Everyone knows grandparents have the knack for spoiling their grandchildren, and grandkids have that unique ability to never do wrong in their eyes. It’s safe to say that grandparents and grandchildren have a bond like no other. So when they are able to scheme and take those pesky parents out of the equation, you can bet that lots of memories are sure to be made…with a few shenanigans along the way.
Two years ago my parents started taking their grandkids on an overnight trip each summer when they were old enough. Typically this has been in groups of two or three. But this year, my brave (and maybe a little crazy?) parents decided they were taking the FIVE oldest kids on a two-night stay to Fair Oaks Farms in northern Indiana. We told them they were insane. We told them a trip with an SUV full of children would make for a miserable 3-hour drive. And that once they arrived, there would be more bickering, tantrums, and crying. But they didn’t listen, and packed with five cousins ages 5-9, their weekend bags, and over $80 of snacks for the ride, away they went.
[As an aside, $80?! Like what in the world? Who have these people who raised me on very little sweets and snacks turned into?!]
In some cases, our predictions were right. I’ve heard through the grapevine that there was a little bickering. Even still, all reports I’m getting are that grandparents and kids, alike, had the most amazing time. I’m thinking that’s probably mostly because they were lacking one thing: us buzzkill parents! But read ahead and I’ll let you be the judge…
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Fair Oaks Farms
The dot on the map they traveled to is Fair Oaks Farms, about an hour north of Lafayette, Indiana on I-65 and a little over an hour south of Chicago. Fair Oaks is an agritourism destination, featuring Dairy, Pig, and Crop “Adventures” (tours and interactive exhibits). Fair Oaks has recently implemented a robotic milking operation that you can view on the dairy tour. But the feature attraction I’m told is their Birthing Barn where stadium seating lets you witness one of their 80-100 calves that are born there each day.
The farm also has a lot of other neat features so that you can easily spend a weekend without needing to leave the property. There is an outdoor play area including a milk carton-shaped climbing wall, bouncing pillow, and peddle cars and a train for littler guests. The “Cowfe” gift shop serves ice cream and cheese made right there on the farm.
Upon arrival, the group spent some time touring the property to see what all they would like to do over the weekend. They had dinner the first night at the Farmhouse Restaurant, and as you can tell from the picture, they thought they were pretty hot stuff with those glass bottles of root beer.
After dinner they swam at the hotel pool.
And by the way, this hotel is really cool! The Fairfield there onsite is in the shape of a contemporary barn with all features highlighting the landscape of the American countryside. Unfortunately they didn’t snap a picture, but click on the link and you can check it out for yourself!
The next morning they had a free continental breakfast at the hotel before setting out on their tours. They did all three adventures – pig, dairy cow, and crop building. The kids led the schedule for the days, picking what they wanted to do there on the property.
The Grandparents’ and Grandkids’ Perspectives
As I’ve said, everyone claimed they had an absolute great time, and my kids couldn’t stop talking about it when they got home. But I thought the best way to get the real scoop on the trip was to interview them all on the good, the bad, and (potentially) the ugly. So if you’re a grandparent reading this blog looking for advice on taking a trip with your grandkids, you’ve come to the right place to find out what to expect. Let’s meet our panel of experts:
Our Interview Panel
Bottom (left to right): D (6) and S (7)
And with that quick picture introduction of our trip experts, we’re ready to dive into their thoughts.
And since this is my blog and I make the rules here, my own commentary will be denoted in [brackets]. 🙂
What did you do to get ready for your trip?
Janice: I went on their webpage and looked at all the different activities and tours they had. I also did research on the hotel they have there on the grounds, and looked to see how far away it was to see how far we would be traveling with them.
Jim: Asked Janice when we were leaving. [I don’t doubt one bit that’s all he did to prepare.]
E (9): I packed my bags and stuff.
A (8) and M (5): We packed and were excited!
S (7): I got all of my stuff ready.
D (6): I was excited! I got some Legos to play with.
Tell Me About the Adventures at Fair Oaks Farms
Jim and Janice: On the first morning we went on a bus for the dairy tour. Fair Oaks has two types of milkers – one is a carousel where cows walk up onto it, but it was closed due to COVID. The one we went on was all automatic, and all the dairy cows were tagged with electronic collars. The system kept track of the last time each cow was milked and as a cow walked up to the gate, it read their tag. If it was time to milk that cow it would let them in to be milked. If it wasn’t time for that one to be milked another gate would open and send them back to the other pen. They milk 36,000 cows at Fair Oaks, and we learned that they are owned by 11 different dairy farmers that went together and developed a co-op to market their milk. It’s the same with the hogs; 12 farmers went in together and developed a co-op.
After the dairy tour we went on the pig tour. On the hog tour we walked into the barn and they first showed us the area they are raising gilts to be bred. At the end of the building was about 10 rooms showing different stages and sizes of baby pigs.
We also went in the calf birthing barn. It was neat because they had a stoplight outside the building you could see from most anywhere on the farm. Red meant nothing was happening, yellow meant the feet were out, and green meant a calf was being born. The kids would all keep an eye on that stoplight to see if was time to go see one being born.
