Gray's Beach

Anne finds another cool place! Friday we went to Gray's Beach in Kingston. What a great place to take the kids!

First...they have a nice fenced in playground. All the equipment is pretty new, there's benches and tables with umbrellas to sit at as well. It's pretty big and the kids can totally run around and you know they can't escape. Just the playground alone is a nice trip.
The park is also part beach. There's a nice little beach where the kids can go swim or play. The 2 eight year olds with us were gone practically the whole 4 hours we were there finding crabs, snails and shells. The tide was low when we got there and it was almost at high tide when we left. High tide is the best for swimming since it's pretty muddy near the water during low tide.And if the beach and playground don't sway you to visit, bring your kites and have the kids run all over the place on the huge grassy field there.If you go during the summer, the "Beach Hut" snack shack is open. Prices are pretty reasonable. We brought our lunches but bought the kids ice creams after they ate. Oh and Anne got the Onion Rings and there were oh-so-yummy!Gray's Beach is just off Route 3A in Kingston. A nice way to spend a few hours!

Giveaway over at Mommay's Mayhem

Check out my other blog for a chance to win a set of Kids Lunch Box Cards! Winner will be drawn on September 2nd!

King Richards Faire

King Richards Faire is almost back in town! The Faire opens for the season on Saturday, August 30. If you're lucky enough to live in Carver, you get in FREE on opening day! We've gone to the Faire numerous times on free day. It's pretty expensive for admission and food if you have to pay full price (there are tickets online for a discount but it's not substantial). Tickets cost over $20 for adults and around $15 for kids. I don't think we'd take the kids if we didn't get in free...it's just not too kid friendly. A lot of the humor in shows is geared towards adults. Many people show up there in renaissance costumes and let's just say a bit too much of the upper female anatomy is usually in full view. A great place to experience once....but not especially appealing for the kids.

Daniel Webster Farm Day

We've been going to this event for the past 3-4 years after a friend told us about it! It's a ton of fun for the kids! There's face painting, lots & lots of games, fun crafts, a hayride, live music and even animals to look at. They sell tickets and each game/craft is a certain number of tickets. You can bring a picnic lunch to enjoy while watching the music or there's food for sale like burgers, sandwiches, salads & more. Daniel Webster Farm Day is held at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary on Winslow Cemetery Road in Marshfield. It's always the last weekend in September or first weekend in October. This year's Farm Day will be on Saturday, September 27th from 10am-4pm. Admission is only about $5 per person if I remember right. Audubon Members get a discount! Be sure to check it out this year!

RF Morse

Ok, so it's not really a "kids" place but if you want to go buy some plants/flowers and happen to have the kids with you....RF Morse in Wareham is a good place to go! My kids love going to this nursery with me for 2 reasons:

1. Free Popcorn. They have a popcorn machine inside and you're welcome to help yourself. The kids love this.
2. The bird. They have a big parrot-like bird (don't know the type) inside by the popcorn. It will talk to you on occasion and the kids like seeing it.

So when you have to go out to get your fall mums and the kids are in tow, this would be a good stop to make with them! And you might luck out and go when they are having a great sale!

Marshfield Fair

Image via WikipediaThe Marshfield Fair is August 15-24 this year. We always go on Kids Day which is Wednesday, August 20--you don't have to pay admission for the kids to get in and all kids rides are half off! The kids always have a ball at the fair...but it will cost you a fortune! My kids love the games and are always wanting to go back and play again and again. We always try and get there when they open at 10 am and are there until 5 or 6 easily! There's always some type of entertainment/show going on...check out their website for a full listing of shows and special days. There's also special wristband days where you buy a writstband and it gets the kids on any ride for the hours listed.
My favorite part of the fair is the food! Fried dough, giant steak fries, sausage/peppers/onions...yummy! And oh so not fattening, right? For the early planners, you can buy tickets online in advance. The Marshfield Fair is great fun for the kids, sort of a last hurray before school starts! Have fun!

New England Things to Do

I just came across the One Mom's Review blog which is great! She lists all sorts of fun places to go and things to see all over New England and even reviews some of them. Please check her site out if you're looking for some last minute summer fun or fall weekend fun!

Edaville Railroad

We all know how beautiful Edaville Railroad can be during Christmastime but Edaville can be just as much fun in the summer! Edaville is in S. Carver just off Rt. 58. Edaville has lots of fun rides for the kids to take and there's even rides for the littlest of kids! No trip to Edaville is complete without taking their train ride--a half hour ride around pretty cranberry bogs and lakes! There's all sorts of fun character events that go on during the summer too. We saw Thomas the Train there and my 2 year old was ecstatic! Edaville is not cheap....tickets are $18.00 for 2 and over and some events cost even more. The website usually has coupons but I couldn't find any listed for the summer. (UPDATE 8/25: Just found out that you can save $2.00 each admission with your Shaws Card through October 13)

Edaville might be worth the trip in August before the kids go back to school!

Morton Pond Park

Morton Pond is a great little beach! We first went there on Tuesday and then again on Friday. It costs $10 for parking ( if you're there before 9am you can "sneak" in ...shhhh!) The beach is pretty big and clean. There's some trees that provide shade, even on the beachy sand (which is great for me!). There's a bunch of picnic tables and even some areas you could grill at. Each day I was there, I saw at least 5 lifeguards on duty. The water is nice & clear and there's a nice sandy bottom in the swimming area. My friend Anne said there's a bunch of other beaches along around the park for swimming and one area even has kayak rentals. There's bathroom facilities there which were pretty clean (bring your own sanitizer) and I guess there used to be a snack stand but it wasn't open this summer. An Ice Cream truck showed up around lunchtime and sat there for quite awhile. Swim lessons are also available all summer through the Recreation Department. Morton Park is off of Summer St. in Plymouth; follow Morton Park Road to the end to enter the park. Definitely worth checking out if you want someplace different to take the kids for the day.