My girl and I were in town today running some errands when we decided to make a quick trip to one of our Okanagan favourites – Davison Orchards!
Tag Archives: orchard
A Day at Davison’s
Today we spent another lovely day at our Okanagan favourite, Davison Orchards. If you know me well, you know that my love of Davison’s has been around since I moved to the Okanagan when I was 11 years old. It was a place I loved visiting as a kid, a place I took the kids I babysat and nannied during high school and university, and it’s now a place I love bringing my own daughter. Delicious produce, beautiful views, and endless family-fun aside, I love Davison Orchards because it’s constantly growing and improving while staying true to it’s family-run farm roots – not an easy feat.
Grandma Sue and Rorie joined us today and despite our {very} regular visits, we tried two completely new-to-Gracen things this time around. First off, we jumped aboard the hourly tractor train ride and took a tour of the orchard while learning about its history and different fruits and veggies that are grown there. It’s been a few years since I last took the tour, and I have to say that I love hearing how passionate Grandpa Davison is about his orchard, even after all of these years. While the sitting quietly during the chatting part wasn’t Grae’s favourite part, she did love the ride and hearing about each of the plants/trees as we passed by.
Afterwards, while playing in the Crazy Cow Kid’s Corral, Gracen got to experience her first ever duck race after Grandma Sue gave her a toonie to buy a little rubber duckie. She’d plunk him into the tube, start pumping water, and as soon as he started moving, race to the end of the track to retrieve him. Such fun!
After a good long play, a visit to the animals, and some lunch at Auntie May’s Deep Dish Cafe, we picked up a big jug of Davison’s famous apple juice and headed home with our happy and tired girl. Another great day at Davison Orchards!
A Vernon Favourite: Davison Orchards
Those who really know me, know my love for Davison Orchards. I love everything about it – the grown on site produce, the fresh-pressed apple juice, the unique gifts found in the country market, the fact that it’s family run… I could go on and on. It’s just such a quaint, feel good place to visit. And the best thing is that it seems to be getting better and better with time.
Since our vacation has been a little wet these last couple of days, we decided we’d make the most out of our dry morning, and headed into Vernon to visit my favourite spot. Gracen loved it. We did spend some time at Davison’s last summer, but Gracen was only 10 or 11 months old then…still a baby. This time was different. She was big enough to run around the orchard, take full advantage of the play ground, and feed and pet the animals…grown enough to take it all in.
Our first stop was the playground. Gracen was beyond excited to ride the tractor, play on the tire horses, and zoom down the slide. In fact, she was having such a blast that it was hard to pull her away in order to go and check out the rest of the orchard.
With the promise of seeing animals, our little animal lover followed us up the hill into the orchard. And she was very pleased she did. We saw rabbits, chickens, goats, sheep, and a donkey. Not only did she get to see the animals, but she also got to pet and feed some of them too. Her favourite part was retrieving the food from the dispenser, carefully placing it in the cup, and turning the wheel to send the treats up to the greedy goat waiting on the bridge above head. And although she was a little apprehensive, she even fed one of the goats by hand.
Next, we headed to the Kids Corral – a newer addition to the farm. It was awesome. Giant slides, a plasma car track, duck racing lanes, and a huge sandpit (complete with real tractors and an old truck) were just part of the fun. There was also a teepee to hide in, a corn maze to make your way through, a tree house perfect for enjoying the view, and a cow bell ringing station for those wanting to make some noise. The coolest part though? The biggest sensory bin I’ve ever seen (and you know I love me a good sensory bin). It was actually a shed filled with dried corn, shovels, and tractors… Amazing! 
The best part is that we’re hoping to do another visit next weekend when my brother, sister-in-law, and all of Miss G’s cousins arrive. Can’t wait. It’s sure to be quadruple the fun {and quadruple the craziness!}
♥