St. Jacob's, Continued...

This year we spent the majority of Easter Weekend in St. Jacob's, Ontario.  If you missed the first post, click HERE to get caught up.  On Saturday, we visited the Farmer's Market.  The Market is open Thursdays and Saturdays year round, and Tuesdays as well during the summer months.  The market is billed as Canada's largest farmer's market, and has an indoor portion with two stories of vendors. 

In addition to the indoor shopping, there is a huge outdoor market where one can find anything from produce, to sausage, baked goods, clothes, housewares, etc.  My husband couldn't resist picking up some summer sausage to bring home, and I bought my niece the cutest handmade sweater for Easter.

In even found a vendor inside that sold Gluten Free Bread, although they were all sold out by the time I got there. 

Outside, one of the highlights were the various performers, including, clowns, jugglers and musicians.

If Farmer's Markets aren't your thing, right across the street is the outlet mall, with many brand name stores.  We didn't check it out, but I heard the deals were pretty good.  St. Jacob's is also well known for antiques.  Checking out the antique shops is something I would love to do sometime, but not really all that practical with a three year old in tow! 

What my three year old WAS interested in was the train!  Waterloo Central Railway is a heritage railway that offers train service between Waterloo, the St. Jacob's Market, and St. Jacob's.  The train is old and it runs pretty slowly, but it's perfect for kids.  My son was literally bouncing in his seat when we started to move, and was thrilled every time the horn blew.  for the rest of the weekend he kept saying "My favourite part was riding the train."

We capped off the day with dinner at a local restaurant, the Cedar Barn.  It's a cute little place, with a simple menu and great service.  I wish he had found it Friday.

For the outrageous sum of $2.80 we got my son the kids' all day breakfast menu, which included a drink, one egg and bacon, a slice of toast and either ice cream or jello for dessert.  we explained his dietary concerns and didn't get the toast.  They were out of jello, so the waitress substituted apple sauce instead.  We realized later that she had also taken 80 cents off the bill because we didn't take the toast. 

I opted for the not so gluten free fish and chips, and my husband had the schnitzel, with a bowl of soup to start.  We shared a sclice of homemade coconut cream pie.  And we paid $20 less for the meal than we did at Kelsey's.  Lesson learned. 

Our weekend was lots of fun, although the little guy was sick for some of it.  I feel like there's still so much I would like to check out, that I would definitely go back again. 

And we still made it to my mom's for Easter Dinner.  Some piccs of the Easter Egg hunt will go up tomorrow.  

Easter Weekend in St. Jacob's

We decided to spent a couple of nights away this long weekend with our son, since we haven't really taken him anywhere since last summer, and because with the baby due to arrive in August, there won't be many more opportunities for just the three of us to spend some time away together.  We didn't want to spend a ton of money, but we wanted to go somewhere new. 

So we decided on St. Jacob's, Ontario.  Mennonite Country.  Where travel by horse and buggy is not uncommon.

The area is only about a two hour drive from where we live, and is literally 5 minutes outside of Waterloo.  I wanted to come to see the Farmer's Market and check out some local products.  We thought it would be a great destination for my son because there's the scenic train that runs between Waterloo, the Farmer's Market, and the Village of St. Jacob's. 

There are a number of cute little bed and breakfasts available in the Village itself, but we decided to stay at a hotel just outside of it for one reason: the indoor pool.  I personally would have preferred a bed and breakfast, but with a three year old in tow, an indoor pool trumps romantic charm any day of the week. 

The Destination Inn is located just a few minutes away from the Farmer's Market area, and also close to the Conestoga Mall and other stores.  The room we have is nice, with a little seating area and desk separate from the bedroom portion, so we don't feel cramped.  It doesn't have a restaurant, but there is a continental breakfast included.  There are a few items safe for those gluten free: fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, coffee and tea.  For those not gluten averse, there are croissants, muffins, toast, bagels, and cereal in addition to the other items mentioned above.  A few more gluten free items would have been nice, but my son was able to eat a fairly good breakfast with what was available. 

Last night, we went out for dinner close to the hotel.  We tried East Side Mario's first, but the ONLY gluten free option on the menu was the rotisserie chicken, and the waitress informed us that they were out of chicken, so we had no choice but to look elsewhere.  We ended up at Kelsey's, since we weren't familiar with the area and we were all starving. 

Turns out there's not much on Kelsey's menu that suitable for someone who doesn't eat gluten.  Unlike East Side Mario's though, the waitress at Kelsey's was able to help us put together a meal suitable for our son.  A grilled chicken breast, steamed vegetables, corn tortilla chips and salsa, all the for the same price as a kid's meal.  Good enough for me.  And as it turns out, my son LOVES steamed brocolli.  Who knew?

He was happy, and I filled up on a wrap and a side salad with cranberries, feta cheese and pumpkin seeds.  YUM!

An hour or so of swimming followed by a hearty dinner, and our little guy was so tired he TOLD me he was ready to go to sleep.  That has never happened before! 

Good thing too, because today was another full day.  But that's a story for another post.