Topic: Day Trips
Thursday we got up before 5am to take Larry to the airport in Manchester for his tdy to Germany. (It's about an hour and forty-five minutes from Harrogate to Manchester airport.) That day there was also a babysitting co-op meeting/outing at Monk Park Farm. Ryan and I got back from dropping Larry off a little after 9am. I had some things to take care of before heading back out for the 11am meeting. I didn't quite make it on time! :) Luckily, Monk Park Farm isn't too big, and Sarah hadn't been waiting there long. (Actually, it turned out the only people there from the co-op were Sarah, her two boys (Henry and Winston), and a friend visiting from the States, me and Ryan, and one other family.) The Farm wasn't far from Harrogate, maybe less than half an hour's drive or so. It was a really nice day for a visit there. It was sunny, but cool.
The Farm had a few different areas. In front was a café/gift shop, as well as a building with animals inside (piglets, chicks, cows, goats, and chinchillas). Behind that was a large picnic/play area, which Ryan thoroughly enjoyed! The was a huge sandbox, which was really more like a dirt box. Ryan got filthy, of course! Next were large fenced off areas with various animals in them (cows, sheep, small horses, etc.). There were goats wandering around loose, which was funny because they would hang out on top of the picnic tables! At the entrance of the park you could buy bags of feed for 50 pence. I bought one, and if you shook it, it was like shaking a can of Pounce for cats. The goats would come running!
Beyond that area, was a little gazebo leading to a duck pond, then around that was a small play area and a nice scenic path to wander on. There were yet more animals, such as wallabies and emus.
Mostly I just let Ryan run around the play area while I fed the goats. (All the animals would pretty much just eat out of your hand!) Ryan LOVED the sandbox and the slides the best. He strongly objected to being put in his stroller when I wanted to walk around and explore more of the park (without losing Ryan).
At one point, I was taking pictures and for that nanosecond, not paying attention to Ryan. He was at a dead run for a nearby pond. Of course! I ran and caught him just in time. He just did NOT understand why he couldn't go in. I wished I could have explained it to him (I tried, but it didn't seem to help!). He took it out on the water fowl by chasing them around.
After a while, we got some lunch in the café, then checked out the animals in the building. There was an enormous mother pig they let loose, but unfortunately my camera picked then to have its batteries die. :( I don't know that Ryan was all that interested in the animals, but he seemed to enjoy trying to climb into the chinchilla enclosure, and putting the plastic kiddie chairs into straight lines. Weird! (I've read and been told that this is normal toddler behavior. Wish Ryan could tell me why he likes to do it, though!)
All in all, it was a nice time. (Here's the website for the park: http://www.monkpark.co.uk/)
Click here for the photos!
Monk Park Farm