This weekend was the last of Maple Weekend here in Upstate NY. Tim and I took the kids last year and they had lots of fun so we thought we'd make this an annual trip.
We started off in Wyoming County and visited Arcade Farms for their pancake breakfast (all you can eat of course!) It was a bit of a wait, but worth it :) Buttermilk pancakes with real maple syrup...yummmm!
After we filled up we headed to Perl's Sugar Shack in Varysburg...we sampled some raspberry maple cream and maple cheese there. Then we headed to Merle Maple in Attica...they have the best tour and Josh got to help our tour guide and "tap" a tree as part of his demonstration. We took the tractor ride through the trees to see all the tap lines and then to sample the maple butters and syrup. They also had maple coffee and tea too.
We ended our day at Smith's Farms in Hamburg which won the prize for the best syrup and best maple mustard. The owner operates part time and does his business half "old-school" collecting the sap with buckets.
There nothing quite like the smell when you enter a sugar shack...the smell of the wood fire burning and the sweet smell of the sap. I like this tradition :) Learn more: www.mapleweekend.com
