Grampa Tom drove out to North Carolina to pick me up and meet our new little granddaughter. On our last day in Jacksonville, we decided to visit Mikes Farm. We took our son, his wife and the 3 grandkids. It was fun, but not quite what we were thinking it would be.
Mike's Farm is billed as the most visited non-military tourist attraction in the Jacksonville area. It was once a tabbaco farm. The place mat in the restaurant said that Mike and his wife took over the farm in the 80's. Of course tabbaco was a dying industry at that point, so they decided to start a Christmas tree farm. Today it still has Christmas trees, along with some farm animals that the kids can feed, a bakery and a huge restaurant where they serve a pretty good meal served family style.
The kids had fun (which is the important part), but us farmers were just a little amazed at the lack of poop :) We were hoping for more of an intimate farm experience. You know, the kind where you get to meet the farmer and really get some education about how farming works. There were lots of antique tractors and even a display garden depicting a typical homestead garden in the early 20th century, but there were no signs identifying plants or organized tours where you could ask questions. Perhaps we went at the wrong time of year. In any case Grampa, my son and I all agreed that it was a very sanitized, citified farm experience. Better than nothing I guess! And I have known people from town who would be repulsed by anything more authentic.
We'd love to have a little restaurant where we could concentrate on dishes made from what we produce on the farm, a shop where people could buy produce and crafts that we produce, a small petting zoo and hands on educational activities for adults as well as kids, but we would want it to be a little more like a real farm and less like a mini zoo.
Welcome To Mikes Farm And Country Store!
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