The birthing barn had stadium seating with glass between you and animals. (You never came in contact with any of the animals in the property, there was always glass.) In the barn they always had two cows having a calf. Once one cow had her calf and it walked around for a bit, they would take them out and bring two more in. I think we saw 3 different calves being born that day.
In the agronomy building it talked all about ecology and growing crops. They had another building that was all interactive stuff with touch screens that was really neat. We probably spent 2-3 hours in there. There was a big silo playhouse in there that the kids liked with slides on it.
They also have a gift shop and restaurant. But the busiest place there was the ice cream shop with ice cream from the milk produced there. There was always a line at the ice cream shop.
What did you do at Fair Oaks?
E: We went to a cow tour and a pig tour. We saw a baby calf being born, and it took forever. We jumped on a jumpy thing and got ice cream. We got souvenirs, and I got a squishy pig and a hat.
A: We went to see cows and pigs. We bounced on a big blob.
S: We got some toys, went to a pig tour, and we went to a cow tour and got to see a baby cow being born. Oh, and we did a little trampoline thing that was really fun. Then we went to this cow place where we got to watch a movie there and milk a fake cow. At the hotel there was a swimming pool and a hot tub that goes inside and outside.
D: We played on the green and yellow bouncy thing. I think it was called the blob.
M: Jumped on the big blob. We went to see tiny pigs and big pigs, cows having babies, and…just cows. [#justcows. Love it.]
Did you learn anything at the farms?
E: I learned about pigs and cows. They talked about their farm, that they have metal bars on each side when the pig has babies so if the pig gets up and tries to lay down, they go slower and it gives the baby pigs more time to get out of the way so that they don’t get squashed.
A: I learned about how they milk cows.
S: I learned how many weeks old the babies were on the pig tour. They talked about a milker thing on the cow tour.
D: I learned about a grain bin.
M: I learned about calves being born.
What was your favorite part of the trip?
E: The jumpy thing because it was fun to jump around.
A: Probably the big blob.
S: Jumping on the trampoline thing. And we got ice cream too! Me and D got mint chocolate chip.
D: Watching the TV inside the lettuce. You pull a rope and the lettuce opened and there was a TV inside. [??? No clue.]
M: Big blob! [Seeing a slight pattern here…I think the bouncing pillow may have been memorable. What do you think?]
How was this trip different than a trip that includes the parents?
Janice: I think they acted older. They are more independent without their parents.
Jim: And they minded better. We just let them decide what they wanted to do on the grounds. [Am I the only parent who always hears how good they were until I get there? It’s always, “They weren’t acting like this until you showed up.” Just me?]
E: It was more fun because my mom and dad weren’t there so I didn’t get in trouble. [Hahahaha. This is my kid.]
A: They bought us stuff. Moms and dads usually say like, “No toys!” Or usually they say, “Only one toy!” But Mamaw and Pop said we could buy THREE! [That’s an accurate portrayal of all parents and grandparents, am I right?]
S: It was different because you weren’t there. [Logical, accurate…] And guess what? You don’t let us have toys all the time. […and there’s the burn.]
On a scale of 0-10, how would you rate the trip? Why?
E: Ten because it was really fun seeing the calves and pigs. And it was really fun jumping on the trampoline thing.
A: Probably a nine because D and M were fighting. The whole trip. [Notice that D and M did NOT mention this in their ratings below.]
S: Eight thousand and it’s all about the jumpy thing! And the dark slide!
D: One hundred! It was really good!
M: Ten since I had lots of fun!
What advice would you give grandparents/grandkids planning a trip like this?
Janice: Keep them fed and it keeps them happy! I think it was important to let them pick out the snacks they like before the trip, because it got them interested in going. They had their snacks in the car and knew what snacks were theirs, but they all still shared them.
And if you have a movie in the car, you are good to go! They didn’t even ask to go to the bathroom the whole way there.
We liked this location because once we got there we didn’t have to leave and just stayed on the property. We didn’t have to get them back in the car from the time we got there until we left.
E: Don’t be bad, be good for your grandparents. Don’t run ahead because they might be slower. [Ha!]
A: It’s fun because they let you buy toys. [And the truth comes out. It’s always about the toys. And WE DON’T NEED MORE TOYS!]
M: You will have lots of fun!
Any last thoughts?
A: Fair Oaks Farms is fun and you should go there! [It sounds really cool, so I’m sold! Can the parents go next time?]
S: Fair Oaks Farms was the best thing ever! [I think we have a consensus!]
D: I liked seeing the windmills on the way to the trip. [I’m with you, D! Those are really cool!]
The Last Thing You Should Know About Taking a Trip with Grandkids
Well, folks, there you have it! Sounds like everyone had a great time and would highly recommend you taking YOUR grandkids to Fair Oaks Farms or another weekend destination. I hope the input from both perspectives gave you some ideas to consider and insight into what types of things make a great trip for the kiddos.
Comment below with your experiences with your grandkids!
Need more ideas on activities? Check out my Fun Family Favorite Activities with Kids post and explore our website for more ideas and advice.
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I think my grandkids would love it.