There, in refrigerators, were additional pre-picked apples, as well as pumpkins, jams and jellies, doughnuts, and other goods.  We paid for our apples and made our way back to the car.  Deardorff also has special activities, including cider and hotdogs, at certain times, and they have wagons for pulling apples or kids, and the site is picturesque enough that it served as our Christmas card picture a few years ago.  So, take the kids and your camera to Deardorff Orchards when you want some good, homegrown Minnesota apples!

Related Posts:

• North Dakota Apple Harvest
• At the Orchard
• Holmberg Orchard