Hi, Mosey Pals!

It’s been a little while since our last installment of the Mosey Outing Club—our ongoing field guide to the places, people, and little adventures that make a Mosey locale feel like home. The kind of places that become part of your family’s story, where the coffee is strong, the cookies are worth the detour, and the best part of the afternoon is sometimes an unplanned stop on the way home.

This time, we’re heading to Northern Vermont, where fall happenings are abundant: the hills turn golden, the farm stands fill with pumpkins, and the trees put on a show that makes you want to take the long way everywhere. There are apples to press, leaves to jump into, and the chill in the air gives urgency to doing the last of summer’s activities.

We’re spending the weekend with the Thayer family, exploring on and off the farm in Northern Vermont. Their itinerary is a little bit farm life, a little bit small-town wandering, and a reminder that a good family weekend doesn’t need much more than a few places to go.

Here’s what they’re getting up to.

On the Farm

Shelburne Farms

A Vermont fall itinerary could hardly begin anywhere else. At Shelburne Farms, the landscape does much of the entertaining: rolling fields, garden paths, wide-open spaces, and the kind of views that make everyone slow down, whether they mean to or not.

Start with a wander through the gardens at the Inn, perhaps with a cocktail in hand for the grown-ups and a little room for the kids to roam. Then make your way to the Farm Barn, where farm life offers its own sort of classroom. Animals await!

Philo Ridge Farm: Lunch, With a Side of Cookie

At Philo Ridge Farm, the plan is simple: an al fresco meal at the Summer Barn and a little fresh air.

Farm-to-table dining has a way of making a meal feel connected to the landscape around it. The food comes with a sense of place, the views invite you to stay awhile, and the kids can enjoy the rare luxury of a meal that doesn’t require everyone to sit perfectly still from the first bite to the last.

But the real reason to make the trip? The chocolate chip cookie, warmed over an open fire.

Enough said.

Guillemette Farm: Pumpkin Picking, Vermont-Style

A pumpkin is never just a pumpkin when you’re little. It’s a prospective jack-o’-lantern, a painting project, a prized possession carried home with both hands. And at Guillemette Farm, there’s a pumpkin for every ambition.

Pick up the small ones for painting at the kitchen table, or go straight for the big daddies destined for carving night. Plenty of photo opportunities come with the territory, but the best part might be the detour to say hello to the calves, or the discovery that you can buy Scooby Snacks to feed them.

Off the Farm

Red Wagon Plants: For the Garden-Lovers

In Hinesburg, Red Wagon Plants is a worthwhile stop for fall color of the take-home variety. Pick up pumpkins and mums for the porch, then pop into the Bakeshop for something sweet and perhaps a small gift for the garden-lover in your life.

We’re particularly fond of the Japanese weeding knives—useful, beautiful little tools that make even the practical business of tending a garden feel thoughtful. A good find for the grown-ups, a sweet treat for the kids, and a few autumn additions for the front steps. Everyone leaves happy.

The Last Farmers Market of the Season

There is a soft spot in our hearts for The Shelburne Farmers Market, with its pared-down offering and plenty to love: dahlias in the most extraordinary colors, baked goods tucked into paper bags, breakfast sandwiches eaten while wandering, and strong coffee to warm cold hands.

If you’re planning around the Burlington Farmers Market, check its current schedule before heading out; closing dates and seasonal locations can vary.

Middlebury Men’s Soccer: #1 in the Country!

College soccer makes for a particularly good family outing: fresh air, space to wiggle, and a game with enough movement to keep little spectators interested. Bring a blanket, something to snack on, and no expectation that everyone will watch every minute.

Head to Middlebury to catch the Panthers men’s soccer team, currently ranked No. 1 in the country. They play at home against Williams (rivals!) on Tuesday, October 27th, at 2pm. Or catch the women’s game against Williams at 3pm!

Sports can be as much about the ritual around the game as the game itself—and for kids, that’s often where the fun begins.

Find a Very Big Pile of Leaves

Preferably the kind that have gathered into a generous, rustling heap along the edge of a yard or beneath a row of maples. The sort that practically beg for a running start.

A few minutes of gathering, a dramatic leap, the satisfying sound of dry leaves breaking beneath little boots. Repeat until the pile has scattered across the lawn.

The Old Brick Store: A Sandwich Worth the Stop

Some places earn their place in a family rotation through sheer dependability. The Old Brick Store is one of those stops—the kind of small-town institution that makes a weekend itinerary feel less like a checklist and more like a collection of familiar rituals.

Don’t sleep on the tuna melt. Or the chocolate chip cookies.

Pick up lunch, settle in for a little while, and then decide what comes next. A walk at Thompson’s Point, with its lake views and room to stretch your legs, makes for a lovely way to spend the rest of the afternoon. Or head to Shelburne Beach Playground, where the kids can climb, swing, and burn off the last of their energy.

With the swimming season behind us, the beach takes on a different sort of charm. A reminder that familiar places have more than one season to offer. Officially in the off-season, they no longer check resident passes!

Press Apples for Cider

The quintessential fall activity: turning apples into cider.

The magic of watching something familiar become something new: apples go in, cider comes out. The process is hands-on, a little messy, and satisfying in a way that makes sense to children long before they have the words for it.

It’s a chance to connect the dots between the fruit on the tree and the drink in your cup.

Make an afternoon of it, if you can. Bring home apples, press them into cider, and save a few for an apple crisp later.

Final Round of Fall Ball

For the parents, if you can get away from the kids for a few hours, one last round of golf before the weather gets too cold and the snow begins to fall. The perfect way to soak up the last of the Vermont foliage.

Little Bits of Fall Made to Last

There’s a reason we return to the same kinds of places each fall. The farms, the markets, the familiar lunch stops. They give a season its shape.

A pumpkin carried home. Mud on the cuffs of their jeans. A cookie eaten while still warm. The feeling of leaves scattering beneath their feet. These are small things, certainly. But childhood is made up of small things, repeated and remembered.

So take the scenic route through Northern Vermont this fall. Stop at the farm stand you’ve been meaning to visit. Let lunch run long. Follow the kids toward the leaves. Leave a little space between one plan and the next. While the air might be crisp and a little bit chilly, the sun is always there to warm you up.

Let us know in the comments where your family is exploring this weekend!

See you out there, Mosey Pals.