Thank you to Ohio Wines and Ohio. Find It Here. for sponsoring today’s post! All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!
A couple of weekends ago, my family and I ventured to northern Ohio for some good ol’ fashioned fall fun!
I happily packed up our fall jackets, hats, jeans, booties, and sweaters because the weather was projected to be ideal – right around 65 degrees the entire weekend. There’s nothing better than a cool, crisp fall day!
Our first stop – Maize Valley, located just outside of Hartville and about an hour south of Cleveland. Maize Valley has it all including a winery, bakery, market, deli, restaurant, plus tons of events throughout the year.
We happened to visit during their huge fall harvest. The girls were in HEAVEN! They explored while Nic and I sipped on a nice cold glass of their award-winning Riesling.
The girls particularly loved the pirate ship, tire mountain, slides, the train! We even watched a pumpkin cannon shoot mini pumpkins out.
I was particularly mesmerized by their gorgeous mums and pumpkins. Maize Valley had it all.
Next stop was The Winery at Wolf Creek in Norton, Ohio. Admittedly, we planned to go for their annual Goat Derby, which is typically held on the same weekend as the Kentucky Derby. We just missed the Derby, however, but the energy at this Winery was contagious!
The place was buzzing and guests were dressed in fancy Derby-like hats and clothing. I quickly realized their Goat Derby is quite the event and I was sad we missed it. However, we made the most of it – Nic and I grabbed a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc along with their meat & cheese tray and headed out back to their sprawling + absolutely stunning grounds.
Set on a beautiful hillside, they had tons of picnic tables, great music, and cute goats! Oh, the goats! The goats had their own little area and were so talkative and social! Ava and Ellie loved them and so did we 🙂
Our final stop on our trip was The Dragonfly Tea Room, Winery, and Bed & Breakfast, located in historic Canal Fulton. Owners Tiffany and Sean Craney thoughtfully greeted us with Boo Baskets for the girls, filled with tons of festive goodies and a goodie basket for Nic and I, filled with delicious wine, glasses, and foods. I instantly felt right at home, which is not easy to do when traveling with two littles. 🙂
We stayed above their tea room and gift shop, in spacious room with a bed, bathroom, pull-out couch, and covered porch. The room was much more spacious than a typical hotel room and the girls also loved “the hotel,” as they referred to it. 🙂
After a day of exploring, it felt amazing to kick our shoes off, change, and gather ourselves for the evening. We hung out for a bit in the room and then decided that we wanted to walk and check out Canal Fulton’s downtown, including the Ohio Erie Canal and the nearby playground Sean told us about.
Canal Fulton is such a cool small town, with the downtown situated next to the old canal. They still have a canal boat on on the water!
We sipped on some drinks from Speakeasy Coffee and let the girls run around on the playground for a bit before heading back to The Dragonfly for dinner.
One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was sitting outside under Dragonfly’s lights for dinner. It became quite cool and it felt oh-so-fall-like… I don’t know, it’s just one of those memories I won’t forget. The girls were so happy, Nic and I were so relaxed by this point, and it was amazing to know that we just had to walk upstairs to our room when we were ready to turn in for the night.
We ordered a few pizzas and appetizers, while sipping on Cabernet Sauvignon. Once it started to get really cool when the sun went down, we ventured inside to enjoy their live music until bedtime. One highlight of our trip was Ava losing her tooth and the tooth fairy visiting overnight at “the hotel.” 🙂
The next morning, we woke up to the smell of breakfast being served downstairs in their tea room. As a parent, this was the ultimate luxury… being able to get dressed, walk downstairs, and see breakfast served for your entire family on the table! No walking anywhere, no waiting, it was pure parent magic! 🙂
Again, Tiffany and Sean thought of everything… including the girls’ breakfasts, complete with pancakes with sprinkles and powdered sugar as well as a banana boat with yogurt and Fruit Loops! Coffee was served in a beautiful bumblebee teapot and Nic and I’s eggs were perfection. While we ate, the girls would get up and take in their adjacent kids’ tea room, a dreamy, colorful space filled with castles and princesses.
After breakfast, we leisurely packed up to head home but I think we were all just getting in our relaxation mode. We’re ready for our next fall adventure… because it’s simply the best in Ohio!
Amanda — thanks very much for the shout out to our wineries .. we do appreciate the stories. I tried to send you a snail mail, hand written note with some additional words of appreciation, but did not see an mailing address on your page. If there is anything you need about wineries in the state, please let me know — and with your permission, If you are willing to share an e mail address, I will put you on our blogger e lists to keep you abreast of what might be coming down the road of interest to your readers.
Donnie