One of my favorite traditions in the lead up to Halloween is pumpkin picking. Combing the field to find 'the one' is such a pleasure. When living abroad, we were luckily enough to find a pick-your-own farm not too far away that grew pumpkins. It was a relatively small patch and mostly visited by Americans but I was thankful for it.
Now that we're back in CA, we loaded the family in the car and headed off to Half Moon Bay. While I wish the road wasn't so winding, I love driving through the redwood groves to get to the coast. The kids were not interested in all but they really didn't have a choice in the matter. Luckily all that changed when we arrived.
First stop was Bob's Pumpkin patch. I like Bob's because it's old-school, not touristy feeling. There is a farm and there are pumpkins, and some of the pumpkins you need to remove from the vines yourself (prickly splinters and all). Not surprisingly, the kids chose the largest pumpkins they could find. So the rule...you can get it if you can lift it yourself.
The farm also had some goats, pigs and a seating area with a hay pyramid that the kids could climb on. Roxie too! Of course, I couldn't leave without buying some decorative hay. J was a good sport letting it into the back of his new car.
Before we got back on the road we visited the vegetable stand. More old-school feels that brought me back to Lewins Farm on the north fork of Long Island which was always a much loved childhood outing.
Next stop was Arata Farms to take our turn at the maze. K decided he didn't want to do it; I think for fear of getting lost which is a fair concern given the size of the maze. C was gung-ho and ran right in. About 15 min. later she finally emerged having found her way.
While waiting, K played with Roxie and strolled around the craft center
The kids also were brave enough to walk through the haunted barn. They had fun recounting the visit on the car ride home. Apparently C went first so screamed the most but the 'live' ghosts and zombies followed K through the barn which wasn't pleasant either.
Still more front porch Halloween decorating to do but the pumpkins look nice in their new home
Now that we're back in CA, we loaded the family in the car and headed off to Half Moon Bay. While I wish the road wasn't so winding, I love driving through the redwood groves to get to the coast. The kids were not interested in all but they really didn't have a choice in the matter. Luckily all that changed when we arrived.
First stop was Bob's Pumpkin patch. I like Bob's because it's old-school, not touristy feeling. There is a farm and there are pumpkins, and some of the pumpkins you need to remove from the vines yourself (prickly splinters and all). Not surprisingly, the kids chose the largest pumpkins they could find. So the rule...you can get it if you can lift it yourself.
The farm also had some goats, pigs and a seating area with a hay pyramid that the kids could climb on. Roxie too! Of course, I couldn't leave without buying some decorative hay. J was a good sport letting it into the back of his new car.
Before we got back on the road we visited the vegetable stand. More old-school feels that brought me back to Lewins Farm on the north fork of Long Island which was always a much loved childhood outing.
Next stop was Arata Farms to take our turn at the maze. K decided he didn't want to do it; I think for fear of getting lost which is a fair concern given the size of the maze. C was gung-ho and ran right in. About 15 min. later she finally emerged having found her way.
While waiting, K played with Roxie and strolled around the craft center
The kids also were brave enough to walk through the haunted barn. They had fun recounting the visit on the car ride home. Apparently C went first so screamed the most but the 'live' ghosts and zombies followed K through the barn which wasn't pleasant either.
Still more front porch Halloween decorating to do but the pumpkins look nice in their new home
We went to Arata too!
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