Ye Old Mill and Velvet Ice Cream

On Tuesday, we found ourselves with a free afternoon for a variety of reasons. The weather was nice (high of 70 and the sun kept coming out from behind the clouds!). We decided to take advantage of it and have a family afternoon. We packed the kids up and headed to Utica to visit the Ye Old Mill and Velvet Ice Cream. We typically go down during the weekend of Memorial Day, but this year we didn't get to.

We love the ambiance of the mill and the grounds and of course the taste of the ice cream.

When we arrived, the first thing we saw was a woman who was offering carriage rides. Rebecca wanted to ride so I paid for her and I and we had a fun little jaunt around the grounds.

After that, we met back up with Bill and the boys and decided to head in to get ice cream!

I enjoyed a summer peach ice cream cone. Bill had a chocolate peanut butter cup cone. Rebecca had a campfire smores cone. Jacob had a moose tracks cone. Benjamin had a birthday cake ice cream cone.

We took our ice cream outside to eat by the ponds so that we could watch the ducks. As soon as we sat down on a bench, these 2 black ducks starting walking over towards us (probably wanting a free snack!). I started calling them the mafia ducks. All told we saw 14 ducks while we were eating our ice cream.

After we enjoyed our treat, we headed over to the nature trail to explore. The trail takes you out to the river for a beautiful view.

After coming back, we let the kids pet the horse, goat, and sheep they had in their petting zoo part. We also let them play on the playground!

We also took a few minutes to check out the old water wheel and their little museum before heading home. When we saw the old sifters, Jacob asked what they were and Bill told him that was where they put bad children back in the old days! LOL

Overall, it was a fun and tasty afternoon.