Today my family and I went ‘farmer market hopping ‘ as a birthday surprise for my mom. Her birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but since I work tomorrow night I wanted to do something for her today. My solution? Give her money, bring her to a bunch of farmers markets, and set her loose!

Back story time: When we were stationed over in Germany (Army Brat here 😁👍) my mother and I used to bike over to the commissary and get fresh baked goods. We then would bike over to a local park to have a picnic, just her and me. This is what I was trying to ‘re-create’ with my little adventure today, but Covid threw is some curve balls..

We started out strong by going to a farmer’s market called; ‘Fresh on Q‘. (Kalamazoo)

This farmers market was amazing! They had a bit of everything.. Fruits, veggies, mushrooms, soaps, knitted hats/gloves, homemade masks, baked goods, and probably much more that I didn’t see or can’t remember.. I ended up getting some homemade chap-stick from this lady that sold soaps and got to talk to her about her knitted fingerless gloves (I told her I crochet them as well).

My father had found and had gotten us all crescents and they tasted JUST like the ones we used to eat in Germany. Then finally, when we were all done looking at the booths (and I was done talking to all of the lovely booth owners), we left and went on to farmers market #2.

The second farmers market was kind of a disappointment.. It was SUPPOSED to be a big barn filled with people selling meat products. What we FOUND was an empty barn, a little hut full of freezers with meat in them, and a very friendly dog that followed us around as we walked to and from the ‘hut’.

We didn’t stay long at the ‘meat market’ and quickly went on our way to the next farmers market. I’m sure that before Covid hit, it was probably a very busy place. Sadly, with Covid running around like a little troll biting our ankles, we just can’t seem to have nice things while it is around.

ON TO THE THIRD MARKET!

First off, the third market we were supposed to go to was actually supposed to be a little farm store. However, my GPS brought me to this spot where there were houses on the right, deep woods on the left, and no farm store around (the farm store was supposed to be on the left..)! While going through town however, we found a little farmers market set up in the middle of town (Dowagiac) that turned out to be a little hidden gem! (Sadly, I had left the camera in the car for all three markets and I am now kicking myself because I hadn’t gotten any pictures!)

Anyways, the little farmers market in Dowagiac had a lot of great things and some very sweet ladies at the booths! I ended up getting some pumpkin bread, a really cute face-mask with cows on it, and some M&M cookies (I bought two bags, but ate one bag before I took a picture).

I honestly didn’t want to leave this market because I was having so much fun talking to the ladies. But with Covid there were very few public restrooms open, and with being out all day we had to leave and find a quick rest stop.

After all of the excitements with the markets, we were all pretty tired and the only thing we had eaten were crescents from the first market. So we stopped at McDonald’s for some lunch, and then headed home for a nap!

All in all, it was a pretty good day. My mother and I ended up getting some pretty cool things (she got some Zucchini bread and some good smelling wax melts) and I got to see some of the local markets for the first time!

I think that visiting all of these markets really confirmed that I am on the right path for my future. Although I may not have my market farm today, I will have my market farm someday.. I will do whatever it takes today, to make a better tomorrow.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my trip! Have you ever been to a farmers market? If so, what was your favorite part about it?! Comment below!

As always, smile, have an amazing day, and remember to always follow your dreams. ❤