we looked forward to a pumpkin patch visit this fall with declan. not that he's old enough to care, but i really enjoy cider and donuts and we needed some pumpkins for the front porch. so what a nice activity for a sunny, warm October day?! well sort of, but i think we picked the wrong patch.
i was a little apprehensive to pay $5 to park... but it was a pretty neat looking big, old farm with lots of kiddie attractions like a giant hay hill to climb, a huge tunnel, a teepee, pony rides and even a hayride so we proceeded. we spent $20 to walk around a patch where you practically had to pay to breathe! they didn't have donuts like i assumed every orchard/patch does, but i was able to get a delicious apple dumpling, tim got a slice of pumpkin pie and add two ciders comes to $15. we got a few cute pictures of declan near the hay bale hill and nearly got killed by jumping children everywhere, but that is understandable, it was the only free activity! to stand in the teepee was a dollar, to walk through the kiddie tunnel required tickets too. poor declan, the only things he loved one singular baby swing was taken the entire time and a basic balloon cost $4.50 so we just refused. kettle corn which i love was $6. but all these attractions and where are the pumpkins? we had to ask where the pumpkins were and discovered you have to pay to take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to get your pumpkins. it was only a buck but who wants to stand in a long line with a squirmy toddler to ride a bumpy truck and haul back 3 pumpkins along with the even more squirmy toddler on the way back?! plus i wasn't leaving the bugaboo. we left with no pumpkins. i guess i'll be lame and pick up 3 for $12 at the local kroger.
compare with my mom's pumpkin patch experience in good old GR, she took my step-nephew, isaac, and niece, audrey, this weekend. $5 to get in and then everything was free. big wheels to ride through hay bales, pumpkin painting, a tunnel, hayrides, treasure hunts, and even free food! if we don't find a good patch here next year, which i'm sure exists somewhere, we'll be visiting koetsiers in GR.
i don't mean to sound cheap and grumpy but i guess i'm traditional. i would love a big old farm with some cute smelly animals to pet, some cider and donuts and a big patch of pumpkins and maybe even a little corn maze. any farm would more than get their money from us buying a bushel of pumpkins, gourds, mums and indian corn. while we were at stony creek farm, i asked tim, i wonder what this place does when it's not october or a christmas tree farm? well, evidently they don't need to be open but a few weeks a year because they're printing money in those barns.
2 comments:
it is hard sometimes to find what you are looking for in a new place. we totally understand. while we are not looking for a great pumpkin patch to visit, i am still looking for an orchard to buy really good apples!
next year this grandma will take declan to a great pumpkin patch. but on the bright side you did get some really cute pics of the little guy with some pumpkins. kind of expensive fall pics but your business and lack of reccomends will be their loss.
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